Handtools
When it comes to buying tools its important not to buy the tool until you need it for a job, that way you will always base your choice on suitability.
Knifemakers are tool makers first and foremost because the knife is our primary tool. It is not surprising therefore to find a wide variety of tools on the cutler's bench many of which have been made by the cutler himself. With determination and ingenuity quality cutlery can be made with a few simple tools.
Here are the essentials. You almost can't do without them.
This one is obvious. The knife is our most usefull tool. The point can be used as a scribe. The edge can cut and shape most anything.
Just because its called a hacksaw don't get carried away. Hold the saw by the dominant hand and steady the front
end with the other hand. Make sure the teeth run forward when you install the blade and
cut in that direction only. Cut to a scribed line. Take it slow and deliberate.
Stand with the dominant foot behind the other.. Use the entire length of the blade and
apply preasure only on the forward stroke. Make sure the blade and forearm are horizontal
along with the workpiece.
Files
Hold the file handle in the dominant hand with the thumb on top and
the forefinger extended for guidance. The tip of the file is held in the other hand
between the first two fingers and the thumb with the thumb on top. Bench height
should be set so that the file and forearm are horizontal when is use. Work is secured so
that the surface to be filed is also horizontal.
Files only cut one way, like the hacksaw. Lift the file on the back stroke, cut on the
push. Stand with the dominant foot behind the other, keep your elbows in tight and file by
moving your body. You will achieve optimum cutting by moving the file sideways and forward
simultaneously.
Save your old files. They can be sharpened by etching in acid. They also can be forged
into good blades.
Hammer
After your hammer faces have been work hardened a bit, polish them
up. Make sure they are slighly domed so they won't mark the work. The old saying
"don't force it use a bigger hammer" is still very true, so it is important to
use a hammer that is suitably weighted to the task and the hand.
Drill
A means of making holes is a usefull addition to any tool kit and
will save the point of your knife for other things. Eggbeater type drills do good work as
do breast drills, but the settled knifemaker will secure a drill press as soon as
possible. Always centerpunch before you drill.
You can mount an eggbeater type drill in a vise and use it to shape small cylindrical
parts.
Scribe a crosshair at the exact center of the proposed hole Center the punch on the crosshair and hit it once with the hammer.
A lot of makers use various grades of wet or dry emery to polish blades but a selection of stones will flatten better with practice. Synthetic Japanese waterstones are available in very fine grits. Natural stones should be saved exclusivly for togi.
These cut on the pull stroke. Very handy for cutting out handle
slabs
Japanese handsaw
Cuts faster than a western saw and leaves a very narrow kerf. Cuts
on the pull stroke. Used properly its the best
Jewelers saw
Like a coping saw but much smaller with very fine blades capable of
cutting fine detail in pierced work.
Chisels
A selection of wood, steel and stone chisels will not go amiss in
any workshop. Use a cutting angle of 70 degrees for cutting steel.
Scrapers
Overlooked these days the scraper was once the main tool for
precision shaping of metal. There was a time when even lathe beds were trued to within
tolerance using nothing but the humble scraper and some lamp black mixed in to a thin
paste with oil. The paste is thinly smeared onto a surface plate and the work is rubbed on
it lightly to transfer some of the lamp black to the work. The transfer points are
high spots which are scraped away until an even coverage is achieved. By holding the scraper at a suitable angle and pushing across the surface a thin shaving will be removed.
You can make your own scraper by grinding the teeth off an old file and annealing it. Then forge the tip flat until it has a slight splay to it like an
axehead. Then grind a 90 degree face on the leading edge.
Bench Vise
Get one. Generally the
bigger the better. One that swivels on its
base is handy. Protect the jaws and don't use
it as an anvil.
Bench
Just the job for mounting your vise on.
Small anvil
Even if you have a big anvil its often handy to have a small one
right on your work bench.
Surform
The bladed variety are very handy for rough shaping materials like
wood. Some can be fitted with abrasives and work rather like a huge diamond file. The
abrasive variety will cut very hard materials.
C-clamps
Some guys use these for glueing up handle slabs but I use them for
holding sheet metal parts together for tig welding.
Taps & Dies
You may find yourself using these if you plan to make folders. They
are very hard and should be used carefully lest they break. The tap is rotated clockwise
into the hole(righthand thread) then backed off to break the chip created by the cutting
action. Care is taken to ensure that everything is square.
If the thread size is large it can set up between centers on the drill stand to aid with
accuracy. Turn by hand and a light feed from the stand helps apply preasure to the tap.
Make sure the drill is disconnected from its power supply. Taps come in three cuts, dies
are adjustable. Both require holders in order to function correctly.
Layout and measuring tools enhance accuracy and take a lot of the guess work out of toolmaking. They are almost essential for making folders but simply usefull otherwise.
Scribe
Carefull marking out before you cut anything is a big help.
Butt gauge
Engineers square
Use for marking out and checking rightangles and flats during
filing.
Calipers
The poor mans micrometre. Available in inside and outside models.
Vernier calipers
The working man's micrometre. Inside, outside and depth measurments
in one instrument and a vernier scale for accuracy.
Micrometer
Available in inside, outside and depth guage types. An outside mic
can be used in conjunction with an inside calipers to measure bores accurately.
Loupe
Look at your work up close and get a shock.
Go for a slow cure epoxy.
Cyanoacrylate
Good for sealing porous woods. The thin stuff is best. Take a look at what Scott Slobodian does with this next
time you get the chance.
String
Much better than clamps for glueing up handle scales.
Waxed thread
How else you gonna sew up the sheath.?
Emery paper in a variety of grits
Polish almost anything with it.
These are task specific tools, made by the cutler. All are non essential and all are usefull.
Used for filing the shoulders on blades, this is basically two flat
pieces of tool steel bolted together.
Blade clamp
Flat blade rotated by a bow drill and steadied by a breastplate.
Used for drilling small holes.
Double Parsa
This is designed for inlaying the shield in a pocket knife using a
template. Its flat blade is bifurcated and has a degree of spring to it which allows it to
follow the outline of the template. The tips are shaped like scrapers. It is rotated using
a bowdrill and breastplate.
Slackener
This is like a very thin bladed screwdriver with a notch in the
middle of the blade. It is inserted between the liner and the blade when the pin is being
peened and provides clearance for the blade.
Blade holders
These are handy when grinding or polishing folder blades with short
tangs.
Pin head spinner
Picture a shank of steel the dame diameter as the pin with a saddle
shape ground into the tip. Spun in a drill press this will make a good job of doming pin
heads.
Steady rest
This is a small anvil designed for folders. Its has a slot cut into it where the hardie hole should be and the horn is flattened like an extended table and slotted also. You can make one of these from a piece of railroad track.
These are leather working tools. Only the first three are essential.
Leather knives have their own unique pattern..
Awl
Don't use the needle to make the hole. Pierce leather so that
diamond shape crossection of awl is offset 30 degrees. Thread will lay better that way.
Needles & thread
Use the best needles you can find together with flax, synthetic or
sinew.
Star wheel, 6 stitches per inch.
Big help in keeping stitches equidistant.
Forging tools. All are essential unless you like grinding.
Get the biggest anvil you can and take good care of it because it
might just get to be a friend of yours.
Fire
Despite the recent interest in cold forging, it helps if the metal
is hot when you hit it. Propane is clean and does not attract as much attention as coal.
Hammer
Hit it hard and hit it often. Make sure its the right weight for you and the task.
Tongs
Hold it with tongs when its hot. Vise grips are a poor substitute.
