I was wondering what it takes to get started on the stock removal knife making method. I did a search but didn't find anything. is there a good book?

what does a guy need in his shop? I figure it this way, you have to cut the steel to shape, grind the bevel and sharpen. you have to heat treat at some point. handles have to be shaped and attached. How are the pins mozaic pins made?

I have a small shop here, some of the things i have that might help

-1" belt sander
-2"x72" belt grinder
-combo disc and belt sander (4" belt 6" disc?)

thanks guys. there is a local guy who's knives I really like, he is a barber. My uncle is going to have him cut his hair tomorrow and I am thinking about going with him to see if the guy would help line me out or show me some things.

Red

Try reading this:

DAGO RED
Good advise on the $50 workshop book,it will give you plenty of info to get started,with a few files and other tools you'll discover from the book it's a foot n the door.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Knives-Richard-Barney/dp/087341389X


There are also videos out that show how to flat grind a blade.

this site may be of interest to you...
http://hossom.com/tutorial/jonesy/

Buying a Square Wheel would be an excellent place to start.

Ditto on the Square Wheel Grinder.
I bought a Bader Grinder when I started making knives 27 years ago, and is still working.
You'll need a grinder set up to run 2"x72" belts.

Good advice on the $50 Knife Shop.

Additionally, Bob Engnath ground blades for others to finish. He made nearly 100,000 during his lifetime. His manual and his advice got a huge number of knifemakers started ... including me. Hellova Guy, that fella.

Engnath Site

You'll find lots of interesting things here.

Mike,

Right on about Bob Engnath. He was one of a kind.
Too bad he died so young..

I have some plans for a grinder I found on the net. There are many out there including mstarlings website. Stock removal with a file also works but there are 10000 things a grinder can be used for other than knives. I would build or buy a variable speed grinder.. email me if you would like a copy of the pdf file.

John

If you have a 1" belt grinder, a 2x72 belt grinder, and a disk sander already ... you have everything you need. Just add some material, some good 2x72" belts and make some knives.

Mosaic pins are made by fitting small pieces into a copper, brass, or stainless steel tube and forcing epoxy through the tube. Takes some playing around to find nice patterns with the internal pieces you can get and fit in. They can be purchased in 12" sections a number of places.

Heat treat is a problem. When we acquired real hardness testing equipment, we found our HT was not as good or consistent as we thought it was. It was not bad, but it was not the perfection we wanted. So we built computer controlled molten salt pots. They are the way to go if you're doing a bunch. The building of pots is detailed on the site.

HT can also be bought. Dee Holder does it for others, as does Texas Knifemaker's Supply if I remember correctly. Both use inert gas covered electric furnaces. Dee also does cryogenic treatment afterwards.

The most important thing is to simply do some grinding. Get some O1, 1084 or 1095 from someone like Admiral Steel and go to work. Those materials can be HT'd by classic heat and dunk methods for your first experiences. Grinding blades takes some skill and it comes with experience.

Eventually, hardness testing equipment is important if you do your own HT. You really cannot tell to a high degree of precision "by guess and by golly."

I have made some very nice knifes with a cheap 6 inch bench grinder and some old wood chipper blades from the local would plant.

The grinder and bucket of water to keep them cool. It can be done takes time to keep them from burning.

If I would going to do lots of them a better grinder would be nice.