What is the best knife to make? Do-it-yourself hunting knives: manufacturing, drawings, photos and blade shape.

For every hunter, fisherman or hiker hunting knife is an essential tool that will help you cope with any difficult task or situation that takes you by surprise. Of course, you can easily buy it in a store, on the market or order it from a local master. But it is unlikely to satisfy the needs of an experienced user. And the dubious quality of a serial product, most likely, will not allow you to open a tin can, not to mention solving more serious problems. Hunter knives self made are of high quality and look great if you seriously approach the issue of their manufacture. However, as a product produced and developed by oneself, a hunting knife can be a reason for pride.

Making a hunting knife

So the only right decision in order to acquire a really high-quality accessory, it remains to make it with your own hands, adapting it as much as possible to your needs. Do-it-yourself hunting knives can be made not only by a professional, but also by a simple amateur. For this it is enough to have minimum set tools. Moreover, it will not be difficult to get detailed drawings of hunting knives. If necessary, they can be made independently, for this you do not need to have any supernatural skills.

blade making

How to make a hunting knife durable and beautiful at the same time? The first step in making this cutting accessory is finding the blade. It is not necessary to look for special steel for a hunting knife for this, especially since it is not so easy to get it. It is enough to find a finished blade, old or broken, and modify it. Refinement may consist in changing its shape, turning the handle, as adapted as possible to the arm, and making the scabbard. But still, if steel for a hunting knife is found, then this blade will be the most durable and high-quality with a beautiful metallic sheen.

Handle manufacturing

In the manufacture of the handle can be used various materials. For example, a wooden or ebonite handle can be very comfortable, but very vulnerable to impact or other physical impact. It is worth dropping such a knife on a hard surface, as the handle will immediately shatter into pieces. The most durable knife handle can be obtained by casting it from metal. Such a hunting knife will not be afraid of blows and falls, but even in a slight frost it will simply freeze to the hand, not to mention large negative temperatures. Thus, accessories with very fragile or metal handles are not suitable for intensive use due to their impracticality.

Very often, good handmade hunting knives are obtained from the horns of some animals, but most often they are deer or roe deer antlers. Thanks to uneven surface horns, the knife lies well in the hand, which makes it as convenient as possible to use. In addition, this material is very durable and, despite this, it is easy to decorate, so you can give the handle some sophistication.

To get really strong hunting knives, the manufacture of the handle should begin with the preparation of fiberglass, impregnating it epoxy resin. In terms of strength, this material is not inferior to metal, but, unlike it, it does not freeze through and is very light. Textolite is also suitable for the manufacture of this knife element. This material is not subject to rotting, is not combustible and is very durable. But when using it to make a knife handle, you must use a single piece. Gluing various elements or gluing a handle from several components will lead to a loss of its strength and, as a result, fragility. In order not to have to redo hunting knives with your own hands, you need to think through all the stages of manufacturing the handle in advance.

Steps for making a knife handle

Having a finished blade, you can start making a handle on it. To do this, the plate must be turned on an emery or file to give it the shape of a future handle. Then, using pre-prepared thin bars of durable wood, you should fix them on the handle with epoxy or glue. Next, you can wrap the glued bars with a cord impregnated with epoxy resin, or use colored fabric tape for this. Winding should be done with maximum force so that air bubbles and excess epoxy glue come out.

To create a finger rest on the handle of a hunting knife, you should use the same material, but wind it in several layers. After the epoxy dries a little, its excess can be cut off or removed with a file, giving the final shape to the handle.

Smooth or textured handle

If the task is to make an absolutely smooth surface of the handle, then at the final stage it should be tightly wrapped with a strong plastic wrap or it is good to grind the bumps, and then polish them. If, on the contrary, the final version should be embossed or rough, then grains must be applied to the surface impregnated with epoxy resin river sand or other abrasive and leave the product to dry completely. When the resin has completely cured, excess abrasive residue should be removed from the surface.

If the knife handle plate is much smaller than the intended handle, then it can be placed in a pre-prepared metal tube or hollow handle. The existing cavity can later be used to store various necessary small things, thus increasing the functionality of the product. For example, you can put threads and needles or matches there, but on condition that the cavity is completely protected from moisture. It is impossible to know what situation you will find yourself in in the future.

Scabbard making

Sheath like one of important elements, which are equipped with good hunting knives, must meet certain functional requirements. The knife should not fall out of them, but be firmly fixed and at the same time easily and freely reach if necessary. The scabbard must be collapsible, which makes it possible to thoroughly clean them. With intensive use of the knife, dirt, food residues will settle in the sheath, creating an environment for the development of microorganisms and harmful bacteria. Non-separable are permissible for collectors and connoisseurs of aesthetic beauty, and not for practitioners who use a hunting knife almost every day. After all, it is, first of all, a tool, a means for cutting, planing and performing other important functions.

Scabbard making steps

To start making a scabbard, you should first prepare a wooden sheath for a knife. To do this, a cavity should be drilled and polished in the workpiece, strictly suitable for the dimensions of the blade. From the same material, a lid should also be cut, corresponding in size to the first element. When comparing two parts, they should form a one-piece case. In order for the scabbard to not differ in style from a hunting knife, they must be finished with exactly the same coating. After the finishing is finished, it is necessary to fasten the components together in several places with screws, preferably decorative.

Making a trench coat

The scabbard hangs on a belt with a special loop - a trench coat. For its manufacture, you can use shreds of leather, thick lace or trimmings of a strong rope. The size of the trencher should correspond to the width of the belt and be located freely on it. It is attached to the inside of the scabbard. Can be glued, epoxy or screwed. It does not really matter, it is important that the scabbard is firmly fixed and not lost during the movement. You should not make the trencher very long, as a knife located too low will create inconvenience. A too short trencher will make it difficult to remove the gun from its scabbard.

Accessories

For the greatest convenience and functionality, a knife sharpener is sometimes fixed on the scabbard. It is necessary for long-term use of the tool. You can also make small secret pockets for storing various small things. You never know what might be waiting far from home and civilization. You can also attach a signal mirror to the scabbard, having previously processed the cutting edges. Modification options depend on the features and conditions of use of a hand-made hunting knife. But do not be too zealous, as some devices may be completely useless.

When making a knife for the first time, even with the use of well-designed drawings and instructions, most likely, it will not be possible to avoid any oversights and shortcomings. But don't stop there. Each next self-made cutting assistant will be better than the previous one in terms of functionality and, taking into account all past shortcomings, will not be able to compare with the analogue of factory production. Hunting knives, the manufacture of which is extremely thought out and not carried out in a hurry, must turn out to be of high quality and meet all the requirements necessary for the use of these products.

A hunting knife is essential for every hunter. First of all, it is used for finishing off and butchering prey, but in addition, it remains a faithful assistant in a variety of hunting situations. Now on sale you can find a huge number of various models and modifications of blades. But, despite this, the need to make a knife for yourself may arise. Usually this happens due to the inability to buy the right blade, either in return for a lost or broken one, or seen from friends and liked, or there is not exactly the knife that you need for sale.

Making a knife from a 9HF saw

In this article, we will not focus on the shape and design of the blade, the type and width of sharpening, etc. We believe that finished project or we already have a sample and focus on the production itself.

A homemade hunting knife, so that it meets the basic requirements for such blades, is recommended to be made from high-carbon alloy steels. For instance:

9HF- tool alloy steel, used for the manufacture of frame, band and circular saws, punches, trimming dies and a number of other tools. Usually, saw blades are taken as blanks;
R6M5– high-speed alloy steel of high strength. It is used to make many types cutting tool, drills, saw circles, from the latter and you can make a blank;
65G- spring steel, with high wear resistance, can be blued and blackened. They make springs, springs, gears, etc. For blanks, in addition to sheets, rear springs of trucks are used. Considered one of the cheapest knife materials;
X12, R3M3F2 and a number of others are also suitable.

The material for the workpiece can be taken from the above products, although now on the Internet you can order a plate for the workpiece from almost any steel. As a recommendation - take a canvas pendulum saw for metal, the usual dimensions are 400x30 mm, the thickness is 2 mm, the surface is rough, the color is black or gray.
If you want to make a homemade knife at home, in addition to the material for the workpiece, we need:

corner Sander(Bulgarian)
Circles for it, cutting off for alloy steel, for example inox A54S BF, sharpening and grinding.
Drill or drilling machine
Vise
Pobeditovoye and other special drills
Files and diamond file
Sanding machine (very desirable).

The process of making a knife will be as follows:

The knife handle can be wound with paracord or made of wood, in the latter case, we drill holes in the handle according to a template, according to a sample or drawing. Holes are drilled with special drills with concomitant cooling with oil. It is more convenient to do this on a drilling machine.

To simplify the process, the holes are drilled first with small diameter drills, and then gradually reamed to the desired size.

Handle

Knives are made with different handles. The choice of material for their manufacture depends on the purpose for which the knife is intended, ease of use and the personal preferences of the owner. Below are two ways to make a knife handle at home.

Wrap the handle with paracord in a few minutes

Using a paracord cord as a knife handle is not only easier and faster, but also more practical. You will always have a couple of meters of cord with you, which can be used for a variety of purposes, when surviving in extreme situations.

For winding we need:

cord, 2 - 2.5 m;
thick tape or electrical tape;
lighter or matches;
scissors;
gloves;
screwdriver.

Before you start winding the cord, decide if you need a lanyard loop and, if necessary, where it will be, on the side of the blade near the stop or at the end of the handle. If it is available, in addition to the ability to hang a knife, in the first case, you can put your thumb through it to make it more convenient and reliable to hold the knife, in the second, you can remove the knife from its sheath, etc.

Winding paracord is done in this order:

We wet the cord, while it stretches better, and when dry, it will sit no more monolithically on the knife.
We seal the knife blade with tape or tape to avoid accidental cuts or cutting the cord. All operations are best performed with gloves.
We press one end of the cord on the head of the handle so that 10 cm remains free.
From the cord we form a loop laid along the handle so that the top of the loop protrudes a couple of centimeters beyond the cord winding zone.
Then holding the knife in your left hand and pressing both ends of the loop with your thumb, right hand we begin to wind the cord around the handle, starting from its head.
We make the winding tight, turn to turn, do not tighten it at all, we take into account that the cord will still sit down after drying.
Having brought the winding to the stop at the blade, we pass the remaining end of the cord into the protruding part of the loop.
We cut off the excess cord, leaving about 3 - 5 cm, and burn the end of the cord.
After that, pulling the free end of the cord from the side of the head of the handle, we pull the loop under the winding until the end threaded into it disappears under the winding. Avoid fully stretching the loop, otherwise the entire winding will unravel.

The wrapping is completed. With this option, we will not have a winding loop for a lanyard. If we want to form it, the winding is somewhat complicated. Initially, two loops are laid on the handle on both sides of the knife.

To form a loop under the lanyard on the head of the knife, the end of the cord is pressed on the head of the handle and one loop is pulled to the blade, then the cord is thrown over the headband and the second loop is also laid on the other side. The winding starts from the head of the knife. Having finished the winding, the remaining end is threaded into both loops near the blade and pulled under the winding by the loop in the headband, thereby forming it.

In order for the loop to be near the stop, we do everything the same, but on the contrary, we begin to lay and wind from the stop, in the same place we pull the loop to tighten the clamped end under the winding.

Making a false handle as an alternative to paracord

If you are an adherent of the classics and want to make a regular handle, use a tree for this purpose. It is more accessible, easier to work with, the wooden handle is more pleasant to the touch, does not cool, slips less in the hand, and if processed correctly, does not take moisture. The knife handle can be made of oak, beech, maple, birch, walnut or mahogany. In order not to waste time and effort on preparing and drying wood, there are two simple ways get her. The first is parquet, you can buy it in special store, there, by the way, expensive varieties are sold by the piece. Second - old furniture, in the attic, in the garage, in the country, with friends, you can always find unnecessary household trash and use it.
For the handle, you need two dies, if you have a standard-sized hand, then 10 - 15 mm thick, this is with a margin for processing, so that the thickness of the future handle is about 20 mm. The length of the workpieces is 150 - 200 mm, so that there is room for their fixation during initial processing.

In addition to the tree, we need:

dowels made of aluminum, copper, brass, iron according to the number of holes of the corresponding diameter;
drill with drills or drilling machine;
drills according to the number of holes in the handle of the same diameter;
grinding or grinding machine, it can be replaced by a file for wood and a lot, a lot of time;
jigsaw or manual jigsaw, or see the previous paragraph;
engraving machine or file with a file;
emery cloth of different numbers up to the smallest;
epoxy adhesive;
linseed oil;
thick tape or electrical tape;
vise, clamp.

We make the handle as follows:

Before starting work, we wrap the knife blade with tape or tape to avoid accidental cuts.
The first step is drilling. We put the knife blank on a wooden plate, press it with a clamp or, at worst, wrap it with tape and drill holes. To make the hole neat, we first drill with a thin drill, and then ream to the desired diameter. After the first hole has been drilled, we insert a key or a drill of the same diameter into it, this is done to fix it so that the die does not move. Let's move on to the next hole.
We drill the second die in the same way.
After drilling, we assemble the dies on the knife, using dowels or drills, to make sure all the holes match.
Then, attaching alternately the dies to the knife with the help of dowels or drills and clamps, we outline the contour of the handle along the contour of the knife. It is advisable to mark the handle with a small indent, 1 - 2 mm, for further processing.
After marking, we cut out the handle with a jigsaw-electric jigsaw or grind it on a grinding wheel, in extreme cases, a file in your hands.
Dowels are ready. To make the homemade knife look aesthetically pleasing, we will not rivet the keys, but glue them. To do this, we make chaotic cuts on the dowels with an engraving machine or a file, in which the glue will solidify and seize. At the ends of the dowels, we remove the inclined chamfer under 450.
Since after gluing it will be inconvenient to process the cheeks of the stop, we finish them and polish them with emery.
We carefully grind the halves of the handle on the sandpaper from the inside so that they fit snugly when glued to the plane of the knife shank.
Before gluing, we make the last test assembly.
Gluing itself is carried out according to the instructions for the glue. The assembly order is as follows, lubricate inside one half, insert the dowels smeared with glue into it, put a knife on them, and then the greased second half.
Clamp the assembled handle in a vise and remove excess squeezed glue. We leave the clamped handle for a day.
After the glue hardens with the help of files, emery, a grinding wheel, and so on, we finally form, grind and grind the knife handle.
When the handle is fully polished, it is time to impregnate. Impregnate wood is best linseed oil. You can buy it at the artist's shop, they breed it oil paints.
The handle is kept in oil from three days to a week. The process can be accelerated by boiling the handle in oil for a couple of hours, but you need to strictly monitor the temperature, otherwise the glue may leak.
Then the handle should dry out at natural temperature for about a month, during which time the oil will polymerize, and the wood will harden and become immune to moisture.
After drying, the handle is finally polished with a soft cloth.

Sharpening for beginners

Before talking about sharpening a hunting knife, it must be recalled that homemade knives made from the metals recommended in the article are very difficult and take a long time to sharpen, since the alloy steels used have high hardness. This must be remembered when using the knife for other purposes.

Now about the sharpening itself. V living conditions knives are sharpened on special whetstones. Such stones are ceramic (the cheapest and most common), diamond, natural and from Japanese sea stones. The principle of sharpening on them is approximately the same, so in the future, by default, we will talk about the most common, ceramic grindstone.
In order to sharpen a knife with high quality, it is desirable to have either two whetstones of different grain sizes, or, more often, a whetstone whose sides have different grain sizes. For the convenience of sharpening, the size, or rather the length, of the stone should be greater than the length of the knife blade.

It is advisable to sharpen the knife with both hands, so it is advisable to place the grindstone on separate board fixing it either in a recess specially cut out for this, or with the help of six nails driven in on the sides.
Knife sharpening begins on the roughest stone. At this stage, the grindstone can not be wetted. We place the stone on the table arbitrarily, the main thing is that it is convenient for you to sharpen on it.

The whole process of sharpening consists in giving the edge of the blade an acute-angled shape. When doing it, you need to remember a few basic rules:

you need to choose the optimal angle of sharpening the knife and stick to it throughout the entire process;
the knife is driven along the stone with the blade forward, as if cutting off a thin layer from it;
in one movement, you need to carry out the entire edge of the blade for uniform sharpening;
the edge of the blade must always be perpendicular to the direction of travel;
each next time the blade must be turned over and held on the other side so as not to shift the center of the bevel of the blade;
movements should be smooth, without pressure;
it is better to sharpen both sides with a unidirectional movement, either towards oneself or away from oneself, since the movement of the hand away from oneself is always worse and weaker than the movement towards oneself.

Now with regard to the angle of sharpening. It can be from 450 to 300, in the first case the knife will keep sharpening longer, in the second it will be sharper. It is better to sharpen a hunting knife exactly under 300, this is easy to achieve, just when sharpening the knife, guide it as if you were cutting a thin slice of butter or cheese.

After you have screwed in the initial sharpness by deducing the angle of the edge of the blade, you can move on to a stone of less dispersion. It is advisable to periodically moisten it with water so that the edge of the blade glides better, and metal dust didn't clog pores.
Finish sharpening the blade mirror shine and razor sharp, you can correct it on an old leather belt with GOI paste. main feature editing with GOI paste is that the knife is led back to the direction of the blade, i.e. butt forward.

Making a scabbard (case) from leather

One of the necessary accessories of a hunting knife is a scabbard. They are needed to protect the blade from dulling, and everything around from cuts and damage to things.

You can make a homemade sheath yourself at home, from a small piece of leather about 3 mm thick.

For this, in addition to the skin, you will need:

scissors;
a sheet of thick paper for the template;
pen;
an awl (it can be replaced by a sharpened nail or cloves);
small cloves and a hammer;
universal glue;
fork;
paraffin candle;
fine emery or grinding machine;
kapron thread and one or two large needles;
pliers;
button closure;
wax or cream.

The procedure for making a cover will be as follows:

We make a template. Having attached the blade of the knife to a sheet of paper, we circle it along the contour.
Then, around this contour with a centimeter indent, draw another contour, it will be the main one. Cut out the template along the outer contour. Separately, we cut out a T-shaped part for the fastener, the width of the straps of which is about 20 mm, we measure the length of the straps by the handle of the knife.
We mark the details on the skin. Having attached the template to the skin, we circle the part for one side of the scabbard, then moving the template to the side by 5 - 8 mm we circle only one side to get the part on the half of the insert.
Then, turning the template over, we repeat the steps, outlining the second side and the second half of the insert. Attach and outline the T-shaped part of the fastener.
We take scissors and carefully cut out all the details from the leather.
Having attached to the knife, we try on all the details for a match.
We rub the ends of the insert on the clasp with paraffin candles, and then grind them on emery.
We attach the fastener to one half, and with the help of an awl and carnations, we outline and punch holes for the thread, in two rows.
We sew on the fastener, the thread can be pre-lubricated with paraffin.
For the convenience of subsequent stitching, we glue the parts together. We cut out a part from the template along the contour of the blade itself. We put this part on the half of the scabbard and coat it with glue around it so that the glue does not crawl out of the inserts. We glue according to the instructions on the tube. Lubricate and glue the inserts.
At the tip of the scabbard, between the inserts, we cut a groove for ventilation.
Glue the other half. We put the sheath under the press for a while for high-quality gluing.
We check how the knife enters and sits.
On the emery we process the edges of the scabbard.
With the help of a fork, drawing two prongs along the edge of the scabbard, we outline the contour for stitching. With a fork, we mark the places of the holes for the thread.
If you want, you can mess around by cutting a groove in the front of the sheath for the thread so that it is flush with the skin. In this case, it will then need to be polished with wax or cream in the same color as the scabbard.
We punch holes for the thread with an awl.
We sew the cover. You can sew with one thread, or with two threads, threading them into the holes one at a time.
Attach a button fastener.
Finally we grind and polish the scabbard with wax or cream.

The scabbard is ready.

Hunting knives are not just weapons for finishing off the beast. A good knife will easily butcher the prey, remove the skin, help with the arrangement of the camp, and at the same time it will “keep” the razor blade. There are special skinning, universal and carving knives. What qualities are inherent in the best hunting knives? To do this, you need to delve into the history of hunting knives.

First hunting knives

The first hunting knives appeared in the Stone Age. Unlike daggers, which were made of horns and were not suitable for cutting prey, the oldest hunting knives were made of flint and had a sharp cutting edge. Over the centuries, hunting tools have developed in parallel with military weapons, while their main difference has always been multifunctionality. Knives were used for cutting and skinning prey, for cooking. If necessary, the knife became a deadly weapon in skillful hands.

Over time, hunting knives began to differ from household ones. They began to decorate, exquisite hunting weapons were given to leaders and rulers as a sign of respect and reverence.

Fixed blade hunting knives

The best hunting knives are fixed blade knives. The choice of this design is not accidental, the hunter's knife must be ready to work in any circumstances. Folding knives lack this feature. In addition to the fact that the folding knife must be opened, on impact it can easily fold and injure your fingers. Due to the small size of the blade, folding knives are not suitable for protection from the beast. Nowadays, all-metal hunting knives with overlays on the handle have appeared. This design is very reliable, and it is almost impossible to break it. However, hunters prefer classic models with mounted or through mounting of the blade. A good hunter will choose a more secure through blade mount.

Folding hunting knife

Folding models of hunting knives were widespread in the USSR. Almost every hunter had a model equipped with a cartridge case extractor. Such a product was completely unsuitable for cutting, since the steel of the blade was of terrible quality. Gradually, these knives migrated to the sons of hunters, and the fathers returned to the use of traditional fixed knives.

There is an excellent Wenger folding hunting knife on the market, represented by the New Ranger Hunter model. This model is equipped with an opener, a corkscrew, a saw and an awl. The blade of the Wenger hunting knife is made of high quality stainless steel. Such a knife is useful for cooking and for small jobs in the camp.

Blade shapes of a hunting knife

Blades of hunting knives have different shape but the most common are:

Blades of the classical type. The most common blade type ever. For centuries, all knives, from north to east, had this shape (in the east, however, it was quickly supplanted by a curved shape);
Blades upswept point (raised blade). Such blades are found on skinning hunting knives, it cuts well, but is completely unsuitable for stabbing;
Spear point blades. They are great for stabbing, but they are inconvenient to cut.
Drop point blades. One of the most convenient and versatile blade shapes;
Clip point. This form occupies an intermediate position between the third and second options;
Favorite form of "Pike" by the majority of hunters. She is Bowie. Despite its formidable appearance, such a knife is only suitable for finishing off big game and for intimidating hooligans.

For hunting the best choice the knife will be a classic blade or drop point. They are capable of performing most hunting tasks.

National knives for hunting

Each nation had national hunting knives. Some models are still popular and are used by hunters all over the world:

Finnish puukko knives. This is a small knife suitable for cutting and chores. It is distinguished by the absence of a guard and a barrel-shaped handle made of birch. Not recommended for beginners due to the traumatic handle;
Large Finnish leuku knives. This knife is used as a cleaver. They can chop brushwood and poles for a hut. If necessary, it turns into a formidable weapon;
The Yakut knife is the most unusual knife, leading its lineage from the Stone Age. The shape is similar to a half of a large bone. Probably made from bone in the Stone Age;
Scandinavian knives. They differ from Finnish knives in the shape of the handle.

There are many more varieties of national knives, but they are not so common.

Metal for hunting knives

Steel for hunting knives is used differently. Starting from brand 45x13 to expensive powder and damask. There are two positions when choosing steel for a knife blade. It should keep sharpening and at the same time be easy to correct:

Steel 45x13 is not recommended for a hunting knife, it is too soft, although it does not rust;
65x13 is often used for inexpensive blades. Sharpness is usually enough for one hunting trip, after which it requires sharpening;
95x18 put on the blades of knives of the middle price category. With good heat treatment, such a blade will cut two or three exits without editing;
Tool steels provide excellent cutting properties. Unfortunately, they are susceptible to corrosion and require maintenance;
Hunting knives made of Damascus steel show excellent results;
Damascus knives cut even better than Damascus knives. Only in both options, the properties depend on the composition of the package of steels used in the cooking of damask steel and forging Damascus;
Powder steels (the modern equivalent of damask steel) have the best performance. Unfortunately, they are very expensive.

Hunting knife handles

Traditionally, natural materials are used for hunting knife handles. Wood, typesetting leather, horn, brass, copper. Handmade knives are made with handles made of exotic tree(zebrano, amaranth, padauk, etc.) using titanium plates. natural materials lie perfectly in the hand, and the leather type-setting handle does not freeze hands in winter.

Do-it-yourself hunting knife

If you are interested in how to make a hunting knife with your own hands, first you need to decide on its shape and download the knife drawing you like. The drawing must be carefully studied and the blade cut from the workpiece. You can try to forge it, but you are unlikely to like the first forging experience. Having cut the blade, you need to grind the descents. A drawing will help to make the desired geometry of the slopes.

You can buy a ready-made blade and just “dress” it. A hole is drilled in the handle where the blade shank is inserted. Don't forget the bolster. Without it, the blade will quickly loosen in the handle. The handle is given a shape that is comfortable for your hand, after which it must be impregnated with Danish Oil. After the oil has dried, the knife handle can be polished with carnauba or beeswax. Now you know how to make a hunting knife.

Sharpening hunting knives

Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to sharpen blades correctly. To sharpen a high-quality hunting knife steel, it may take about an hour and a set of water stones of different grain sizes. In order to sharpen a knife with high quality, it is necessary to strictly maintain the sharpening angle. Sharpening should start with coarse grindstones, gradually moving to a finer grain size.

If you want the blade to be razor sharp so that it shaves off the hair on your arm, you need to sand the edge. For this on wooden block a piece of skin is attached, with the flesh outward. You need to rub the skin with GOI paste and grind the blade on this device.

If such a sharpening process seems very difficult to you, you can purchase a knife sharpener. Just don't buy a cheap kitchen or electric sharpener. Only the Lansky or Apex Pro system can sharpen a knife to razor sharpness. If you feel sorry for the money, you can buy a Chinese clone several times cheaper. Using such a system is easy. The knife is clamped in special device, which maintains the desired angle of sharpening the blade, and a set of bars of different grain sizes will help to perfectly sharpen your hunting knife.

One of best models hunting knife - Roselli Hunting.

This is one of the most popular models of knives from a Finnish company founded by blacksmith Heimo Roselli in 1974. The model is positioned as a knife for harsh conditions. The knife costs about 7000 rubles and is perfect for hunting. It’s not worth going to a bear with him, but he is quite capable of solving other tasks.

If you want to buy an inexpensive Swedish classic knife, you won't find anything better than Mora's classic series. These knives cost from 900 to 2000 rubles. For such a modest amount, you get high-quality carbon steel and a birch handle. The quality of the cut is simply incredible for the money. Its only disadvantage is the risk of injury.

How to make a hunting knife?

If, after looking through the assortment of the store, the desired type and type of hunting blade was not found, then there is a way out! You can make a hunting knife at home with your own hands. To do this, you just need to allocate free time, be patient, read the instructions on how to make a hunting knife yourself and prepare necessary materials with instrumentation.

The first step on the way to a new do-it-yourself hunting knife will be to determine the required type of future blade. For example, on www.mens-tema.ru/ the main types of knives for hunting are blades for butchering, for skinning and for striking. The main features of a hunting knife, formed over the centuries, are as follows:

blade with straight butt or blade allowed curved shape;
the edge of a hunting knife can be both cutting and piercing;
blade length must be at least 10 cm;
the blade must be made of stainless steel, as with frequent contact with moisture on the blade, signs of corrosion may appear on its surface;
it makes sense to make the handle of wood or durable plastic with a rubber base so that your fingers do not slip when gripping the knife.

To make a neat hunting knife with an excellent balance with your own hands, you cannot do without specialized tools. For work you will need:

Drill and a set of drills of various diameters;
Emery machine;
File;
abrasive bars;
grinding wheel;
Soldering iron.

As materials that will be required to make a hunting knife with your own hands, you should prepare a steel sheet (65G, R6M5 and R3MZF2 grades are recommended) and wood or plastic for the handle. For homemade knife It is best, of course, to take wood, as it will be easier to work with it. Suitable walnut, maple, pear, mahogany, cherry or beech.

Next, it will be necessary to prepare a drawing of a hunting knife and cut out a stencil that will help create a blank using an emery machine. But a person who decides to make a hunting knife with his own hands should understand in advance that the procedure is long. It will be necessary to sharpen, grind irregularities, polish the blade, attach a sleeve and a handle to it, which will need to be machined, given a convenient shape for grasping and polished.

At the last stage, if the desire to craft still remains, you can make a simple sheath from leather so that the knife is kept clean and remains in perfect condition. But in the end, the hunter will have a very special blade, which he made for his own needs with his own hands!

Article: How to make a hunting knife yourself?

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Hello fishermen and hunters, I present to your attention a strong, beautiful, high-quality knife that you can make with your own hands. Such a knife will be your great friend during tourism, hunting, fishing and other similar activities. Despite the fact that the knife looks very high quality, it is not so difficult to make it yourself. You will need a minimum set of tools for this, the most difficult thing will be grinding and polishing if you do not have a grinder, grinder, and so on.

But in order for the knife to turn out to be strong and of high quality, you need to choose good steel for it. Unfortunately, the author did not indicate which grade of steel he used. But nowadays you can buy a blank for a knife of any grade of steel. The most important thing is that the steel has enough carbon in its composition for hardening. By the way, good steel is used in old Soviet files, various cutters and other tools. So, let's take a closer look at how to make such a wonderful knife!

Materials and tools used

List of materials:
- carbon steel for the blade;
- wood for overlays;
- sheet brass for the handle;
- brass or steel pins;
- epoxy adhesive.

List of tools:
- belt sander;
- orbital sander;
- grinder with cutting and grinding discs;
- grinder;
- drill or drilling machine;
- drill;
- hammer;
- sandpaper;
- Japanese water stone or other sharpening tool;
- blacksmith's furnace and oil for hardening.

Knife making process:

Step one. Cut out the main rough profile
To get started, prepare raw material and draw a pattern on it. A ready-made template can be found on the Internet, for example, there are quite a lot of them on the Pinterest resource. We scale the drawing properly and print it on the printer, then cut it out. You can cut out a template from cardboard, it will last for a long time, and you can also hold such a template in your hands and figure out what the future knife will look like.

Next, we transfer the template to the workpiece. For convenience, the author painted over the “body” of the knife in green. If the template is made of paper, it can simply be glued to the workpiece. Let's start cutting, for these purposes the author used an ordinary grinder. We securely fasten the workpiece with a clamp. Straight lines shouldn't be a problem, but curves will take some effort. To cut the bends, we make a series of transverse cuts. After that, you can cut pieces of metal in sectors. Of course, there will be a lot of uncut metal left, but now it can be easily removed.

Step two. Primary grinding
After cutting, we need to bring the outline of the blade to mind. For these purposes, we go with a knife to the grinder, remove all unnecessary. We also go through the contour on a belt grinder. Bends can be easily processed with a drill with the appropriate attachment. The best way to do this is with sandpaper.

Step three. We form bevels
This is a very crucial moment in the processing of the blade. We need to form bevels, that is, the angle of sharpening the blade. To begin with, we make markings, for this the author uses a caliper. You also need to be sure to divide the future blade into two halves, so it will be very convenient for you to grind off the metal on both sides of equal thickness. This line is usually drawn with a drill of the same diameter as the thickness of the blade.

To begin with, we take a file and apply the end of the bevel on the blade. Well, then we arm ourselves with a grinder with a grinding nozzle and remove excess metal. When everything is ready, we carry out finer processing on a belt grinder. At the end, we go through the bevel with files, grind with sandpaper and polish if desired.

Step four. Drilling holes
We drill holes for the pins in the handle of the blade. The wider the handle, the more pins you need to install. The author decided to install 5 pins. We mark the places and drill holes. If the hole diameter is large, use a small diameter drill first. If the steel is hardened, a carbide-tipped drill may be required to drill it. It is easier to drill steel if the drill is lubricated.

Step five. Tempering the blade
Now the blade can be hardened, for this you will need a forging furnace. In principle, you can simply inflate the coals with a household hair dryer, and the temperature can be obtained at the same time more than sufficient. Usually carbon steel glows yellowish, with this glow it can be cooled in oil. But all brands have become different, as well as hardening methods, this must be remembered.
When the blade is hardened, the metal should not be filed. After that, metal is usually tempered, otherwise it will be very brittle.

When the blade cools down, we clean it of oil, usually they are washed under running water using detergents. Next, the author polished the blade with fine sandpaper to a shine.

Step six. Let's move on to making a pen.
The author's handle is combined, it consists of brass and wooden slips. First, let's start with brass overlays, for this we need sheet brass, we cut out four parts from it for the front and back of the handle. Brass is cut perfectly with a grinder. Next, drill holes for the pins in the pads, and now you can install them on the handle. This will allow you to adjust the products to the shape of the handle. You will need brass pins, in the end they will become one with the overlays. The pins should be of such a diameter that they enter the material with little effort. After installing the pins, they need to be riveted.

Next, you can proceed to the wooden lining, for this, look for planks of suitable thickness. We cut the boards to the desired length and drill holes for the pins. We install the pads on epoxy glue, this is the key to their reliable fastening. As for the pins, for these purposes the author decided to use steel pins, ordinary nails are suitable for such purposes. It is not necessary to rivet these pins, since we have everything on glue. Pull the pads off with clamps and let the glue dry completely.

Step seven. Handle grinding
When the glue dries, the handle can be processed. To do this, first cut the pins, this can be done with a hacksaw or file. Next, we go to the grinder and grind the planes, everything should be on the same level. You can also sand the handle to some extent along the contour.

Now we will have those places where we could not crawl with a grinder. To process them, the author uses a drill. The sandpaper nozzle does an excellent job with this task.

Step eight. Finishing
At the end, we put a polishing nozzle on the drill and polish the brass to a golden sheen. Similarly, we pass this nozzle along the contour. If some places cannot be polished, they still need to be finished by hand with very fine sandpaper. Well, then polish the wooden part or the entire knife on a polishing machine if desired. When the pen is ready, apply oil to it. This will protect the wood from moisture, and the brass will not oxidize.

The final step will be sharpening the blade. The author does this using a Japanese water stone. You will need stones of different grain sizes, from coarse to fine. For these stones to work, they need to be poured with water, so they are cleaned of dirt. The knife can be sharpened to the state of the blade.
That's it, a masterpiece of art is ready! Our knife is strong, beautiful and very useful. I hope you liked the project. Good luck and creative inspiration!