knife making

For those of us who wish to talk about the many styles and facets of recreating Medieval armed combat.
Post Reply
captain_america
Archive Member
Posts: 236
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2002 1:01 am
Location: Kingston, NY, USA
Contact:

knife making

Post by captain_america »

I'm looking for a cheap and easy way to make throwing knives, as I cannot afford to buy good throwing knives. It also cannot require any sort of heating because my dad won't let me get a forge or welding torch(I am only 15 after all).
Thanks


------------------
Brian
-------
"by hammer and hand all arts do stand"

English: May the malevolent hedgehogs lick your cornflakes.
Irish: Go lí na gráinneoga cealgrúnacha do chuid calóga arbhair.
Rick1233
Archive Member
Posts: 79
Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2002 1:01 am
Location: plattsburgh/ny/usa

Post by Rick1233 »

well ive only made 2 swords and i used a grinder for both to put the shape and point ectera just take your time because u can easily screw up with the grinder and grind too much or to over heat the metal unless your tempering them and thats the part i like havin fun i just use my fire place and a good bed of coals from cedar logs probaly not the right way but it works
Konstantin the Red
Archive Member
Posts: 26713
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2001 1:01 am
Location: Port Hueneme CA USA

Post by Konstantin the Red »

Then just use mild steel and cut and grind your throwers. They have to be soft anyway: throwers have an edge that can only be called an edge by courtesy, and it's quite like the sort of thing you'd find on a power mower's blade; throwing knives test out at their hardest between 40 and 45 Rockwell C. A knife worth using to actually cut stuff reads more like 55 C. However, throwing such a knife is just about a guarantee that you will eventually break it, as it will be too brittle to take the shock. So, a soft, tough, even rather bendy blade is what's wanted for the specialist application of throwing. If your thrower gets bent, just pound it back. A good thrower is primarily determined by its balance, I'm told.

------------------
"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."
Airth
Archive Member
Posts: 176
Joined: Mon Aug 14, 2000 1:01 am
Location: Rapid City, SD

Post by Airth »

It's very worthwhile, satisfying, and rewarding to make your own knife, yet with a decent throwing knife the trick would be to get a good grade of steel and, most importantly, balance. Are you sure you can't afford anything? Check out this link...

http://www.budkww.com/deptpage.asp?title=Throwing+and+Ninja&subject=U9&catpos=6
Some of these knives start at $6.00.

These are mostly lower-end in quality, but purchasing a few of the "cheapies" could help you better determine how to grind out a blade and properly balance it. That way, once you do decide to make your own blade, you'll be much happier with whatever the end result would be.

------------------
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

--Mohandas "Mahatma" Ghandi
User avatar
Halberds
Archive Member
Posts: 20444
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2001 1:01 am
Location: Republic of Texas

Post by Halberds »

15 Hu? Throwing knoves is daingrous!
1-1/2" X 1/8" flat mild hardware store steel stock will do. Put it in a vice and hacksaw out the point. Grind or file it.
Wrap the handel with tape.

A 2" X 12" pine lumber will work for a target until you can get a slab of tree stump.

Be safe because the knife will bounce back!
Seek adult help!

Hal.

Ps: use a big drag along magnet to find your lost knives in the weeds.
User avatar
Patrick
Archive Member
Posts: 1040
Joined: Thu Aug 10, 2000 1:01 am
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

Post by Patrick »

For a cheap alternative to the knives, try this link for throwing spikes: http://www.sonic.net/~quine/spike.html

Also, there are some fun things you can do with fence staples. http://home.earthlink.net/~lenyr/staple.htm

In all, thrown weapons can be a lot of fun and don't have to be expensive. I used to paint my knives with flourescent paint so I could find them. I never was very good at hitting the targets. And I was throwing Cold Steel's parkerized throwing knives, which just blend in on the ground if you don't have them painted a blazing color.

One thing that might help folks here give good advice is if you tell us what tools and materials you have available. What do you already know how to use? I can understand your dad's point of view on not wanting you using a welding torch. But what else do you have that you can use? Grinders, files, saws, Dremel tool, etc.

-Patrick
Prince Of Darkmoor
Archive Member
Posts: 4793
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2000 1:01 am
Location: Salinas, CA

Post by Prince Of Darkmoor »

http://www.ragweedforge.com/ThrowingCatalog.html

I bought four of the light throwing knives for $20. These are good knives! I won our group's last two knife throwing competitions with these knives. They stick pretty nicely into whatever your're throwing and I've yet to put any dents or chips in the blades.
Post Reply