Knife making is the process of manufacturing a knife by any one or a combination of processes: stock removal , forging to shape , welded lamination or investment cast . Typical metals used come from the carbon steel , tool , or stainless steel families. Primitive knives have been made from bronze, copper, brass, iron, obsidian, and flint.
17-593: Pooley Sword is a traditional cutler and provider of swords , dirks and lances to the British armed forces and also to many Commonwealth and other overseas defence forces. Following the August 2005 closure of Wilkinson Sword 's Acton works, Robert Pooley , who had been commissioning swords from Wilkinson’s since 1964, purchased many of the company's drawings, product records, spares, and much of their tooling, including both heavy and light machinery, some dating back to
34-425: A Japanese water-stone, which has an approximate grit of 10,000-12,000. The knife might also have a different direction in scratch pattern, depending on the method of finishing. Handle making can be done in several different ways depending on the tang of the knife. Full tang knives usually have handle scales either pinned, riveted, or screwed on to the tang itself while knives without a full tang may be inserted into
51-430: A fixture to guide and hold the workpiece and a power-driven grinding wheel spinning at the required speed. The wheel’s diameter and the manufacturer’s rating determine the speed. The grinding head can travel across a fixed workpiece, or the workpiece can be moved while the grinding head stays in a fixed position. Fine control of the grinding head or table position is possible using a vernier calibrated hand wheel or using
68-468: A knife is traditionally done through forging though stock removal or blanking can be used. Steel can be folded either to form decorative pattern welded steel or to refine raw steel, or as the Japanese call it, tamahagane . Grain size is kept at a minimum as grain growth can happen quite easily if the blade material is overheated. In a mass production environment, or in a well equipped private shop,
85-426: A shop with the above capabilities to do blanking. For lower production makers, or lower budgets, other methods must suffice. Knife makers may use many different methods to profile a blank. These can include hacksaws , files , belt grinders , wheel grinders, oxy-acetylene torches, CNC mills, bandsaws, or any number of other methods depending on budget. If no power equipment is available, this can be done with files if
102-428: A solid handle and then attached in one of the previously stated methods. Handle materials can range from natural materials including wood or elk horn to man-made materials like brass, plastic, carbon fiber, polymer or micarta . A knife makers grinder may have additional attachments for making knife handles, such as small diameter contact wheels. Grinding machine A grinding machine, often shortened to grinder,
119-460: A specific temperature, soak time, and tempering heat for the different grades. The finish quality of the blade is determined by the Grit of the finishing grind. These can range from a low-shine 280-320 grit finish to a mirror-shine. The high polish shine can be accomplished by buffing with chrome oxide (ex. white chrome, green chrome), hand rubbing with extremely fine wet-or-dry abrasive paper, or with
136-442: Is any of various power tools or machine tools used for grinding . It is a type of material removal using an abrasive wheel as the cutting tool . Each grain of abrasive on the wheel's surface cuts a small chip from the workpiece via shear deformation. Grinding as a type of machining is used to finish workpieces that must show high surface quality (e.g., low surface roughness ) and high accuracy of shape and dimension. As
153-505: Is kept cool, to preserve the temper of the steel. Overheating can be observed in the knife by watching for heat discoloration. Some knife makers will use a coolant mist on the grinder to achieve this. Methods of heat treatment: atmosphere furnace, molten salt, vacuum furnace, coal (coke) forge, oxy/acetylene torch. Quenching after heat treatment differs according to type of metal and personal preferences. Quenching can be done with oil, animal tallow, water, air, or brine. Most steels will require
170-516: The RAF and Royal Navy Swords are cast in brass, chased and then gold-plated. Grips historically made of shark skin are now made with that of rays, related fish species under less threat. The Brown Leather Service Scabbards are hand stitched pigskin. While ceremonial swords are typically crafted to long-standing MOD or regimental specification, a library of historic design elements, including military drawings, patterns and badges of regiments throughout
187-717: The Commonwealth is also held. The company services private customers, incorporating family crests, mottos or novel blade designs such as Arabic swords and English Mamelukes . It creates bespoke presentation swords for overseas national and military commemorations. Knife making Different steels are suited to different applications. There is a trade off between hardness, toughness, edge retention, corrosion resistance, and achievable sharpness. Some examples of blade material and their relative trade offs: Unusual non-metallic materials may also be used; manufacturing techniques are quite different from metal: The initial shaping of
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#1732797916377204-400: The accuracy in dimensions in grinding is of the order of 0.000025 mm, in most applications, it tends to be a finishing operation and removes comparatively little metal, about 0.25 to 0.50 mm depth. However, there are some roughing applications in which grinding removes high volumes of metal quite rapidly. Thus, grinding is a diverse field. The grinding machine consists of a bed with
221-551: The blanking process is used to make "blade blanks." This can be achieved by a number of different methods, depending upon the thickness of the material and the alloy content of steel to be cut. Thinner cross section, lower alloy blanks can be stamped from sheet material. Materials that are more difficult to work with, or jobs that require higher production volume, can be accomplished with water jet cutters , lasers or electron beam cutting . These two lend themselves towards larger custom shops. Knife makers will sometimes contract out to
238-435: The features of numerical controls . Grinding machines remove material from the workpiece by abrasion, which can generate substantial amounts of heat. To cool the workpiece so that it does not overheat and go outside its tolerance , grinding machines incorporate a coolant . The coolant also benefits the machinist as the heat generated may cause burns. In high-precision grinding machines (most cylindrical and surface grinders),
255-673: The late 19th century. Fundamental processes, including casting and blade manufacture, take place at the Sheffield workshops. Blanks are cut from hardened and tempered sheet steel, then ground to shape. Fullering of the blade is followed by polishing. Work in precious metals is carried out in Shoreham as well as in Sheffield. Craftsmen further polish, silk screen, and acid-etch the blades to traditional standards. Chasing and coin-metal plating are performed at this stage. Strike and bend testing are followed by several stages of inspection before
272-407: The piece of steel has not yet been hardened. Grinding wheels, or small belt sanders are usually what a beginner uses. Well equipped makers usually use a large industrial belt grinder, or a belt grinder made specifically for knife making. The standard size for a knifemakers' belt grinder is a grinder that runs a belt size of 2" by 72". Pre-polish grinding on a heat treated blade can be done if the blade
289-687: The sword is despatched. The process typically requires six to eight weeks. The firm also offers refurbishment services on military and antique swords, dirks and lances of historical or sentimental value. Swords of Honour are awarded by a number of military colleges and academies to the outstanding cadet of his or her class. Having formerly been supplied by Wilkinson Sword, Swords of Honour currently supplied by Pooley Sword include those for: Materials used in sword production must meet or exceed MOD specification. Blades are made from high carbon steel. The guards and back plates are made from forged mild steel and hand embellished before nickel-plating. The guards for
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