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+-- Thread: How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? (/showthread.php?tid=7376210)
How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? - AlanS - 07-04-2024
I want to make a wooden knife for the wife. That means I have to figure out how to put a nice angle on the 'blade' section. How would I taper from 1/8" thick at the top edge to the final thin angle at the cutting edge? Not handle to tip, but the width of the blade. It needs to be consistent and same on both sides of the blade. AND...I have to leave enough without an angle for the layered handle. From the front it's a steep triangle....Anyone think of a jig I could make to assure that both sides of the blade are the same angle?
RE: How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? - MarkSingleton - 07-04-2024
How about using a tilted blade on the table saw? Run a few test cuts in some scrap
to be sure.
RE: How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? - Alan S - 07-04-2024
I would mark it out, and taper with a hand plane to the lines.
If you insist on power tools, attaching the workpiece to a larger board with strong double sided tape could help to control it. A table saw as suggested would work, or a planer if you tapered the carrier first.
RE: How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? - AHill - 07-05-2024
I would use a hand plane also. If you don't have one, consider using a wood file or sandpaper.
RE: How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? - Admiral - 07-05-2024
I bet prison inmates would have some pretty good ideas!
Sorry, couldn't help myself.
RE: How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? - Gary G™ - 07-05-2024
I made a very sharp letter opener from wood using hand planes, files and final touch up with minor sanding.
RE: How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? - Derek Cohen - 07-06-2024
Or spokeshave.
Regards from Perth
Derek
RE: How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? - dry heat - 07-07-2024
(07-04-2024, 10:00 AM)AlanS Wrote: Several years ago, I made some with 'my Great Grandson and we had best results by starting with a piece of suitable wood several inches longer than needed and using the excess for a handle or clamping area. Then we shaped it by using either a block plane clamped upside-down in a face vice or clamping the project in a vice and using a spoke shave. Also, we had some success by making a stop cut where the sharpen part of blade ends toward the handle and supporting the bottom of the blade and paring with a sharp chisel. I think using stop cuts to cut the bevel/shape for the blade got us the best results of all.
ES
RE: How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? - iclark - 07-07-2024
[attachment=51741]
For consistency from one side to the other, you could rig something like this with a card scraper or flat file.
As noted above, if you start with a wider blank, it will give you a place to clamp.
Others may have a better feel for this, but I would think that you want the wood near the edge to be absolutely flat-sawn wood.
RE: How do I make a wooden blade for a knife? - MKepke - 07-08-2024
Well, does the wooden blade actually need robot-like symmetry on both sides of the blade - or is 'it looks good to the eye' good enough?
Assuming the later, just mark out the centerline of the 'sharp' face of your stock and go to town with your favorite wood-removing hand tools like rasps, scrapers, block planes, spokeshaves.
Work both sides down alternating between the two sides until both sides come down to the centerline you marked previously.
I think you want an 'appleseed' profile for strength - and being concave, minor imperfections will be less noticeable than a full flat bevel.
https://www.spyderco.com/edge-u-cation/knife-anatomy/blade-grinds/
-Mark