Make a Wood Carving Knife

After seeing a few articles and tutorials on making carving knives, I wanted to give it a try. Most instructional information that I have found, details how to make your own knife from making the blade all the way to making the handle. I don't really have all of the proper tools or expertise to make my own blades, so when I found some ideas using a blade from an old pocket knife, I jumped at the chance to try it. It turned out pretty good, so I wanted to pass on the information to my visitors.

The first step is to find the old knife that you want to use a blade from. After removing the blade from the pocket knife, find your desired type of wood for the handle and cut out a 3/4" by 3/4" by 5" piece (I'm using hickory) and then split that in half.

Now outline the area of the blade that will be recessed inside the handle and remove a notch so that the blade sits just flush with that half of the handle. Now using a drill, drill a hole through both halves where the pin goes to hold the blade in place and then drill another hole through both halves closer to the other end of the handle. I have used a couple nails for the pins in this project.

Now after making a dry run putting the two halves together with the nails and blade in place, you are ready to apply some JB Weld or 5 Minute Epoxy inside the recess for the blade and then quickly place the blade in. Now apply more bonding compound to the other side of the blade recess and along the two halves of wood. Place both halves together and insert the nails. Using a clamp, clamp the knife together to insure a tight fit for drying. You may have to wipe away some of the excess bonding compound that squeezes out.

Allow the clamped knife to dry for at least 24 hours and then remove the clamps. Use a cutoff wheel or hacksaw to cut off the nails flush with the wooden handle and use a sander to sand the knife smooth. I used a power hand sander to round off the corners and smooth off the cut off nails. Now you have a carving knife that you can be proud that you made. You may want to use a woodburner and burn your initials into the handle and/or use another knife and carve a pattern in the handle. You can now leave the handle natural or use your favorite finish to seal the handle.

Don't forget to use your favorite sharpening method to get your new carving knife razor sharp and ready to use.