knife makinig

[rickyp]

I am looking for a place to get knife making supplus. mostly looking for some place to get a blade blank.

[Joel]

Well, I guess the usually mentioned suppliers would do for starters.  Companies such as Texas Knifemaker's Supply at www.texasknife.com, or Sheffield Knifemaker's suppply at www.sheffieldsupply.com(pdf catalog only), Jantz Supply at www.jantzsupply.com, K & G Supply(don't have their web address handy), etc have blade blanks and just about anything else you might need.

[rickyp]

thanks for the info, I ahve already found texas knife

[HBL]

Looks like Joel has all the bases covered.

If you are using a belt grinder or are considering getting one. YOu might consider ENCO. They have the best prices on bulk sanding belts. YOu just need to look around and find the sander at a good price. Some of the mail order places are more expensive and some are cheaper. It just takes a little time to find the right place.

Sheffield does have the best selection of blade material in just about whatever length, width and thickness you need. That's where I get all my annealed blanks.

Have fun,

I am,

HBL

[Joel]

Two things I don't order from the usual catalogs are annealed(soft) steel and wood; stabilized or otherwise.  Best source for knife steel I've(and a lot of other makers) have found is Admiral Steel at www.admiralsteel.com.  They have a dedicated Knife Steel Dept and offer more varieties and sizes than anyone else I've seen; at bettre prices.  Unfortunately, their website is having problems with the on-line store at the moment, which they'll hopefully fix soon. In the area of stabilized woods and mosaic pins, both of which I use a lot of, my source for both is Frank Jacobs at www.jake.safewebshop/stabilized_wood.html.  His quality is impressive and his prices are the most reasonable I've seen.  Another good source for both stabilized and unusual woods(though her stabilized wood is expensive and not as well done as Frank's--at least not the one piece I've ordered from her) is www.thelumberlady.com or her spinoff site www.knifehandle.com.
When it comes to micarta, G-10 and Dymondwood, the best source I've found is Sheffields both for price and variety.  And the list goes on.

[HBL]

Thanks for the additional info Joel. I'll have to check out those sites. I had not heard of them before.

Again, thanks

HBL

[rickyp]

what i am looking to do is make a knife something like an old ka-bar with a u shaped at the hilt. i was thinking this would work as a shooting rest from a prone shooting positionand when not being used as a shooting aid would be an utilitay knife.
  I always carry several knives when hunting 1) small swiss army knife 2) skinnign' gitting knife ( normaly a wyoming knife) 3) a utilitay knife for whatever needed.

[Joel]

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif  Sounds like an interesting idea for a knife--a rifle rest knife.  Never heard of that one before.  Actually, if you made one with a regular KaBar pommel, you could just jam the blade into the ground and use the pommel as the prone rest.  Kinda hard on the blade though.                         I also carry more than one knife when I'm out in the woods hunting.  Usually a either a Swiss Army or a Boy Scout/Camper knife, my regular huntin' knife, and A "backup" just in case Murphy's along for the ride.  Usually it's an old Browning Folder that has a master blade, gut hook blade, and a saw blade.  Never used the first two blades, but the saw has come in handy when I've found a nice tree to sit under, except for a couple of small bushes or saplings in the way. The saw gets rid of them a lot quieter that hacking at them with a knife blade does.

[rickyp]

I know it would be hard on the knife blade that is why I was thinking of a KaBar knife blank. They should hold up well.  I was even thinking about getting an old bayonet and redoing  the handle. I would never stick one of my good knives in the ground.

[R. Tillery]

www.atlantacutlery.com
www.dixiegunworks.com