Make a 2-bladed pocket knife from pvc and hacksaw blades

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Sir;
many wifes will be mad at you for giving us this crazy idea to play with power tools and fire, but they will get over it
thanks
 
I can't imagine why I would need to do that, but I certainly can imagine why I would want too!

Actually, the hacksaw portion of that is what interests me more than anything. A flat little hacksaw with a handle like that sounds extremely useful, and would be a good addition to an altoids kit at a fairly small cost to space...
 
That is a nifty idea. I am going to have to try that one out. Its something you have to show off to your friends and say, "check this out, I made that."
 
Its something you have to show off to your friends and say, "check this out, I made that."
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Yep, and the next thing they say is "make me one!". LOL

Everyone should make a knife or 2 - very primal and interesting. I'd like to make one from obsidian.
 
Don't follow you, Jason.
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Looks like a real knife to me.
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I mean, if you're going to go through the trouble of making a knife, why not make a durable knife that you could actually use long term. Hacksaw don't seem suitable for realistic use as a knife blade, even with HT. Tough to get decent geometry. I wouldn't trust the durability of that folder's pivot either. It's not that hard to make a "good" fixed blade knife out of some 1095 or 01. I could see making one of those hacksaw folders for novelty's sake, but I'd opt for something else for real use. Just MHO.

Jason
 
Novelty / Practice

I'm kinda fascinated with the concept, but I have to agree that most of the value is novelty -- that, and the opportunity to practice making tools and working with your hands.

I'm trying to imagine a scenario where I'd have what I need to make that knife, yet not have access to 1) other, more suitable tools, or 2) an actual knife.

If I find myself adrift in post-apocalypse MetroTown, and I'm wandering around an abandoned hardware store, it's very likely that I'll find way better stuff than hacksaw blades.

If the scenario is "all I have is what's in my toolbox" then I'm good to go -- you have any idea how many knives are in each of my toolboxes?

Scenario: stranded with only what's in my car? Uh, sorry, there's no hacksaw in my car, but there are at least three knives in every car I own.

Scenario: stranded without the car and only what I'm carrying. *Checks pockets* Nope, no hacksaw. Five knives, though, if you count my Leatherman wave.

Any scenario where I'm compelled to make a knife from a hacksaw blade is gonna be terribly contrived.

However.

Knowing how to make any kind of knife at all is a skill worth having.

If I can make a knife from a piece of random steel that's badly suited to the job, there's a good chance I'll be able to adapt something else when the time comes.

Skill is the ultimate in non-depreciating portable currency.
 
Jason G,

Could you tell us how to make a real knife, with minimal skills and common tools?

I think I can go you one better, though. Why make a knife at all? You can a buy good knife for a reasonable price.
 
Jason G,

Could you tell us how to make a real knife, with minimal skills and common tools?

I think I can go you one better, though. Why make a knife at all? You can a buy good knife for a reasonable price.
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Sure.
Let me answer the "why" part first:
  1. To have something that you can take pride in having made
  2. To have the exact blade geometry you want
  3. To have the exact type of steel and HT you want
  4. To have any cosmetic aspects (unique handle materials, etc.) exactly like you want

How:
01 or 1095 are great inexpensive steels to use to make a good knife, especially for a beginner. They are readily available, have a great composition for a knife alloy, and are inexpensive. Buy a foot of annealed steel in the thickness you desire, and cut/grind/file it to shape. Some guys have expensive equipment, but it's not necessary for making just a knife here or there. Anyone with a bench grinder, a file, a Dremel, and drill can make a knife. If you have more patience than most, you could even get by with fewer tools than those. Just make sure to keep your geometry symmetrical for both sides of the blade so it doesn't warp during the HT process. I'm not going to write a tutorial here, as there are massive amounts of good information on the internet, completely free of charge, for anyone interested in picking up the hobby. The HT process is one of the most critical for ensuring good performance, and I will say that for those who are scared to HT their own, there are people and companies that will do it for you. That being said, it's not a difficult thing to do with 01 or 1095, but you might ruin a few pieces of steel right at first. After you HT and temper, attach a handle and add finishing touches.

Jason
 
Making a knife is very rewarding. I used O1 at first and heat treat is easy.

Of course, knife #1 may not look like you envisioned it. I envisioned a Loveless and got a turd with a handle. LOL To make a great knife takes some practice but is doable for anyone - if I can make them anyone can.

Why make one? I thought that was a strange question but I guess you either have the desire or you don't. Those that make a few and still have that desire are DOOMED. Be prepared to spend lots on supplies and equipment for you have the curse of "knifemaker". :)

I used the following link to make my first - man that was over 3 years and probably 300 knives ago.

http://hossom.com/tutorial/jonesy/
 
Cool info. Thanks. I might actually try that sometime.

I think it's obvious that the hacksaw/PVC knife is a lot quicker and easier than making the real thing, even a fixed blade. It's also cheaper and requires fewer tools. And that's as far as some people are willing to go. Might be a neat project for a kid, too.

But, yeah, probably not all that practical. Hacksaw blades tend to bend.

As a quasi-mechanically-inclined person, I'm sometimes annoyed by the snobbery of those who make their own stuff, or do their own gun-smithing. Hint: Not everybody can pick up the skills as quickly as everybody else. And we don't all have to be the same. And maybe I don't want to totally screw up my guns by doing my own work. Specialization, baby. It's capitalism. :)
 
Alternatives

Now, I might not be too enamoured of the hacksaw blade concept, but there's another tool whose conversion I'd love to try one fine day.

The common flat file.

Tool steel, so the basic stock is good. Too hard for most knife applications, so it would have to be annealed.

Then there's the shaping/grinding thing, followed by the handle and sharpening thing.

If I were shipwrecked in a hardware store, I'd be way more inclined to try converting a file to a knife instead of a hacksaw blade. Oh, and don't forget law mower blades. With a little work, those things can make quite serviceable cutlery.

I have, somewhere, a knife with the Swedish Postal Service emblem stamped on the blade, and the Mora name along with it. The knife has a leather handle, and is ground from a hunk of bar stock that looks remarkably like a lawn mower blade. I'll have to post a picture of it next time it surfaces. It's convex ground and sharper than you might expect. A swat from that thing might not remove your hand at the wrist, but I would imagine that hand wouldn't be of much use without surgery.

Guess I should dig that thing up again. Odd looking thing. Seriously, it looks completely improvised. Except that it has the Postal emblem thing and the Mora name thing.
 
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I did that tutorial knife with a drill, hacksaw and files. It's hard work - I swore I'd never make one that way again and never did - I went to Grizzly and bought a grinder there and made a bunch on it before getting my Bader BIII which is the quality you need once you get better at it.

I had almost no "tool" skills before making knives - had never used a torch, a drill press, any kind of grinder or sandblaster or anything else I now use daily. If you know how to use these things already hen you're way ahead of the game.
 
Tip:

Avoid the PVC-

Put an edge opposite the teeth put a nub of gaffers tape at the base and cover the 'sharp' side with another piece of gaffers (NOT DUCT) tape.

Put it in your wallet or around your neck on a chain.

May come in handy one day, and it avoids the unnecessary PVC work and the joint altogether.

We made a bunch of these up where I work one time...
 
JohnG,

Thanks for posting this and ignore the appearent detractors.

Looks like a fun project. As someone else said looks perfect for the altoids box kit. I used to keep an altoids box in my glove box with a few things in it myself and this looks like a neat little project to rebuild it.

BTW I currently keep on of the new half size round topped Altoids boxes in my gym bag that contains a pair of bandaids, coupe of strike anywhere matches, a needle threaded with a foot or so of thread, one AA battery and four elastic hair ties for my daughter, all held shut with a rubber band.

When I helped teach Hunter Education I would encourage kids to make a "survival kit" with a metal or plastic bandaid box. Been a while sense I have seen a metal bandaid box, except the cord wrapped one in the family "Go Bag". Now to build one of these hacksaw kives and figure out how to cram it in.

-Bob Hollingsworth
 
Thanks for posting this and ignore the appearent detractors.....

When I helped teach Hunter Education I would encourage kids to make a "survival kit" with a metal or plastic bandaid box. Been a while sense I have seen a metal bandaid box, except the cord wrapped one in the family "Go Bag". Now to build one of these hacksaw kives and figure out how to cram it in.
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Well I guess I'm one of the "apparent detractors," but if I truly needed the contents of a survival kit, I would hope to God I had something better than that hacksaw novelty knife in there.

Not trying to be a stick in the mud, if you want to do it just to do it, I guess that's one thing. There's nothing wrong with tinkering around with such projects, it's just that for realistic use, or especially for a survival situation, I would try to procure something better for myself. That's not snobbery, that's just common sense. Why go into the woods with a jimmy-rigged hacksaw blade folder if you can just as easily pack a decent knife? Again, not knocking the idea of tinkering with little projects like these, but I wouldn't carry or pack one.

YMMV.
 
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