If in Doubt Ask

After doing a show with my knife business, I took some time to ask knife makers for tips. These were all based on the fact that I can't run a big grinder in our apartment. Lynn Dawson told me to consider Maple in place of the Ironwood that I had started with. Johnny Z said that I should call Jantz supply to get a copy of their catalog. I am also looking into other woods that might be available through the wonderous Ebay.

Let's get started

A friend of mine that is a professional knife maker says that you should have a variable speed grinder that runs a two inch wide by seventy-two inch long belt. While this is nice, it really isn't necessary. I am starting my knife making (finally) using my old knife collection that had the misfortune of being in a house fire.

My first attempt is using an Al Mar knife that seems to be still in a good condition. Here is where I have made my first mistake. Over the last few months, I have been finding wood on Ebay. But, all of it is Ironwood! While it is pretty, this wood has gotten its name honestly. It is as hard as the metal that it is named after.

By the way, the picture is before I started to clean my blades up.