in today's post, we see the usage of many new powered modern tools to aid smiths!

in this vid below, we are introduced to, in sequence, the band saw, the belt sander, the drill press, a polishing wheel mounted on a lathe machine & a drill modded to act like a dremel rotary tool:

as there are lots of new tools used here & each plays a pivotal role, i will go into detail about each in a daily post starting tomorrow.

for now - enjoy how this crafter made his beatiful dimple textured knife with the aid of modern tools!

This post has been edited by CRAFT_COACH: Nov 21 2019, 11:40 AM

following yesterday's video, i said i'll detail the 5 new power tools mentioned within it - so lets get started with the first; the band saw.

here's a master craftsman (& forged in fire alumni!) discussing it. walter's indepth explanations saves me having to explain its merits & uses. enjoy


and in the below vid we have a different version - there are many types; portable, vertical, horizontal, table, etc.

more info on various the types here > https://www.southernfabsales.com/blog/the-d...pes-of-bandsaws

here's a breakdown on the types of band saw blades available & their respective uses (for wood, metal, etc)


& lastly, we have a video of diy band saw for all you diy experts out there. time to put those old bicycle wheels to good use:

all these posts on band saws has me motivated/itching to go play with mine. since the weekend draws near....

... think i'll fire it up & go make something tomorrow. been mulling making a unique type of karambit for some time now... so its a strong possibility that it will be on tomorrows' quick speedy project agenda - i might make a wooden prototype tomorrow. we'll see.

these are how karambit @ kerambit look btw:

yup... def makin a wooden mini karambit 2moro...design is all done.

will post pix as soon as done.

hope its sunny...

gonna start in 20 mins.

as usual - there will be 40 mins on the countdown timer

lets see how far i get

i'll post results soon as i'm done - give or take few mins

... and we're done!

nearly fully completed by the 40 min mark - just have to file the finger hole & make it fully circular for it to be fully done.

here's the design. free handed sketched on the wood direct:

... this is after cutting it out

... and this is after filling down & drilling a finger hole.






i'll detail about the process & my take on it in further detail later.

i made another wooden karambit yesterday. will post pix & detail about it later.

for now though, will be continuing on detailing the 5 power tools mentioned in the previous wu sifu video. here's no 2 on the list - the belt sander.

as it relates to knife making, you use this very essential piece of equipment for cleaning up knife blanks, beveling, edging & texturing blades, as well as shaping & texturing handles. they are just as commonly referred to as 'belt grinders', 'bench sanders' as well as 'belt sanders'... all 3 refer to the same tool... but do note - they are totally different from bench grinders. thats a different tool & will be detailed upon in much later posts.

here's master craftsman (& forged in fire alumni!) walter again, providing info about the belt sander & its uses

and in the below vid we have a different version. there are many types. below is a portable version. in my experience, its rare to see these types used for knife making. they still get the job done though, so use em if u got em

as mentioned, there are many types of sanders. here's a comprehensive look at the top 12 more popular variations: https://www.garagetooladvisor.com/power-too...nders-and-uses/

there's even a new version these days where you can buy it as an angle grinder attachment. naturally, its connected to & powered by an angle grinder. they are woefully under powered with a very narrow sanding strip. this results in overheated angle grinders and taking too much time to actually do realistic heavy grinding

it might be better off just using an angle grinder with a heavy grinding disc, followed by a flap disc, rather than using an angle grinder attached belt sander for knife making.

& lastly, we have a video of a diy version for all who want to make their own. plenty of vids available online to choose from. here's my top pick:

today we touch on the third power tool mentioned in the previous wu sifu video - the drill press.

as it relates to knife making, you use a drill press basically to drill into wood & steel. thats it. with a little ingenuity, you can even turn it into a milling machine - thats another modern tool & i'll delve into it in much later videos.

for now, here's master craftsman (& forged in fire alumni!) walter again, providing info about the drill press

and in the below vid, we have him again talking about the different versions available

though a drill is used rather minimally overall in knifemaking - it plays a very critical role. this is particularly so for those making full tang knives & other tang types that require the use of pins to hold the tang and scale (handle material) together.

so, while a drill is a critically needed tool... a drill press? not so much. especially for my needs.

personally, i never felt the pressing need to use or own a drill press. i've always found workarounds & other ways to get around from using it. its not mission critical for me personally.

but, it would definitely aid in more faster, precise drilling & allow for easier drilling of thicker materials. to that end, attached is a diy version for all who want to save some $ by making their own. plenty of vids available online to choose from. here's my top pick:

today we touch on the 4th power tool mentioned in the previous wu sifu video - the lathe machine.

as it relates to knife making, i generally use this machine to shape wood into handles with a uniform, circular shape. its particularly useful when making long wood handles for spears or polearms.

for now, here's master craftsman (& forged in fire alumni!) walter again, providing info about the lathe machine.

personally, i have never had the need to use the lathe machine as walter does above. my needs are different & my use is more to this way below

its not a critically needed tool for me. i've always found workarounds & other ways to get around from using it.

but, it would definitely aid in mass producing perfectly shaped round handles & in the other uses walter mentions above. to that end, attached is a diy version for those keen to make their own

as far as diy builds go, building your own lathe machine is actually one of the easier ones. i just use a drill with some modifications to serve as my lathe machine stand in. my jig is more like this, but simpler

... and another weekend is here!

i will definitely be doing some metal/woodworking later today.

got a few projects in mind - lets see what i end up eventually doing

did a few projects yesterday.

but as it was gloomy weather throughout the day - skipped posting till could get some decent pix.

first was the modification of the previously made mallet






after using it for a few weeks, felt i needed a more robust front wedge to allow for better tamping of materials on wider surfaces. so added a thicker wedge of heavy wood on 1 side to make it more heavy duty.

it has to be noted that the more wider the surface - the more even the force can be distributed. good for instances when you have to tamp things down, like heavy carpets, without damaging the surface.

additionally, i also wrapped the handle with rubber cord for better gripping & traction.

i'll prob use it a few more weeks & work the kinks out, before eventually finishing & 'beautifying' the exterior once i feel no further modifications are necessary.

... kerambit post follow up coming soon

this was the most recently made wooden kerambit



i haven't fine finished either with tapering or texturing the handles. just made quick 40 min versions/blanks with scrap wood for now. fine work later.

still feel more tweaks needed to the design. feels very much like other metal karambits. nothing unique.

so, think my next one is going to be really off the design charts - it'll probably have crazy angles/shape.

the tools i used > drill with hole maker bit, jigsaw with bandsaw modification, file.

wood material > recycled plywood for the first karambit & recycled hardwood for 2nd one.

here's a vid showing how i made mine:

this vid shows how to texturise/thicken handles though. its a more 'finished' version of mine:

look at these beauties...








only the 2nd from top has an authentic/traditional karambit shape... the rest are much more unique in design.

the 4th & 5th last one in the list is particularly 'wow'

another weekend come & gone.

as was out this weekend - no 40 min quick mini project.

... prob will make it up next week wid sumtin major.

i will also most probably conclude the smithing series posts next week & end it with the final stye of smithing.

then move on to 'tools used for smithing' series. later followed prob by glossary of frequent used terms in smithing, etc.

for now, we enjoy more delectable pix of unique karambits...




nice, unique curvy design. obviously double edged.

very nice. differs greatly from the norm/traditional karambits.

today we touch on the 5th and last power tool mentioned in the previous video featuring the 5 power tools - the dremel tool.

to be honest though - its actually a drill modded to act as a dremel. use em if u got em... else mod em till ur fine wid em

another thing i noticed - i seem to be wrongly referring to the wu sifu video. ITS NOT THAT VIDEO. its the one after that using the 5 tools. please note.

moving on, the dremel is a great lil tool. its greatly aids fine detailing and precision work. it usually/generally is referred to as a 'rotary tool'.

as it relates to knife making, i generally use this machine to sand/shape wood handles, engrave steel & texturise metal and wood. it also has many other unique uses, all mostly focus on detailing, but since it has a tonne of attachments - u prob can use this multi tool for whatever u intend with the right attachment.

for now, here's master craftsman (& forged in fire alumni!) walter again, providing info about this tool

walter, as always, makes things easier for me by having to skip detailed explanations. gotta appreciate all he does for the smithing community

check out this vid to see the super fine detailed work possible with a dremel

& ogle at this video to see the tonnes of accessories & attachments available

... & of course there's links for how to make a diy dremel > https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=diy+dremel

and that ends the posts on the 5 tools used the previous video. we'll get back to the smithing videos here onwards.

Nice...

I like watching forged in fire 🔥.

too bad no asian edition.

lookin forward to the day when a (probably) asian smith shows the judges how to PROPERLY do a burn through handle the right way.

burn through handles are soooo super common in asia & easily done... maybe someday 1 of u guys will go compete & show them how easily its done