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.
22-584: 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
44-425: 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
66-463: 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,
88-410: A nimble, agile tool. In general, a forward-balanced blade excels at chopping but sacrifices agility and ease of manipulation; a centre or rear-balanced blade excels at agility but sacrifices raw chopping power. Knives and swords intended for specific purposes will usually incorporate whichever design is most suited to how the tool will be handled for that specific purpose. A partial tang knife or sword
110-426: 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
132-416: 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. Tang (tools) A tang or shank is the back portion of
154-456: 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
176-409: Is generally not able to leverage as much force against the resistance of material being cut as a full tang design would allow. This limits the amount of force which a user should apply to the handle of such a weapon. Such designs may be optimal in light-weight knives or swords designed to be kept extremely sharp and used to cut less-resistant materials. Scalpels and Japanese samurai swords are perhaps
198-505: 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
220-415: Is on folding knives , where the tang extends only as far as the pivot-point in the handle. Scalpels , utility razor blades, and a number of other knives are commonly designed with short partial tangs that are easy to fasten and unfasten from the handle so that dull or contaminated blades may be quickly exchanged for fresh ones, or so that one style of blade may be exchanged for another style while maintaining
242-513: 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
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#1732876769963264-491: The blade component of a tool where it extends into stock material or connects to a handle – as on a knife , sword , spear , arrowhead , chisel , file , coulter , pike , scythe , screwdriver , etc. One can classify various tang designs by their appearance, by the manner in which they attach to a handle, and by their length in relation to the handle. Nakago is the term in Japanese , used especially when referring to
286-711: 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
308-461: The blade begins to dull. A full tang also increases the amount of stock metal in the handle of the tool which can be beneficial in altering the balance point of the tool since the blade of a knife or sword is often quite heavy compared to the handle. Adding weight to the handle of a knife or sword to offset the weight of the blade moves the rotational balance point back toward the hand where it can be more easily manipulated to great effect, making for
330-551: 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
352-663: 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
374-403: The most well-known examples of such tools. Most of these design styles can be used with full or partial tangs and the use of one does not exclude the use of another. For example, a sword may have a hidden, encapsulated, rat-tail tang. The tang of a blade often contains so called tang stamps identifying the manufacturer of the knife and the (often encoded) year of manufacturing, sometimes also
396-407: 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
418-435: The same handle. Hollow-handled knives also incorporate a partial tang. Many inexpensive knives and swords designed for decorative purposes incorporate partial tangs and are not intended to be used for cutting applications. A full tang knife or sword generally allows for increased force leveraged through the handle against the resistance of material being cut by the blade, an advantage when used against harder materials or when
440-455: The shape of the tang and handle scales are then fastened to the tang by means of pins, screws, bolts, metal tubing, epoxy, etc. The tang is left exposed along the belly, butt, and spine of the handle, extending both the full length and width of the handle. Partial tang designs include stub, half, and three-quarter tangs, describing how far the tang extends into the handle of the tool. The most common partial tang design found in commercial knives
462-687: 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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#1732876769963484-404: The tang of the katana or the wakizashi . A full tang extends the full length of the grip-portion of a handle, versus a partial tang which does not. A full tang may or may not be as wide as the handle itself, but will still run the full length of the handle. There are a wide variety of full and partial tang designs. In perhaps the most common design in full tang knives, the handle is cut in
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