My 1st knife

[jeremy360]

X100000 on JHUNTER77

[Dirtymike]

Good job. I like it. I have heard about folks using springleafs out of old junk cars to make some really good knifes. I have a butcher knife made out of one. It is the best knife I have for that type of work. Spliting chickens and meat work. Shape and thickness of blade makes it not to good for chopping veggies.

[Sparkles]

Nice especially for the first one. Have a uddy who has been making a few i think 4 now using files for blanks.

[lanceodom]

very nice. I am dying to try to make one..... how many hours, what were your steps etc??? there is a guy here in Houston area that will teach knifemaking. it is where you start with blank steel and blank scales and go from there. I plan on doing it in the off season.......

[TX_Kevin]

Hey Rick, that looks absolutely fantastic. Can I borrow it?

[deerslayer64d]

here is the radicle skinner I put together a few yrs back . I used elk antler and brass pins . you can get a sheath from the same place you got the blank and do your own tooling . again great job !!

[hawgman_1]

Cool Knife. I would like to try that myself some day.

[medic151]

I have on of the radical skinners as well. My dad had a friend make one for both me and my brother. I love the design. On mine the handle has an groove for the thumb to rest in. Nice work.

[trad"Doc"53]

Nice work!!!

[CDH]

I've been wanting to do this for some time also. Anybody know where you can get a premade blade that's made of good, high grade carbon steel blade material? I keep finding stainless blades, but they never really specify what SS it is. I'm looking for blade blanks in like AUS-8 or some other high grade knife steel. Stainless is fine also, but I want a high grade steel. I mean, you can buy knives made in china that are "stainless" and they aren't worth a flip, or you can buy American made knives, also made from "stainless" and they are great.

https://www.texasknife.com

https://www.jantzsupply.com

They sell decent knives for your first few. I still use them for fillet blanks when I get lazy. Look around and some will list the blade steel, though few are better than AUS8 or 440C steel. These are decent steels, but their heat treatment is typical mass production, so it is optimized for cost, not quality and can be improved upon. 98% of the knife using world won't notice the difference though...

For true custom quality blanks out of really top end steels, lots of custom makers will sell you a blank or two as a beginner. One guy I have dealt with and who is a really great guy to boot is:

https://www.customknife.com

Gene Martin. He heat treats some of my blades, and I use some of his blanks when I have more than I can grind out myself or a design he makes that I don't.

And don't be afraid to get a bar of steel and some files and go to town. It is a very rewarding hobby. Addicting too (says the addict).

[CDH]

Well, I've always wanted to build a knife so I gave it a try. I decided that for my first one, I'd buy a blade and just build it from there. So....many hours and a lot of trial and error later......I got-r-done. Now I need a sheath. Would any of my fellow TBH brothers be willing to make one for me ?.....I will gladly pay for a nice sheath. I would ship the knife to you to make the sheath. Thanks in advance..........Rick

Welcome to the addiction. What's next!?!?!?