Making a wooden knife

[Big Don]

I'd really like to make a wooden training knife or two. But, I have no idea where to begin. I assume a hardwood would be the way to go and there are some beauties to be had.
Anyone done this? Any tips, hints or web resources?
Thanks

 

[Carol]

Don't go with a heavy hardwood. These aren't going to be skull crushers. Knives are light. A training knife should also be light.

It should be balanced, and all of the edges are blunted and rounded, but with your woodworking skills, you probably know that already.

 

[KenpoTex]

I think something like Red Oak would be a good choice. I'd be looking for a piece of wood free from knots or other imperfetions/weaknesses. Use something about 3/4" thick so the handle ends up being the correct thickness.

Trace/draw and cut out your basic design using a scroll/band/jig-saw, shape and smooth using a belt-sander (if you have one). Finish sanding with some fine-grit. You want a "used bar of soap" feel--no rough edges or splinters.

You can use tool-dip or spray-on bed-liner if you want a better grip. Paint or stain if you choose...

 

[drwhitefield]

Here's a process I came across:

The wood should be a close\ grained hardwood, though any type will do. A thin 2-inch tree branch can be worked easily. If you use a processed wood plank or a thick tree limb, you must split the wood into smaller pieces using a hatchet or saw.

Remove the bark from the limb and test it in your hand. If your grip is comfortable around the branch, use the widest area as your knife handle. If it is too large, work it down to a comfortable size using wood rasps. If you have chosen to split a plank or large limb, take one of the pieces and round off the edges using a wood rasp or sand paper. Work the wood until it feels comfortable to grip in your hand.

Hold the knife blank in your so that 1/4 inch is visible below your fist. Make a mark 1/4 inch above your fist on the blank. This will mark the beginning of the blade.

Bevel the blade using wood rasps and sand paper. Sight down the length of the knife periodically to make sure the bevels come together evenly. Be sure to leave around 1/4 inch of wood at the thickest part of the blade for strength. After your blade is beveled, hold the knife over a charcoal fire for two minutes. Spread the coals thin so they will not burn the wood, and pull the knife away if you see any discoloration. The heat from the fire dries the wood and allows the grain to compress, making the wood harder. Once this is complete, sharpen the blade with wood files or on a rock.

 

[wushuguy]

purple heart is a good wood for a practice knife. otherwise ash, maple, or oak as suggested.

depending how beautiful you want it, perhaps you would use an exotic wood.

If it's a first knife, I'd just make a general shape of a knife with all rounded edges, just to get the feel for it. if getting better, perhaps strive for making a wood version of an existing knife. Since it is made from wood, some things to pay attention to are minimum thickness and structural integrity. I'd try to keep the blade thickness at 1/2 inch to prevent breakage during use.

Before I had also made a practice knife where the blade at the handle was about 3/4 thick and tapered to about 3/8 at the tip. In my opinion, this slight taper helps to make the weight of the training knife feel more comfortable.

 

[Big Don]

I was thinking of purple heart or cocobolo.

 

[Blindside]

I was thinking of purple heart or cocobolo.

Either would work fine, but watch out for the toxicity for many of the tropical (and no so tropical, like western red cedar) hardwoods, particularly during sanding. PPE like a dust mask is a must have.

 

[Big Don]

Either would work fine, but watch out for the toxicity for many of the tropical (and no so tropical, like western red cedar) hardwoods, particularly during sanding. PPE like a dust mask is a must have.

Thanks, that was something I hadn't considered

 

[Brian King]

+1 to what blindside stated above. It is very important to wear a mask with these types of woods and if you are using 'old style' glues and resins use gloves.

Regards
Brian King

 

[Blindside]

Thanks, that was something I hadn't considered

Toxicity Chart at:
http://www.mnwoodturners.com/New_Member_Docs/Toxic_Woods_Chart.html

Wow, I had no idea working with Yew could be that bad for you. Ouch.

 

[Yoshin9]

For a simple dagger type knife I use a wood foot scrubber, one piece of wood with a straight handle and slighty paddle shaped "blade". I glue a cord wrap to the handle and paint the handle in any colour I like.

These foot scrubbers come with sandpaper that just peels off and a bit of Goo Be Gone cleans the wood right up.

 

[Grenadier]

Any reasonably priced hardwood can do the job, depending on how you want to use it. For the most part, you're going to have a better choice when it comes to making a tanto, since warping isn't nearly as much of a factor as it would be with the longer weapons.

Bloodwood gives you a very nice, rich, red color, and is one of the hardest woods around.

On another note...

Good advice on being careful about the wood dust. Carpenter's cancer is nothing to sneeze at:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/0595_1.html

 

[David43515]

All great advice. The only thing I would add is stay away from Lingum vitae AKA Iron Wood. The grain is beautifl and it takes a great finish....but the dust stinks to high heaven. We used it for some handles on knives we made once, and they turned out beautifully, but we had a show to get to so we finished the knives , packed up, and left for the weekend w/o cleaning up the dust immediately. When we returned on Monday everyone thought a raccoon or something ahd gotten into the shop and died. It was awful.

 

[Eazy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmH1r73tjhY&feature=related Maybe a piece of cardboard is better at least the techneque can be more realistic then you may kill or seriously hurt someone with a wooden one.

 

[mook jong man]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmH1r73tjhY&feature=related Maybe a piece of cardboard is better at least the techneque can be more realistic then you may kill or seriously hurt someone with a wooden one.

A piece of cardboard is just not going to have the same weight or feel of a knife

A part of advancing in the martial arts is learning the art of control , that is to train as realistically as possible without hurting your partner.

I have trained with rubber , wooden , and aluminium training knives and of course they can be dangerous if a stray one goes into the eye , but so can a host of other things like elbows , fists , fingers , it all goes back to being mindful of your control and your range.

There are ways to train that will minimise the chance of injury such as only aiming for the body or a range of other practice methods that can be used.

If you want to go all out you need protective equipment , with the gentleman I trained under we used boffers , hockey gloves , and hockey helmet.


Hockey helmet with face cage protects face and throat.

Gloves protect hands , because hands are a target too.

Training boffer made from pool noodle wrapped in duct tape , with plastic composite pipe
Can give very hard impact with little risk of injury.