Making a Drop Point Hunting knife, without the use of a belt grinder
Custom Knife Making: The "No Belt Grinder" Drop Point Knife. Knife making with common tools.
Thank you for joining me on my channel. Today, we will be making a Drop Point Hunting knife, using only commonly available tools that you will find at any local hardware store. No belt grinder was used for this build. I made this knife using 3,2mm 1070 steel for the blade, 3,2mm steel pins, 6mm Carbon Fiber tube for the Lanyard hole and Rhodesian Teak for the scales. Feel free to use whatever you have available or prefer. Don’t forget to like and subscribe.
Download the template from below link:
drive.google.com/file/d/1MhA_...
01:00 Cutting the Profile
01:30 Hand filing the profile
02:30 Mark and drill the pinning holes
04:20 Mark the plunge lines and bevel areas
07:00 File the plunge lines and bevel areas
12:50 File the sharpening choil
13:40 Prepare the steel pins
16:13 Prepare the wood scales
18:23 Rough shape the scales
23:29 Heat treat the blade
26:30 Remove the warp from the blade
28:50 Hand sand the blade
33:12 Prep the scales for glue-up
34:49 Glue and assemble the knife
37:38 Clean up the pins
38:18 Peen the pins
39:00 Shape the scales
34:20 Sharpen the blade
DISCLAIMER:
The information provided on this channel is for entertainment purposes only. Any action you as the viewer takes upon the information on this channel is strictly at your own risk, and Zeeman Knives will not be liable for any losses, damages, or personal injuries in connection with the use of this content (including losses, damages, or injuries sustained while you were trying to emulate the actions and projects on this channel).
Always wear the appropriate safety clothing.
just goes to show how much a belt grinder speeds up the process of knife making, it took you 5 months to make a new video cause you went basic... Still, that was one of the most complete tutorials for new makers. welcome back! hope to see you more!
Thank you. Yes belt grinders make life alot easier...but not neccesary. Thats the point I was trying to prove here. Although, like you rightfully mentioned...time and patience is key to get it right.
And the process is as fulfilling as the destination, in this case. So no hurry.
Your videos are very informative and easy to follow. Keep up the good work and inspire everyone else just like you inspired me.
Glad to hear that! Happy knifemaking!
This was the best video on the subject of knife making I have ever watched. Thank you so much
Thank you, appreciate the comment!
Amazing episode, and perfectly easy to follow along. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.
My pleasure, thank you for watching!
Always a pleasure watching your videos! Please keep making more like this ! Very inspiring and very Informative! Thank you for the content
Thank you for taking the time to watch my content. I really appreciate that! Glad you find it useful! Keep well!
Fantastic vid .. thanks
Perfect!
Thank you!
Excellent mate thank you
Thank you!
very nice
Stunning results as usual
Thank you Mr. Harker
Great video Henk, thanks for the effort!!!
Thank you Ray, I appreciate the support!
Outstanding work. The knife looks cool.
Thank you for watching!
Great video I really learned alot from it, thank you.
Thank you for watching. Glad you could learn from it!
My favorite channel, I have learned a lot from it, and I look forward to more updates.
Thank you, I enjoy comments like these. Glad you like my content!
i have the cheap HF 1x30 belt grinder. I've modified it to be more suitable for my knives. I've learned how to freehand bevels with it. I can make a decent looking knife with the crappy belt grinder. HOWEVER, knife making is therapeutic for me. And there's nothing more therapeutic than putting on some tunes, zoning out the rest of the world, and hand filing bevels.
Yes that is true...hand filing, and hand sanding tends to leave you to your thoughts. And, you learn to use the tools you have at hand. I remember when I first got my 2x72 belt grinder, I thought to myself now I am going to produce knives at a lightning pace, only to very quickly realize that freehand grinding is a skill that needs to learned, and no machine regardless of quality will teach you how to do that...it's still something that I sometimes don't get right....hand files on the other hand...you cannot go wrong with it...:)
Awesome tutorial as always and your video transitions are top notch!
Thank you. Well, I try to make it as seamless as possible.
Great video. You make it look so easy, and the result is amazing. Very motivating. Thanks!
Thank you for watching. Glad you liked it!
Nice !😀👍
Thanks! 👍
Really Thank you for your video. It was spot on and well created, good explanation! :)
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for this. It was clear, concise, and exceptionally informative. Very well done!
Thank you! Glad you like it!
best explained vidio i have seen thank you
Glad you liked it
Thanks, very useful video. :)
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it
I bought a cheap belt grinder and I really struggle with grinding the blades..but I tried your file and eye-bolt method. Even though it takes FOREVER, it produces the BEST grinds ever! Thank you for the inspiration!
Try combining the two. Take off the bulk of the metal with the grinder, then finish on the filing jig. Free hand grinding takes alot of practice, and depending on the blade shape can be very frustrating to get right. I also dont always get it right...and I hate wasting material because of messed up grinds.
Great video! I really appreciate the simplicity of your process, jigs, and fixtures...thank you!
Thank you. Yes, that is the point I am trying to bring across. You need need expensive machines to make a knife.
Great Video. Very easy to follow. I'm slowly building up my confidence to give knife making a try. Thank you.
Thank you, appreciate the comment! Build one knife, no matter what the end result might be...you will learn alot from it. Then move to the second...
One of the most complete instructional videos I have ever seen and I have seen hundreds. At least you dont have that awful head banging music in the background. Excellent.
Thank you, appreciate the feedback! Glad you enjoyed it! Regards
You are very innovative.
Thank you!
You Very Good Engineer
Thank you!
Absolutely 1st class. 48k views and only 1,2k likes seems somewhat rude to me given the quality of this video
Thank you for the compliment. I try to produce decent quality...and am thankful for the views I get. Not sure how to bump it up though. Oh well, time will tell I suppose.
I really enjoyed watching this, you made it look so easy and the instructions are very easy to follow. thank you! 🙂
Thank you for watching, glad you like it. Its a practice thing...do it over and over again and it becomes easy.
This the best instruction video, I have seen, yet
Thank you, appreciate the comment!
Beautiful knife. Straight to the action for every step. Very inspiring for the average guy to try and do as well. Great job on the video and the knife. Thank you and congratulations..
Thank you! Happy you find it usefull!
Nice informative video. Thanks !! Love from India 👍
Glad you liked it!
Sometimes the simple processes are best. Excellent video and great looking knife. Well done, sir.
I agree...you cannot go wring with the basics. Thank you for watching!
Excellent video and excellent teaching. What a wonderful knife. God bless you. Thank you very much.
Thank you, appreciate the comment!
Show! Gostei desse novo modelo de vídeo narrado.
Thank you, appreciate the comment!
Fantastic craftsmanship. I really learned a lot from this. I've made about 5 knives now, but nothing as nice as this.
Thank you for watching. Keep on making knives...you see an improvement with everyone you make.
Great detailed content, highly appreciated. Would like a video about your background and how you got into the hobby. Also if you could share who you look up to or others in trade that currently inspire you.
Thank you for watching. I am a bit camera shy, but it is something worth looking into to. The audience can let me know what questions I need to answer for them.
Отлично 👍
Great Video ! I am also using 1084 and struggling with plunge lines. I agree that the 1084 is forgiving and easier to work with. Two thingsI found helpful from this video is using an oil while sanding the the use of the correct round file with a file guide. Henk has been so helpful in answering questions while I make my first knife. I need to hurry up and get one done, he has asked me twice to see a finished knife. Thanks for the inspiration and encouragement.
Its a practice thing. Take a piece of scrap steel and just file plunge lines. You will get it right.
Always something to learn, we often take for granted the technologies we have.... South Africa on the other hand, look our power away due to "Load shedding" we just have to adapt. Thanks for awesome content sir.
Yes, loadshedding its part of our reality. Gotta learn to use those hand tools!
Отличные видео. Без лишней информации и заумных слов. Все по делу. Первый свой нож делал подсматривая этапы создания ножа у вас.
Спасибо за добрые слова. Всегда приятно слышать, что мои видео помогают другим создать свой первый нож.
You can achieve the rounded transition in the bevel from the plunge by moving the belt slightly over the edge. However much over the edge the belt sits translates to how round of the plunge you get. Thats if your using a 2x72 that is
Thank you for the tip!
When hardening in carbon, I would use a steel section with a rectangular cross-section. Once warmed up, I would insert the blank. This is how I would create a hardening chamber. The color of the shape allows you to additionally assess the temperature. This also reduces the risk of steel burning. I wouldn't delay letting go either. During this time, the steel consolidates its crystalline structure. Immediately after hardening, just to be on the safe side, I would place the blank between 2 flat bars and squeeze it until it cools down. The blank is plastic for about 2 minutes after hardening. This would correct the curvature. Any stress before tempering causes the risk of the blank breaking
Thank you for the advice. Keep well!
Your videos are very good, I am making all my knives pretty much by hand, I first used large circular saw blades from sawmill but now I' trying 1084. I can't believe how much easier it is to work with! I have been trying to file my plunge lines with round file but they never seem to come out that great, I will keep trying though, I'm sure I will get it! eventually!
It is a practice thing...just keep trying, and you will get it. Do you use a file guide clamp? If not spend the time and make yourself one, or you get commercially available ones but it tends to be very expensive. That simplifies getting your plunge lines symmetrical on both sides. Grab a piece of mild steel flat bar and spend a day just filing in plunge lines to get a feel for it.
@zeemanknives That's very helpful, I have actually made a file guide clamp so will do do exactly as you say and practice on some scrap steel until I master it,cheers
Saw blades will have a heat treat, while 1084 or any steel stock for that matter is annealed. This makes it MUCH easier to work with. Annealed steal is like 5-20 hrc, while heat treated steel is usually 50-68 hrc.
@@thorwaldjohanson2526 That's great information, thanks, (I only just saw your message!)
@@mikenorris6769 you can also anneal hardened steel yourself, make the knife and then heat treat it again.
SUPER 👍👍👍 SUPER
Thank you for watching!
Nice knife, but laborious making process. Well make video.
It is time consuming, but I find it rewarding. Thank you for watching!
That is a great video, I value your tutorials and learn so much from them! Could you please tell me what thickness (in metric) you like to leave on knife edge when doing bevels? Also, should I start process with coarse file for quicker removal then switch to a second cut file to finish, or, do you use same file for whole process, Thanks
Thank you for the comment. I try to get the edge to about 1mm before I heat treat. I used to start with a coarse file but I found that the deep file marks are very hard to remove...so nowadays I do everything with a medium cut file. The time "saved" by using coarse file is not really worth the time hand sanding afterwards.
Use cutting oil for drilling and sawing.
Thank you, yes it saves the drill bits from wearing out too quickly.
Awesome simple design with nice crisp lines!! What is the sharpener that you used?
Thank you. That is a "Warthog Multi-edge" sharpener im using. Local product to South Africa.
It's not gonna look pretty? That knife looks gorgeous!
Thank you...well you know....its no showpiece, but very functional.
Hello my friend, i like your vids. Question at minute 22:42 you are rounding your handles. Do you you use a half-round file are a regular rectangle bastert!!
Hi, i use a flat file on the handle, and a half round file in the rounded sections like the the finger choil and inside of the handle. I prefer medium cut files as bastard file can be aggresive and cause nasty scratches.
Hi man nice video I don't know much about knife making but I liked the video For tempering, you want a orange hot, not white/yellow, not gray. The spine has to be dimmer than red because you want resistance not strength. Basically, do the opposite of 26:09. Anyways butterfly knife would be pre cool!!!!
I think you’re talking about hardening not tempering. If you heat the blade orange hot during tempering you will ruin the hardness of the blade.
I usually temper in a dark room to accurately judge the metal colours. It looks much different under a bright light. For the 10xx series and 5160 metals, critical temp is usually around a red colour. Still, always test with a magnet, and of course if you have a kiln with accurate temp sensors then you cannot go wrong.
Again I think you’re confusing tempering and heat treating.
@@nickthompson529 Yes you are right...wrong terminology from my side. I heat treat in a dark room to judge the colours of the steel, tempering happens in the kitchen oven.
Man this was awesome. What was that sharpener you used?
Thank you. That is a Warthog Multi-edge sharpener. Local product to South Africa.
👍👏👏👏
Thank you!
I have a question, can you gring already hardened steel with a file? I mean if ill buy blank of a knife, is it possible to remove big amount of material from hardened steel?
Not with a hand file I'm afraid. You will blunt the file very quickly without much progress if the steel is hardened already. A belt grinder will be a better option in that regards, or you can anneal the blank and re-harden after filing.
@@zeemanknives ok, thanks for reply 🙂
How do you make the line in the tip ?
Hi, sorry I am not sure which line you are referring to?
@@zeemanknivesthe line in 4:55
The flickering at the beginning hurts my eyes. Otherwise a most excellent video
Thank you for the feedback. I will tone it tone a bit in the future.
Are Jo in Bloemfontein
No, Im based in Johannesburg.
Ich arbeite mit Maschinen um mir die Arbeit zu erleichtern und um Geld zu verdienen.😊
Yes, that is the goal of every knifemaker I suppose...however not everybody has access to machines, and in South Africa, we have no electricity during parts of the day...so, we have to learn to work without power tools. Thanks for watching! Regards
The strobbing light show may be dangerous to epileptic folks.
Thank you for the feedback...Ill tone it down in the future.
Am I the first comment?
Yes you are the first to comment. Thank you for the kind words. Happy to hear that you find my content useful!
Why peen the pins only to sand them flush with the scales? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?
The metal pins expand slightly into the wood where you peen it, thats why you need to becareful not to peen it too much because you can crack the wood if the pins expand too much.