No worries, you've already got your work cut out for you. We've got this.

:)

Here is another thread on toolmaking.

A Woodworkers Guide to Tool Steel and Heat Treating.

Both of these were probably listed in the Marking Gauge Swap thread, but here they are for easier access.

Well, its been decided, we will be building and swapping a marking knife!
In the spirit of the marking gauge swap lets keep it a surprise as far as design and who gives to who!

The rules for this will be pretty simple.

1. build / carve / turn / whittle your knife body / handle from a sturdy stock.

2. blade : must be made of metal, it can either be home forged or store bought, but it must be of suitable strength. it should not have any flex from the tip to the hilt. It can not be an Exacto blade or other hobby knife blade that is micro thin.

3. the handle and blade must be secured to each other, blade can be made to be replaced or exchanged with other blade(s).

4. Time line, I think 3 weeks should be plenty of time for this build. so lets say the deadline is August 24th at noon. CST.

5. Once you build your knife. take a couple pictures of it. and email it to me at [email protected] please include your online name as well as your real name, and your address that you would like your knife shipped to.

5a. this is an optional rule. If you are willing to. send me your date of birth, social security number, bank account information, list of all known passwords etc etc. send this information to [email protected]

6. To be officially entered into this swap. i must receive an email from you including a completed marking knife. I will edit the first post in this thread to update and keep track of who is entered.

now get out there and get to building!!

The email keeps bouncing back.

It says that's not a valid address

Oh sure spoil it for everyone! Lol

I am excited about joining this swap. Thanks for the links on what metal to use and how to treat it. Now to get started, 3 weeks will run faster than you think.

Well, I'm ready to get started with it! I just have to decide what style it will be!

I made good progress today.

The blade has been cut from a plane iron, shaped and semi polished to 220 grit.

Sharpening will be done professionally as I have no experience or confidence whatsoever with this aspect of the project.

I researched methods of metal patination and have experiments cooking.

Materials on hand for the handle are oak, cherry, teak and maple. I haven't decided what wood or combination of woods to use yet.

Very pleased with the results so far.

Jean, I did use the side of my grinding wheel as you suggested and with pleasing results.

I took my time and cooled my blade blank in water frequently.

Thanks for your advice and encouragement.

Polishing of the blade blank was done using varying grits of sandpaper adhered to a granite tile with 3M spray adhesive.

I'm learning alot, gaining experience/confidence and having a blast.

IMO it doesn't get a much better than that.

see how I go, might have a go if I get the time I need

Dave,

I hope you'll participate.

We've got three weeks.

Just get started, take it a step at a time and enjoy the process.

Good deal, glad that worked out.

I'm doing a lil thinking about what I want to build - got to be different somehow!

Hey, that was my idea! I was pleasantly surprised when a hacksaw cut right through the iron to give me a rough blank. Have not shaped/ contoured it yet.

If y'all use an older folded plane iron be sure that the edge of the knife is going to have hardened steel. The mild steel back is not going to hold an edge.

I did a little polishing today and discovered a faint line that appears to be the demarcation between the hardened steel and the soft.

The business end of my blade blank is the portion of the plane iron that was sharpened.

Whew! One do-over avoided!

good deal

I made some progress today as well with a blade. Got it shaped and now just needs some polishing and honing - easier than I thought it was going to be.

Next big step is to figure out what to do for a handle - short of buying a lathe - which I would love to have but can't afford. I'll probably be spending some time with my files/rasps for shaping once I decide on wood species to use.

was there a link of to samples of the kind of thing we might be making here?

router table might be another option, and a disc sander and belt sander

jharris2 posted some links in post #23. The third link down is a tutorial on making one type of knife.

I don't think anyone ever really asked about single bevel (right or left use) or double bevel (both right/left) knives. I'm making a double bevel knife (I've seen some call them striking knives). I assume that most would make a double bevel knife, but then again, you know what they say about making assumptions!!

thx, I'll go back and have look, im on mobile network, so slow scrolling thru pages

Although I'm not certain what style of knife I will be making yet it will be O1 tool steel - because I have plenty on hand. It will be hardened and tempered with a propane torch. It will likely have a shop made brass rivet or two as well.

The handle will almost certainly NOT be turned.

It will be a general purpose marking knife but I'm keeping dovetail marking as my focus.

...just what I'm doing.