Make Your Own Skiving Knife(S)

[dirkba]

This project was inspired by the forum.

I decided to try my hand at making 2 tools I desperately needed.

At a second hand tool shop I bought an old worn down wood chisel and an arbor. (Spade drill bit)

These were to become a set of skiving knifes.

I hope the pictures tell the story, because I am now the proud owner of these self made durable work pieces.

Cheers

Dirk

Edited April 13, 2014 by northmount
Spade bit

[dirtclod]

Neat ideal and nice work. I'm going to try my hand at the spade bit skiver. I have been using a box plane blade to skive with and it works pretty good, but it's a little bit wide to hold and use very much.

[dirkba]

Hi Dirtclod,

Cut the tapered edge of the spade bit of or else the handle is too long.

Good luck

Dirk

[TomG]

What's the wooden block used for?

[WyomingSlick]

Applause for your can-do attitude. Your oupa would be proud of you.

[dirkba]

Hi Tomg,

The block was shaped on a belt sander to form the handle on the spade bit.

Cheers

Dirk

[silverwingit]

I've thought about doing this, but I have held off because I don't know how to grind the metal to a fine edge without negatively impacting the tool's temper. I wonder if you are at all concerned about ruining the temper on these blades by grinding them so heavily? Or perhaps you have a technique that avoids this problem. If so, would you mind sharing it?

Thanks,

Michelle

[Feraud]

Nice result. It is very creative and inspirational, not to mention cost effective! This is going on my mental "to do" list!

[dirkba]

Hi Michelle,

The tempering was not an real issue as these tools are doing "soft" work cutting into leather.

However I did cool the steel down, by dumping it in cold water, while grinding away. Remember that the steel is not really that thick to start of with. So it really cools down quickly by submersing it in cold water.

Give it a go!!

[silverwingit]

I was thinking more about holding the edge you've worked hard to achieve.

Yes, quenching in water is a good idea. I do believe I have a couple old chisels to have a go with. Nothing to lose, right?

Thanks for pointing the way, Dirk!

Michelle

Edited April 14, 2014 by silverwingit

[Trox]

Hi Dirk, nice job. Although I have enough skiving knifes, I am always on lookout for high speed steels that could be made in to good knifes. The wide wooden drill bit was a good idea. And it turned out looking good too. It also have a hole in the blade to hang it on the wall; very nice.

Hi Michelle, if you use high speed steel like used in drill bits and hacksaw/metal saw blades, U can heat them very much without ruin the tempering. (Bi metal is not usable, look for hs or hss markings) I use a cheap bench belt sander for the grinding/sharpening of my blades. It runs very cool all the time; I normally do not need to use any water to cool down the steel. I use normal wood belts (because that's the only I find for it) 80 and 180 grit. When the belt is almost worn out it gives an almost polishing effect. Then I use a buffing wheel (with buffing/grinding compound) for the polishing.

Thanks

Tor

[dirkba]

Hi Trox,

Thanks for the technical input.

I used a standard bench grinding wheel to do the rough grinding - hence the need for water.

The finer touches was done on a belt sander with 80 grit. I watched closely for any signs of discoloring that would indicate the steel is too hot.

These tools were never intended to be sold so I am not so much concerned with a spotless end result that is honed and polished to perfection. I need a cost effective working tool.

[StrigaMort]

Hold the work near where the grinding is taking place. When it gets too warm to hold comfortably, dip in water. If you see colors form, you've altered the temper.

Always use sharp (new) belts. Zirconia belts can usually be found easily. They are the blue ones. Much better for steel grinding than aluminum oxide (wood) belts.

If you need to remove a lot of hardened steel,use a low grit (36, 40 are good). Higher grits, and worn belts produce more heat. I'd do the final sharpening by hand, on stones or SiC paper.

If you really want to make a better blade, start with good annealed high carbon steel. A 4' stick of 1084 is very inexpensive from Aldo (newjerseysteelbaron.com) and is eutectoid steel. Heat with a torch just past non-magnetic and quench in canola oil. Throw it in the oven for two one hourtempering cycles at 400° and you'll have a world class blade. Sounds harder than it is. If you have a belt sander and the ability to craft leather, you can grind out a fantastic blade.

Let me know if I can help in any way.

Edited April 22, 2014 by StrigaMort

[Rito]

FHey man just read an old post of your  on selecting/treating steel for knife making. I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions. You mentioned 1084 steel does it hold an edge well? Easy to sharpen? Can it be sharpened on a water stone? I purchased a hss  hacksaw blade Amazon link and made 3 small skiving knives out of it .(pic file to big to send) I do not have access to a belt sander . So I just shaped/sharpened/polished on a bench grinder/grinder/sandpaper and block/Waterstones . They hold their edge fairly well I think although I have to strop often for best results.  If there is something better out there I'd like to give it a try. Is it safe to bake the steel in the oven without giving of noxious fumes? Is white steel the best choice for this application?

Edited March 4, 2017 by Rito

[MADMAX22]

A 4 ft bar of 1084 goes for $20 which is enough to make several knives and a few mess ups http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/shop/1084hc/

1084 I would guess is similar to some of the older round knife steels although its impossible to be for sure without analysis. Yes there are better steels for knife blades but 1084 is about as easy as it gets for backyard knife making.

I personally like W2 when I was forging because it was easy to forge, made a great hamon, and was honestly almost as easy to heat treat as 1084 although it did require sitting at 1800f give or take for a few minutes before quenching.

Others like D2 or CPM whatever but your getting into needing a good HT oven.  

Oh and just a reminder HSS unless it has a specification that goes with it which correlates to the various additives in the steel it can be just about anything, remember marketing can be a little missleading when dealing with large companies that want your money and dont care about much of anything else. 

Edited March 4, 2017 by MADMAX22

[poppaclutch]

On 4/14/2014 at 11:16 AM, silverwingit said:

I've thought about doing this, but I have held off because I don't know how to grind the metal to a fine edge without negatively impacting the tool's temper. I wonder if you are at all concerned about ruining the temper on these blades by grinding them so heavily? Or perhaps you have a technique that avoids this problem. If so, would you mind sharing it?

Thanks,

Michelle

Keep the metal cool while grinding by using a spray bottle or quenching in tank often.

[retiredff]

I search ebay for french edgers. I look for the widest I can find and they work great for skiving when sharp.

 

[retiredff]

On 4/22/2014 at 3:46 PM, StrigaMort said:

. Heat with a torch just past non-magnetic and quench in canola oil. Throw it in the oven for two one hourtempering cycles at 400° and you'll have a world class blade. Let me know if I can help in any way.

How hot is just past non-magnetic? Can I do this with bottle LP torch?

 

[paloma]

With an old alternative saw blade...( industrial one,)

https://tradisign.blogspot.com/2015/11/paring-knive.html

https://goopics.net/a/2McnvFkI

Edited May 13, 2019 by paloma

[Sanch]

On 3/4/2017 at 2:48 AM, MADMAX22 said:

A 4 ft bar of 1084 goes for $20 which is enough to make several knives and a few mess ups http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/shop/1084hc/

1084 I would guess is similar to some of the older round knife steels although its impossible to be for sure without analysis. Yes there are better steels for knife blades but 1084 is about as easy as it gets for backyard knife making.

I personally like W2 when I was forging because it was easy to forge, made a great hamon, and was honestly almost as easy to heat treat as 1084 although it did require sitting at 1800f give or take for a few minutes before quenching.

Others like D2 or CPM whatever but your getting into needing a good HT oven.  

Oh and just a reminder HSS unless it has a specification that goes with it which correlates to the various additives in the steel it can be just about anything, remember marketing can be a little missleading when dealing with large companies that want your money and dont care about much of anything else. 

1084 not that great.  There are much better steels out there.  I use L6 for most of my blades or 5160 spring steel. I prefer L6 though for my skiving, and head knives.