Aspiring Bladesmith Questions: Bladesmithing, Woodcarving, Engraving, leathercrafting

T

therue

New Member
As a person who has never done much arts and crafts. The thought of making knives have never once crossed my mind in the past.
I was good at drawing when I was young, but never pursuit a career in Arts either.

Now thinking back- I've realized that the artisan part of me was always there; perhaps it exists in all of us. The idea of creating something tangible with your own two hands that can be appreciated by many and withstand the test of time.

Long story short, I'm absolutely mesmerized by some of the custom knives I've seen on the Internet. Unlike anything else, it encompasses many areas of studies. Bladesmithing itself aside, there's woodcarving, engraving, leather-crafting(am I missing anything else).

Do many Bladesmiths actually do everything by themselves? or do majority choose to hire others to create the leather sheath, the metal engraving/wood carving,etc?

Now, I know each discipline by itself requires a lifetime of mastery, but what I appreciate most is the fact that it exposes you to all these various aspects of arts that you perhaps wouldn't normally get exposed to in this day and age.

Are there anyone here who started out as a knife-maker and eventually focused more on woodcarving? on engraving?

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Currently, I live in an apartment so making knives is most likely out of the question. (having a forge to work with, steel dust indoor,etc)
I live on the 15th floor and do have a balcony, but having all the heavy equipment one would need cramped into a tiny balcony is probably quite difficult.

So with that in mind, I figured I wont let my current living situation stop me, but instead will try to use this time and focus on some of the other disciplines involved until I have a proper working space for knifemaking.

Does anyone know of any good resources on engraving? woodcarving? leathercrafting?

Are there anyone here with an extensive background and knowledge in Engraving or Woodcarving? especially when applied to knives.
 
In an upstairs apartment, it would seem engraving, scrimshaw (as DeMo said) and leather craft are a perfect fit. There is pounding involved with leather, but you can buffer that fairly easily with a solid work surface.


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For resources, the most obvious and accessible is YouTube.

Check out Tandy Leather on the web. They have great tutorials for beginners as well as all the supplies you need to get started.


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The part of your post that caught my attention was asking if folks do things themselves..... engraving, carving, leather, etc.

Personally I think whether or not individuals do that is based on where they are in the craft(s), and the level of "custom" each perceives that they want in their "work". I'm one of those really anal types when it comes to my knives. My perspecitive is that if I am putting my name on it, then its very important for me to do everything.

While leatherwork is one of my least favorite things, I do it simply because I have not found anyone out there who does it to my satisfaction.....many times its because those who offer sheath making use lighter grades of leather then I would, but moreso its because when I make a sheath, it "matches" the knife. Several times I've had others do "trial runs" at building sheaths for my knives, and in the end, the sheath simply does not look like it goes with the knife.

I do a lot of carving and texturing on the knives I make, and my own engraving. In general, I am first a Bladesmith/Knifemaker, and all the other crafts are directed towards the enhancment of my knives. Many of the additonal "crafts" I either picked up along my knifemaking journey, or chose them because I felt it would enhance what I do (see, out comes that anal part of me about doing it all myself) :) More directly to answer your question.... I know of a number of folks who started out as knifemakers, then got into engraving, or carving, and some gradually find themselves more "engravers" or "carvers" then knifemakers.

The great thing about all of the crafts involved is that the individual makes his/her own decisions on which direction they go, and which crafts they choose to pursue.

I've learned the carving aspect pretty much on my own, but when it comes to engraving, theres no better place then GRS http://www.grstools.com/
 
Don't let the apartment thing slow you down. There are many routes you can still take. If you wanted to try your hand at knife making you could buy a pre made blank and get some material and attach and shape the handle on it. Then you can make a leather sheath for it.
My first 3 knives I ever made I used nothing buy hand tools, files, sand paper....OK ALOT of sand paper and a drill press to drill my handle pins but you could use a cordless drill too. Then I sent it out for another Knifemaker to heat treat for me which is about $10 per blade.
Don't think you have to have all the big tools, grinders and equipment to make a nice knife it just helps you make them faster....or screw them up faster :)
 
I have four bars of 80crv2 and a bar of 0-1 if you like you could email me a drawing of the blank you would like and i could cut it out in whichever steel you like and mail you the blank. Try to keep the design under a foot. I also have some .60 kydex that I could send so you could make your own sheath. If you are unsure aboul the design let me know and I can post some of my own designs you can choose from.
 
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I had worked leather for years off/on. Next I put handles on blanks. For about 8-10 years I was basically a cutler (handle maker.) Then the bug bit me. I took an American Bladesmith's Society class and started working outdoors on my back porch. Within 6 months this was the place I worked in within a city of 19.6 square miles of residential homes and a population of about 250,000 people.

https://youtu.be/Sg6kK3m9imc
6 months later on the back porch. I now have a enclosed forge/studio.

I have taken a basic engraving class but, still need a lot more practice before using it on my knives. I'm a wood turner, and box maker. I believe you should try to do as much as you can when making a knife. I have when I need 6 or more sheaths given the sewing to a person with a machine to do as it saves time.

As Ed referenced I'm planning on taking the GRS class and getting some of their equipment before engraving my own knives. I've sat through their demo at Blade. Their method is impressive and way better than my manual hammer and cutter process.

I wish you luck on the journey! It way more fun than just doing one craft.
 
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