Custom Knifemaking

Ten projects will teach beginners how to cut, shape, heat, treat, and finish a knife.

This book provides everything you need to know to get a head start on becoming a blade smith. This book is heavily illustrated with over 250 full-color photographs. The text details every aspect of the craft and provides step-by-step instructions as well as teaches tricks of the trade that will make each build a little easier. The book is designed to not only explain each step but also visually depict the process. The book is written for the layman and details making a full tang fixed blade knife by using the stock removal method, hand forging a hidden tang blade, and crafting a knife from a pre-cut commercially available knife blank. Learn what tools you will need, what steel is the best choice, how to profile the knifes shape, how to grind flat bevels, hollow grinds and full flat bevels, how to harden the steel blade so it will be hard enough to hold and edge and strong enough not to break. The book also covers creative aspects of the craft like decorative blade etching and blade textures which allow the maker to transform a standard knife into a one of a kind piece of metal art. Whether it's for hunting or kitchen use, anyone interested in learning how to make a knife will surely find this book informative and indispensable.

BLADE enters the home stretch in observance of its 40th anniversary by doing a three-part series recognizing the top 40 custom knifemakers over those first 40 years (1973-2013). We compiled a list of some of the top makers and submitted it to a panel of seasoned knife observers and asked them to select their top five to 10 and rank them. Though "top custom knifemakers" can be subjective, we would like to think a top maker is one who excelled in terms of setting a standard that other makers attempted to emulate, and/or excelled in quality of craftmanship, originality, and creativity - or both.

Alive and kicking - the artistry of knives! In its 33rd edition, the Knives annual book is more relevant than ever. Like the custom knives it showcases, the book ahs taken on a life of its own, becoming a must-have reference for knifemakers, enthusiasts, collectors, daily users and purveyors. The world’s finest knives - whether everyday carry pieces, hunters’, bushcraft and camp blades, or highly embellished works of art - find a home in Knives 2013. And each is complemented by well-researched information and specifications of every model. Add in a comprehensive Custom Knifemaker Directory, including email addresses, websites, phone numbers, specialties and technical information, and it becomes apparent why those in the industry own every volume of this coveted book.

Next Level Knifemaking is a collection of essays written by 17 industry experts that cover a range of topics that both novice and expert alike will benefit from when asking the question, "What can I do to take myself to the next level?" With chapters on art, heat treating, selecting machinery, marketing your knives, photography, business development, knifemaking tools, and much more. Next Level Knifemaking provides you with expert guidance that will to help you reach the next level in your pursuit of the knifemaking craft. Essay Contributing authors include: Salem Straub, Tracy Mickley, Geoff Keyes, Larrin Thomas, Brad Stallsmith, Dave Ferry, Tom Lewis, Bob Ohlemann, Mark Bartlett, Ed Braun, Lin Rhea, Erin Healy, Dustin Rhodes, Joshua Swanagon, Jim Cooper, Ed Caffrey, John Gulso, Shanna Jantz-Kemp, and Nathan Carothers.

An illustrated study of the makers and their working techniques, this book takes the reader through every stage of the knife-making process.