I make things for a living. Once I had mastered the basics of my craft, I came to realize that that there was much to learn beyond just knowing how to make something. In order to gain a deeper appreciation for my craft, I realized how important it was to learn how to maintain and repair my tools. Later, I also learned how to modify them to fit my specific needs. All this gave me a sense of freedom and control over my craft, and a lot of satisfaction. Eventually, I also realized that I wanted to learn how to make tools, or, specifically, to design and make a tool which would help to solve a problem and which might make my job easier.
So, in my quest to learn more and more, I took a workshop last summer which turned out to be a most satisfying experience. I learned to make and sharpen my own knives from scratch.
Actually they were not knives as you imagine, but the kind of knives used in bookbinding to pare leather and do other tasks. And not only did I make the bookbinding knives, but I also designed and made a jewelry making tool, which I had been thinking about for years. I needed a tool to use to pull along a straight edge to incise a tiny ‘v’ shaped groove in the metal. This would make it much easier to bend the metal up into a right angle, say, for example, if you needed to make a box.
We started from scratch using hack saw blades, first removing all the paint and grinding off the teeth on a belt sander and or a grinding wheel. Then after roughing out the basic shape we wanted, we ground the bevel on the edge to a 22 degree angle. After that we took it down on varying grits of paper until it was shiny and sharp and you could shave the hair off your arm with the knife.
I made a small knife first, then I designed and made my long imagined tool. I also made a larger leather paring knife from an industrial hack saw blade.
After the knives were complete and sharpened we used horsebutt (a kind of leather) to make the handles and cases for our knives. And, because we were all 12, we said horsebutt every chance we got.
I loved learning this new skill, and I had an epiphany regarding knife sharpening. It’s all in the burr, go for the burr, and you will have the sharpest knife in the drawer!
And best of all all my knives worked great, including the one I designed and made. I learned that there is no satisfaction like making your own tools from scratch. And if I were younger and had my life to do over again, I’d go straight back to the beginning, the tool making. For the ultimate control of your environment, knowing how to make the tools is where the power lies.
So here are some pictures of the knives I made in my workshop, from the raw blades to the finished tools.
Some knife parts I’ve prepped to have on hand in case I want to make more. Also a hack saw blade prior to modification.
The little curved tool below is my fantasy tool. The others are the bookbinding knives.
Knives with cases closed.