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Modern
Knife Technology
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The Modern Knifemaker |
| The modern knifemaker makes knives, of
course. When the term knifemaker is used, it usually refers to an
individual, working in a shop or studio, creating knives from raw
materials. There are many types of knifemaker (often referred to
casually as a maker), and the maker's level of involvement varies.
The first distinction is that level of involvement. |
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| Hobbyist: People often start out
making knives as a hobby. They may purchase kits to finish and
assemble, may be given old knives to repair or refurbish, or may
make knives from found materials like steel scrap or wood cutoffs.
They may work with a minimum amount of tools, sometimes in a small
shop or garage, and enjoy the interest of knife making. |
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| Part-time knifemaker: Part-time makers
are usually more serious than hobbyist makers, and are actively
selling what they make. Knife making is not their main vocation
though, and they derive income from another source, job, or
retirement, which often is essential to furthering their part-time
knife making. Incidentally, these are most of the knifemakers you may
encounter on the Internet, at shows and exhibitions, and in
publications. They may work in a small or large shop, and may spend
large amounts of time on knife making, up to as much time as a
full time job. They may spend only a moderate amount of time making
knives, or may be deeply involved investing huge amounts of time. |
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| Professional Knifemaker: Also called
"full time knifemakers," this refers to knifemakers that have chosen
the field of knife making as their job or vocation. Their level of
involvement is extremely high, as they derive their main income from
making and selling knives. They must have a well-equipped,
professional shop or studio, and actively participate in the
business of making and selling knives year after year. This is what I am.
I take my profession seriously, and it is how I derive all of my
income for my family and myself. This IS my regular job, and I love it! |
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Handmade, Custom, Bench made? Why the
distinctions in modern knives? |
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| A handmade knife is generally
described as a knife that is made offhand. What this means in detail
is that human hands must be in control of all the functions of knife
making, like holding the hammer that forges the knife, holding the
blade against the grinder, guiding the drilling, milling, and
shaping by direct control of the hand. What this term excludes is
any activity that is automated, where the blade or component is
clamped in a fixture and an automated machine, such as a computer
numerically controlled milling machine (CNC mill) automatically
cuts, shapes, and forms the component. The advantage to handmade
knives is that subtle nuances of control in the machining and
finishing can occur, leading to a much more desirable and often
better made product. There is a reason you don't see finely finished
knives coming out of a computer automated device. I go into that in
greater detail in my upcoming book. |
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| A custom knife by exact definition is
a knife made to a customer's order. These are knives that are
commissioned by clients, with specific features and details, that
are created by the knife maker for that client. While a knife may be
handmade and custom, a knife that is not specifically ordered for a
specific client may be handmade, but is not custom. There is a
lot of lax usage of the word "custom" on the Internet, in
discussions, and in publications. I believe this is because the word
"custom" denotes a higher level of participative quality. If a knife
maker makes custom knives, that means he is capable of a wide
variety of process and a high level of skill, in that clients seek
him out and offer direct commissions, whereas a non-custom maker
simply makes and sells knives made by his own design. Read more
about the custom knife description on my Business of
Knifemaking page
at this bookmark. |
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| Bench made is a term sometimes used to
denote a hand made knife. It is sometimes used to denote a knife
that is made on a tool bench, and not by automated process. One has
to wonder why then, a factory might use this term. Is it because they
want to appear to hand-craft every individual knife? Because the
term is associated with a large volume knife factory, the term has
fallen out of favor and has lost meaning in the modern knife world,
and is best avoided altogether. What do you call a knife made in a
small factory or by a group of people in a boutique shop, small
factory, or manufacturer? Why a factory knife or manufactured knife,
of course, because that is what it is. |
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Who buys modern
handmade or custom knives? |
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You might be surprised by who
purchases custom and handmade knives. Just like any other modern
interest, there are varying levels of involvement and interest.
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Knife enthusiasts are
simply people who are interested in knives. That includes a
tremendous cross section of humanity, as every human, sooner or
later will use a knife. Knives elicit a visceral response from
nearly every human; in every culture they are recognized for what
they are and what they can do. You could not say that about a cell
phone, a car key, a trivet, or an MP3 player. Knives are universally
accepted. This doesn't mean that they are accepted with positive
reactions, and I talk about those trends in my book. What it means
is that the level of interest in owning fine knives is widespread,
and spans cultures, time, and nations. People may become enthusiasts
if they simply own one fine knife, but most have more than one.
Anyone who is reading this with interest is probably a knife
enthusiast. |
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Professionals are people
who must use a knife professionally in their trade or occupation.
This could mean a packer on the line in a slaughtering plant, but
that type of knife is cheap and you won't find any fine custom
knives at a butcher shop (unless he's a very accomplished butcher).
You will, however, find fine and sometimes custom handmade knives in
the hands of a fine chef. You will see well-made knives in the hands
of professional hunting guides and outdoorsmen. You may find
professional knives in the hands of police, SWAT teams, Emergency
Response teams, firefighters, first responders, and Paramedics. Most
significantly for guys like me who make combat knives, you'll find
handmade and custom knives in the hands of military professionals,
infantrymen, federal officers, police, and combat soldiers.
Professionally made knives are used by combat search and rescue
(USAF Pararescue), survival specialists (SERE), Special Forces,
Special Operations, Marines, and Explosives Ordinance Disposal
technicians. Knives used in these fields must excel in performance,
construction, wear characteristics, and accessibility. |
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Collectors are a special
group of people who collect knives because of their interest, the
value, and long term investment potential of the knife. Well-made
knives by world class knife makers appreciate in value over time,
and most other knives do not. But it is not just the increase in
monetary value of the knives that make them suitable for collection.
Collectors collect knives because they love them. You can see why on
the many testimonials on this site. The type of knife, the style of a
particular maker, a personal interest, or an appreciation of fine knife
design and craftsmanship are all building blocks for a knife
collector's interest. His interest may be in only a single knife
from many different makers, or a particular style of knife, or a
long term association with an individual artist who makes the kind
of knife that he likes. As his interest grows and the maker
matures, quite a collection can be amassed, and the maker may
develop a substantial following among specific collectors.
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| Through the interest, support, and patronage
of knife enthusiasts, knife using professionals, and knife
collectors, a maker can continue to produce and grow over the years,
improving his knives, his skills, and his business. |
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What makes a handmade knife so much
more valuable than a factory or manufactured knife? |
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When I started making knives, you
could buy the best factory knife made for under $100.00. So most
knife makers started their work at $100 and the prices went up from
there. Now, there are a few factory knives that are price at several
times that. The reasons that custom and handmade knives are more
valuable than factory knives is usually clear when the knives are
put side by side and compared. |
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Materials: though you may
see many claims for the superiority of knife materials on the
Internet and in publications, the materials are not the foundation
of the cost and value of a fine handmade knife when compared to a
factory knife. The reasons companies and individuals tout their
product materials as superior to others is usually only an
advertising ploy. Though cheap foreign imported knives are often
made of inferior steels, other metals, and handle materials, many
factories and boutique shops use good steels in their blades, and
durable handle materials. Today, our civilization creates and has
access to the finest steels and materials that have ever existed,
and because of information technology, knowledge about the proper
application and use of these materials is easily obtainable. Though
some materials used may be rare and expensive, and may add to the
base price of a handmade knife, they, alone, are not the determinant
factor in value. Read more about knife blade evaluation on my Blades
page at
this bookmark. |
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Design: Countless designs
of knives, daggers, and swords have existed throughout mankind's
history. Any search of textbooks, historical sources, or on the
Internet will yield many thousands of designs. At first, a new
design may seem novel and unique, but this is rarely the case.
Designs are seldom copyrighted, so adaptation and use of any design
is seldom protected. Read more about designs and copyright issues on
my "Business of Knife making page
at this bookmark. |
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What is the difference between a blade smith and a stock removal
knife maker? |
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| These two names describe how the knife maker
makes the knife blade. Though I've hand-forged knife blades in the
past, I currently make by the stock removal method because it allows
me a greater range of high alloy tool steels. |
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| The blade smith (or bladesmith) uses
time honored techniques of hammer and anvil, and forges a blade
using heat. In this day, he may use power hammers, gas forges, and
modern methods and techniques, but his blades are hammered out of
stock, or heat-forged and welded from various steels. He is not
usually limited to size and shape of his blades, but is limited in
the types of steel he uses. Martensitic stainless steels, high alloy
steels, and steels that have high critical temperatures are not
hand-forged, because they should not be exposed to free oxygen
during temperatures at which they can be forged, or decarburization
will occur, drastically effecting the steel make-up, internal
stresses, and thus performance. Also, forging furnaces are not
capable of maintaining the extremely high temperatures at which
forging of these high alloy steels could occur. Most of the high
alloy tool steels can not be hand-forged, so you will not see them
offered by blade smiths. |
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| The stock removal knife maker makes
blades by cutting, shaping, grinding, drilling, milling stock
steels, followed by heat treating (hardening and tempering).
Generally he does not forge his blades, but some forging may occur.
The advantage of stock removal is that high alloy, exotic modern
tool steels can be used to make his blades, and these are some of
the finest alloys and metals available in the modern world. Heat
treating is done in an oxygen-free or oxygen reduced atmosphere in
the high temperature environment necessary to heat treat these
steels. The stock removal knife maker can be limited by the size and
shape of the stock he uses, but nowadays, this does not have to
hinder his creativity. For example, I use a high tech GTAW welder to
create the pieces I need out of very large or wide stock when
necessary, and the technology of the welder, the alloys, and the
heat treating process yields an isotropic, uniform blade of
monolithic high alloy tool steel. Most of my military, professional,
and collector clients request these fine steels. |
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Which is better? There is no "better" in
techniques; each knife maker must prove his qualifications and
ability with each individual knife. Each type of knife making has
its following, it's purists, and its enthusiasts and it's opponents.
I have good friends in both camps, each has a respect for each
other's abilities and skills. Often, each type of maker may cross
over in techniques of blade creation. No matter how the blade is
created, it's important that the knife maker make his own blades,
that they are not farmed out or bought from suppliers or as kits.
Otherwise, he is not a knife maker, but a knife assembler. |
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It's interesting to note that the
definition of forging is to form by heating and hammering. It also
is defined by shaping metal by mechanical or hydraulic press. So
when a factory claims that its blades are forged, it may simply mean
that they are stamped out on a die press. |
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No matter the method of the initial creation of
the blade, the blade must be ground, drilled, machined, and finished
in most high quality works. Also, bolsters, guards, handles and
sheaths must be constructed, and embellishment in finer pieces must
happen. Both the blade smith and the stock removal knife maker have
more in common than in difference. |
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...More coming, under construction, check back!... |
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