Knives have been used for thousands of years by people around the world. There are many forms that have had their place. Indians used sharp rocks before steel was introduced to them.
Once they realized that steel was a much better blade, they began mass producing them and some even made lots of money trading the product to white men. A traditional Indian knife would be made by first blacksmithing the blade and using an antler as the handle. I will explain this process using pictures to help you understand. Making knives can be a fun hobby… If you are careful.
Step one: Choose an antler that has a section with the diameter and grip that you like.
Step two: Take an old metal file and heat it with a torch until it is red hot. It must be this hot to work the steel into the desired shape. This is called blacksmithing. Have an idea of the shape you would like to make the blade and use a large hammer to beat the steel into the form producing a thinner edge on one side. This will late be filed to a razor edge.
Step three: Using a wood saw, cut a 1/8 inch groove through the center of the antler about 2 inches deep. This is the place where the blade will attach to the handle. Once you get the groove cut to the correct depth and width, Drill 2 3/16 holes in the handle for 2 brass pins to be pressed in to fix the blade securely. Transfer the locations of the holes onto the steel using a marker, and drill the metal as well.
Step four: Now that all of the holes are drilled, its time to secure the blade. Cut two 3/16 diameter brass pins to length. This length will be the thickness of your handle. File the burrs off of the cut ends and hammer them through the holes of the handle and the blade. Take a file and file the pins smooth to the handle.
Step five: This is the final step! Clamp your knife with the blade up into a vise. Use a file to sharpen the blade as desired. This is a dangerous step and you can get a nasty cut, so be careful. Once this step is complete, the knife is finished. One may do other things such as varnish the antler to customize the tool even further, but it is not necessary.
You will now have a high quality knife that you take pride in using and all of your friends will be jealous of you. When they ask you how you made it direct them to this blog post.
Dalton Newell
Ms. Harner's EN100 Blog 