[Resolved] Pocket Knife Recommendations?

I have a small SOG Micron II that came in a two pack at Dicks for $20. Fits perfectly in the now defunct coin pocket.

Notice that I only have one. No idea where the other went :slight_smile:

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Awesome!

Thanks for all of the helpful tips. I went with a Kershaw I got on Amazon for right around $20. If this knife doesn’t last long, I’ll just start buying knives more in the range of what you’re talking about :slight_smile:

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It is probably best to start out with fixed blades. There is a lot that goes into knife making that needs to be learned before getting into the mechanics of a folder

I’d love to learn how to make some fixed blade knives! Would you be able to point me in the direction of someone who could teach me?

Rockler sells kits for adding your own scales to a premade folding knife. This is the easiest way to make a knife “yours,”

If you want to make a knife blade from scratch there are three main approaches: CNC, forged, and stock removal.

CNC would use machinery to make the basic knife shape. This could be 2D via water jet, plasma, or CNC mill (like the HAAS). A mill could also make 3D refinements.

The forged approach would be to use heat and hammers (and perhaps other Blacksmithing tools) to mold a billet of steel into the shape of a knife. This would typically be refined via sanding, grinding, and/or filing.

The stock removal approach would skip the forging step and use material removal to shape the knife.

Once the knife is shaped, you’d have to heat treat the steel to make it strong yet resilient. The specifics change based on the type of steel selected but typically means heating to a specific temperature then quenching (usually in oil) to lock in the strong crystalline structure.

This typically also makes the steel quite brittle, so tempering would then heat the steel somewhat to relax that structure and make the steel more resilient without losing strength.

There are literally entire books on these processes.

Here’s a good starting place: https://blademag.com/knifemaking/knifemaking-101-read-this-before-you-make-a-knife

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I bought this one back in January and am going to use it as a template to make a fixed blade out of a big old bastard mill file I softened up at DMS last year when learning the forge.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077CNYPW9/