Do-it-yourself strong folding knife. All about knives. The procedure for making a folding knife with your own hands
How to make a simple folding knife with your own hands. DIY folding knife made of Damascus steel. Damascus steel made at home. I bring to your attention a high-quality, stylish, unique knife self made made of Damascus steel. We will make steel with our own hands by forging. This knife is folding, friction type, the design is very simple, but this does not prevent the knife from doing its job perfectly. It would not be a shame to give such a knife as a valuable gift, or it can even be sold for substantial money. So, let's take a closer look at how you can make such a knife! Materials and tools used by the author:
List of materials:
- brass rod (for the pin);
- wood for the handle (walnut);
- borax;
- ferric chloride;
- rapeseed oil;
- a lawn mower blade and a file (for the blade);
- screw with nut (for the blade axis);
- epoxy glue;
- oil for impregnation, etc.
List of tools:
- forge furnace, anvil and hammer;
- welding machine(preferably);
- orbital sander;
- vice;
- Bulgarian;
- drill or drilling machine;
- jigsaw;
- hacksaw for metal;
- clamps;
-pencil and more.
Knife making process:
Step one. A few words about Damascus steel
Damascus steel is a mixture of different grades of steel. They are mixed by heating, that is, by forging. Next, when a blade is forged from this mixture, it is then immersed in acid. Thanks to chemical reaction Each grade of steel darkens differently, some are lighter, others are darker. As a result, interesting patterns are obtained on the blade. The key is to find an interesting mix of metals that will look good. Also, do not forget that the steel for the knife must be durable.
The author decided to use a lawn mower knife as a material, as well as old file. The resulting Damascus steel when mixed is called "Twisted Damascus". The steel from the file will be darker after pickling, while the steel from the lawnmower blade will be lighter.
We take a file, as well as a lawn mower blade. You will need to cut them into approximately 4 pieces of equal length to make 8 layers. In general, the more layers of metal in Damascus steel, the more interesting it looks. One piece should be long, this will be the handle that you will hold on to while forging.
All plates need to be connected into one single block; it is best to secure them by welding. If there is no welding, we clamp the workpiece in a vice, and then twist it thoroughly with steel wire. That's all, now the workpiece is ready for the next stage!
We send the workpiece to the forge and heat it to the specified temperature. The steel should become soft like plasticine. Then we remove the workpiece, clamp the tip in a vice and twist it. This way we mix layers of metals together.
We work with a grinder, cut off the excess, and polish the workpiece. The author's strip was so long that it was enough to make two knives.
You can start making the blade. First, the author decided to immerse the workpiece in ferric chloride for 10 minutes to see how the pattern would turn out. Finally, neutralize the acid using baking soda.
We cut out a rough profile using a grinder, where necessary we use grinding discs. As a result, all you have to do is modify the blade with files, sandpaper and drill a hole for the fastening axis.
Now the blade needs to be hardened so that it holds an edge for a long time. For this, the author used gas burner, but a forge oven will do just fine. We heat the blade until red hot and cool it in vegetable oil. Next, you will need to temper the metal so that the steel is not brittle. We take a burner and heat the blade until it has a straw color, let it cool in the air. The same procedure can be carried out in a regular household oven.
Finally, sand the blade with sandpaper and polish it.
To etch the blade you will need ferric chloride. Depending on the etching time, the pattern will be different. The author first dipped the blade for one hour and then polished it with 2000 grit sandpaper, and then etched again. In general, everything here is done through experimentation.
Select beautiful, valuable wood for the handle and cut out two halves. Drill two holes, one for the mounting axle and one for the locking pin. The author decided to use a brass rod as a fixing pin.
Using epoxy glue, glue the fixing pin into the handle. We select the required gap so that the blade fits in with a small gap and does not dangle. To fasten the blade, the author used a nut with a screw.
Check if everything is working correctly.
Finally, saturate the handle with oil, this will protect the wood and make it more beautiful. If desired, the handle can be polished, so it will look even better.
All you have to do is sharpen the blade well. Here you will need special sharpening device or even regular sandpaper.
That's all, the wonderful knife is ready! Share your opinions.
The creation and use as a bladed weapon is prohibited; according to Article 223.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it is punishable by imprisonment for up to two years!
In the simplest models, the blade is not locked in the open position: it will fold if you press it quite hard in the appropriate direction. This is how a classic pocket penknife works. In English literature, a knife equipped with a similar mechanism is called slip joint folder, or a folding knife with a sliding joint (more like a joint).
I could not find the corresponding Polish term. Well, okay, it doesn’t matter what it’s called scientifically; what matters is how it works. A spring, attached with one end to the upper edge of the handle, with its other end presses on the disc-shaped surface of the back of the blade. And this surface is designed in such a way that both opening and folding the knife causes the spring to bend or unbend; at the same time, it provides a certain resistance, which allows you to hold the knife either in the open or closed position (Fig. ). But if in the folded state the spring holds the blade quite reliably, then in the open position such a knife cannot be called one hundred percent safe. In practice, you have little to fear if you only use the knife for light, well-controlled cutting—for example, opening correspondence or sharpening pencils. Perhaps this is why such models are becoming a thing of the past; few of them are produced now. Even typical multifunctional pocket knives are now increasingly equipped with mechanisms that allow them to hold at least one, the largest (main) blade in the open position.
Manufacturing should begin directly with the blade. First of all, mark the place for the axial hole. We drill it and, using it as a guide, we make further markings of the blade. If you do the opposite and mark and cut the blade along the contour, and only then drill a hole, then during the drilling process, especially in hardened workpieces, the drill can move to the side and all dimensions will “float away”.
Having transferred the contours of the blade to the workpiece, we begin to make the blade. We grind it using a grinder and sandpaper along the contour. For the convenience of holding the blade during the process of removing the slopes, we do not yet cut off the blade itself from the workpiece and do not form the heel of the blade.
To remove descents you can use various instruments: grinders, emery machines, flat grinders, grinders. I do rough grinding of the slopes on sandpaper and fine grinding on a surface grinder.
Next, we begin making the side dies.
Next, drill a hole in the dies for the blade stopper pin, install the axis and stopper pin, install the blade and the second die. We transfer the blade to open position and mark on the die the position of the heel of the blade, or rather the place where the lock liner should rest. Next, mark the liner and start cutting it out.
Having prepared the pritins in this way, we proceed to install them on the dies. There are different methods: soldering, riveting, spot welding etc. The most accessible are soldering and riveting.
For soldering you will need a soldering iron, soldering acid, solder and a heat source. As a soldering iron, it is best to use a massive piece of copper, which is heated in the flame of a burner. Soldering acid is hydrochloric acid etched with zinc. POS-60, POS-90 are suitable as solder. Before soldering, it is necessary to clean and tin the soldering areas. Cleaned with sandpaper and a file. After cleaning, coat the soldering areas with acid, take a piece of solder on a well-heated soldering iron and tin the surface. During the tinning process, care must be taken to ensure that there are no gaps left and that the entire surface is covered. even layer solder. High-quality tinning and soldering are possible only with good heating of the parts.
After servicing, rinse the parts thoroughly in water and soda, removing any remaining acid. Next, we clamp the tinned parts in a vice and begin to heat them with a burner from different sides. To reduce heat loss, thermal insulating material must be laid under the jaws of the vice; fragments of ceramic tiles work well. As it warms up, we press the vice until droplets of solder appear between the parts, after which the heating can be stopped.
Soldering the right-hand prytina has features: first we solder the knife axis into the die, and then solder the pritina, while instead of one of ceramic tiles We use a piece of tube larger than the diameter axis.
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| So, all the components of the knife are ready, all that remains is to assemble the knife and once again make sure that the lock is working correctly. Adjust if necessary. For smoother operation of the mechanism, it should be lubricated with machine oil. After some time of operation, the parts of the mechanism will rub in, the blade will rotate easily and smoothly, and the liner plate will rise slightly upward. |
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A folding knife is a great tool in a man’s pocket and not only that. You should definitely take it with you when going on a hike or just in nature. Using a knife, you can not only cut sausage or open beer, but also protect yourself from enemies. Moreover, more often the enemy is not a person, but an animal, for example, a dog or even a fox. In this instruction we will look at how to make a good simple folding knife with your own hands.
To make the knife, the author used a fairly professional set of tools; he needed a jigsaw and other tools. But you shouldn’t despair, if you have skillful hands, such a knife can be easily made with ordinary hand tools. The fixing device for the knife is also simple; all parts are made by hand. So let's get started.
Materials and tools used
List of materials:
- high carbon steel (which can be hardened);
- pins (can be steel or brass);
- material for the linings (wood, plastic, and so on as desired);
- epoxy glue;
- spring rod (for making a spring).
List of tools:
- ;
- drilling machine or drill;
- clamps;
- Bulgarian;
- vice;
- paper, pencil, scissors for making a template;
- sandpaper;
- furnace, oil for hardening.
Knife making process:
Step one. Sample
First of all, the author makes a template, including everything internal parts. For those who have already made a knife at least once, it will not be difficult to make such a template. You need to think over a locking mechanism; it is made in the form of a lever with a hook.
Step two. Cutting out blanks
The author cuts all the parts of the knife from sheet steel. The locking mechanism consists of two parts, one part holds the spring, and the second is a lever with a hook that holds the blade.
To make a handle, you will need to carve two identical parts. The author cuts out all the details, including the blade, using a grinder. IN hard to reach places where a grinder cannot be reached, we make a lot of cross cuts, and then gradually cut them out.
To make a blade you will need steel with high content carbon, in America it is customary to use steel 1050; in Russia, the most common grade of steel for making knives can be considered steel 65X13. Good steel, which can be hardened, is widely used in tool making. You can also use steel from an old cutting wheel.
When you cut out the blanks for making the handle, assemble them on pins or simply on bolts. Now sand the product along the contour, in the end you will get two identical parts.
Step three. Grinding
We proceed to finer processing of workpieces, namely grinding. This is where a belt sander comes in handy. We bring the details to perfection, and at the end we go through them manually with a file where we couldn’t get them with a machine.
Using grinding machine, you also need to bring out the bevels on the blade. The author attaches the blade to a special device and gets to work. Main criterion here – the symmetry of the bevels.
Finally, the author processes the details manually using sandpaper. The next step for us will be hardening; before this, do not forget to drill all the necessary holes in the workpieces, since this will be problematic later.
Step four. Tempering the blade
In order for your knife to hold its edge for a long time, the blade must be hardened. Since we have the blade small sizes, it can easily be heated to the desired temperature using a burner, as the author did. We heat the metal until the steel is no longer attracted by the magnet. If we take a more professional approach to this matter, then for each steel there is a clear heating temperature.
When you heat up the steel, lower the workpiece into the oil. Used oil from a car, as well as vegetable oil, is quite suitable. After cooling the workpiece, run a torch over the metal to burn the oil. Now the steel can be checked; if it cannot be taken with a file, it means that the hardening was successful.
The next step in hardening is necessarily tempering the metal, otherwise the steel will be very brittle. A household oven is suitable for holidays. Place the blade in it and heat it for about an hour at a temperature of 200-250 degrees Celsius. Then let the oven cool closed with the knife inside. Vacation is done! Now the steel will spring back and the blade will not break under high load.
Step five. Let's move on to assembling the knife
After hardening, polish the blade until it shines, as after heat treatment it will change color. Now the knife can be assembled. Lubricate all internal parts with motor oil to prevent the knife from rusting on the inside. Now we assemble everything on pins. We glue the overlays using epoxy glue.
Clamp the handle tightly with several clamps and let the glue dry completely. Epoxy usually dries in about a day.
When the glue is completely dry, we perform final sanding. First, the product is processed using a grinder, and then manually using sandpaper. Finally, we bring the handle to perfect smoothness using fine sandpaper.
Today, buying a folding knife is not at all difficult, since such a product is not only presented in huge assortment, it is also sold in many retail stores, as well as on Internet sites. But, despite this, every day the number of people who want to make DIY folding knife. This is due to the fact that homemade folding knives are unique and a person can customize it as much as possible to suit his preferences. Moreover, in the process of making a knife yourself, a person can use any materials, which will make the device reliable and durable.
Before you start making your own folding knife, you need to clearly define the following indicators:
- what will be the shape of the future knife;
- what material will be used to make it;
- what design the future knife will have;
- what will be the design of the knife?
DIY folding knives can be made of any material and have any shape, the main thing is to adhere to established standards when manufacturing. When selecting materials for a knife, you must give preference to the most durable and strong material. Suitable for blade stainless steel with high hardness or Damascus steel. Of course, most people prefer stainless steel, since it is easier to make a knife from it and, unlike Damascus steel, it is resistant to corrosion.
In addition to the materials, to make a knife you need to prepare the tools that may be required during the work process. It is worth noting that during production simple option folding knife you will need the simplest available tools. Special attention should be paid to the choice of material for the handle, since it should not only be reliable and durable, but also comfortable to use. That is, you need to properly think through the shape of the handle so that it fits securely in your hand and does not slip out. Having decided on the most convenient shape of the handle, you need to choose the material from which it will be most convenient to make it.
Making a folding knife can occur using handle materials such as, hard rocks natural wood, impact-resistant plastic or metal. And, of course, planning self-production knife, you need to think about the mechanism of its folding. Moreover, the knife mechanisms must be treated with special care and every detail must be thought through, since an incorrectly executed mechanism can cause injuries while using the knife. Before you begin work on making a folding knife, you need to make sure that everything necessary materials prepared.
Folding knife mockup
So, if a person is interested in the question, how to assemble a folding knife, then this can be done even without special skills. The main thing in this process is to take into account all the established parameters and adhere to all the rules for performing such a process. The first thing to do, starting with making a knife, is to sketch the future device on paper. You can also use special graphic editors. The most optimal options Use cardboard to cut out a template for the future knife blade, as it is more durable than paper. Moreover, you can cut out all the components of the future knife from cardboard, and then fasten the cardboard blade and handle with a screw and nut; to do this, you need to cut a hole in the cardboard for the axle. This approach will help you understand how proportional the elements of the knife are, and how the device being manufactured will close.
In addition, making a cardboard model of the knife will help to correctly match the shape of the heel of the blade, and this part, as you know, is extremely important for the comfortable and practical use of the knife. You can find out what the supporting part of the heel should look like by viewing DIY folding knife video. The video will help you make sure that the heel of the blade is really made correctly and has the required bevel angle; an angle of 7-9 0 is considered optimal. After this, you need to sketch a linear knife lock; as you know, it is based on three points that form a triangle. Each point of the linear lock has its own purpose:
- for installing the pivot pin;
- for mounting a corkscrew pin;
- the contact zone of the supporting planes of the heel of the blade and the pressure plate, that is, the stopper.
It is worth noting that it is the lateral pressure force of the stopper that fixes the blade in the closed position; there are no other elements performing this function in this knife design. That is why it is extremely important to mount a small steel ball from the bearing into the stopper; it will become an additional retainer for the closed blade and, accordingly, will secure the use of the knife. It is very important to choose the correct location of the ball retainer, since it depends on the functioning of the entire knife lock.
Having marked the location of the ball retainer on a cardboard mock-up of the blade and locking spring, you need to make sure that it will fit tightly there and will not interfere with folding the knife. After this, you need to decide on the fasteners that will tighten the dies together. It is not recommended to use fasteners with large heads or place them too close to the edge of the handle. This is due to the fact that subsequently it may be necessary to install a spacer or tubular racks between the fasteners.
The procedure for making a folding knife with your own hands
Once the cardboard model of the future knife is ready and all its elements meet the standards, you can begin to manufacture the device itself. At this stage, the material for the future knife and tools that may be useful in the process of its manufacture should already be prepared. As already stated, optimal material Stainless steel is considered to be used for making a knife blade, since it will not rust even if moisture gets inside the folder.
To drill holes in hardened steel, it is best to use ceramic or glass drills. It is very important to drill at low speeds and apply a little force. If you approach the process of drilling holes in a workpiece irresponsibly, you can simply erase the drill bits without achieving the desired result. In order to prevent steel from sinking, it is necessary to constantly monitor the level of its heating and often cool the part.
As for dies, it is better to use titanium for them, since, even with a small thickness, this material has high strength indicators. In addition, titanium is lightweight and does not corrode, which is also important for a folding knife. When processing titanium and giving it the desired shape, it is also recommended to work at low speeds of the grinder; you can even use hand saw on metal.
In order to make a folding knife, the next thing to do is to cut out the contours of the corkscrew spring, which will be located at the bottom of the die. At the intended end of the die, it is necessary to drill holes with a diameter of no more than 2.5 millimeters; there should be 3-4 such holes. After making the holes, you need to connect them and put them there hacksaw blade. The next step will be sawing through the stopper line, but when performing this procedure it is necessary to leave a small margin, which will be removed during the process of setting up and checking the finished knife.
As for the lower die, it often has the same dimensions as the upper one, but there is one difference; in the lower die it is necessary to make a special recess for the hole for opening the knife. Another difference between the top and bottom dies is the diameter of the screw holes. In the lower die, such holes must be made for the screw thread, while the diameters of the holes in the upper die must have the diameter of the screw. After all the parts have been cut out and all the holes drilled, you need to make or select two small washers. Bronze or fluoroplastic washers are considered the most optimal. Such washers will act as a bearing and be mounted on the axis of rotation of the knife.
The next stage in the manufacture of the knife will be its direct assembly. This must be done one by one:
- insert the axle into the lower die;
- install the locking pin;
- install the washer;
- place the blade and assemble the knife together.
If any inaccuracies arise during the assembly process, but they need to be eliminated, for example, if the parts of the knife do not mate, then they need to be adjusted in place. After the knife is assembled, you need to install the corkscrew ball. To do this, in the area of the corkscrew spring it is necessary to drill a hole with a diameter of 0.1-0.2 millimeters, that is, it must be smaller than its ball. Medium size the bearing ball is 1.5-2 millimeters. The ball is pressed into the locking plate using a vice, and it should protrude to the surface by approximately half a millimeter.
After the ball is installed, it is necessary to determine the place of its contact with the wedge; to do this, just close and open the knife several times. After this, a mark will remain on the blade of the knife; at a distance of 0.3 millimeters from the edge of the mark, it is necessary to make a small hole into which the ball will enter when the knife is closed. In order to set and check the functionality of the knife lock, it is initially recommended to assemble the device without the top die. If everything works properly, you can completely assemble the knife and check its operation while folded.
Now the knife is ready. As it becomes clear, do DIY automatic folding knife This may take a little time and patience.
