HEN PREPARING for long and diffi-

W cult trips afield, hunters, trappers and

explorers often discard other less essential
equipment in favor of the all-purpose hunt-
ing knife. An experienced camper alone in
the woods would rather lose his tent than
the hunting knife in his belt sheath. He can
get along without the former; the latter is
indispensable. Above, one of the first steps in making a knife is
Although knifesmiths u s u a l l y select heating the blank in a blacksmith's forge. Below,
Swedish steels because of their stability after heating, the blank is hammer-forged on an an-
vil to draw the blade to the rough form for grinding
and extremely fine grain, for the finest
hand-forged custom blades, you can make
a reasonably good hunting knife from a
large mill file. Probably the next best mate-
rial is an oil-hardening tool steel, as it has
a better response to tempering and a more
uniform soundness of structure than does
the average file.
Photos on these pages showing the essen-
tial steps in knife making were taken in
the workshop of W. D. Randall, noted
knifesmith who began making knives as a
hobby and now is in the business of hand-
forging them in various styles that class
among the finest made. In the photo above
Randall-made knives are shown in styles
DECEMBER 1952 167
 THREADED FOR NUT
WASHER

DISKS CUT FROM

SOLE LEATHER

WHITE

TANG

THUMB ALUMINUM BUTT

REST PIECE
FLAT TOP,
BEVELED
HEAVY SKINNING RED
BLADE BLACK

HILT
RED
INDEX-FINGER
GRIP

and blade lengths suitable for all purposes.

Above, rough-grinding the blank on a coarse emery
wheel. Below, polishing blade on stitched cloth buff
In making a blade in any of the three
styles detailed below, the blank is first
ground to form the tang to sectional size
and to shoulder the offsets for the hilt. If
a file is used, it ordinarily is annealed be-
fore grinding. Then the rough is heated to
a cherry red in a blacksmith's forge (heat-
ing also can be done in a coal-burning fur-
nace) and hammer-forged on an anvil as
in the lower photo on the preceding page.
Forging in this manner draws the bevels
to the rough shape and gives an edge thick-
ness of about 1/32 in. Then the blade and
tang are finished to exact size by freehand
grinding on a coarse wheel as in the upper
photo at the left. The edge bevels are
ground to form a cutting edge and the nar-
row back bevels are ground in to shape
the blade to contour. This operation re-
quires extreme care to get the lines of the
blade ground true. Note that in the photo
the operator is wearing heavy leather
gloves to protect his hands from injury. He
also wears industrial-type goggles.
Next the blade is hardened by heating it
cherry red and immersing instantly in tem-
pering oil. On some steels it is necessary
to repeat this process in order to equalize
internal stresses. Use low heat in succeed-
ing steps—about 450 deg. When properly
 2" CUTTING
EDGE ON TOP

1" CUTOUT
FOR INDEX HOLE FOR
STAGHORN 3/32' OR
FINGER
HANDLE PIN

DRILLED AND
NUT OR PEEN
FILED OUT
END OF TANG.
FOR TANG
BUTT PlECE
FINGER GRIP
BRASS HALF ALUMINUM GROOVE
HILT
SECT.

LEATHER HANDLE
RlDGES BETWEEN FINGER GROOVES
HUNTERS KNIFE TROUT AND BIRD KNIFE
 tempered the blade appears a straw-blue
color and can be cut with a file. From this
point on, special care must be used to avoid
drawing the temper. True the bevels by
slow, light grinding on a medium-fine
wheel, checking the results continually by
eye until all surfaces of the blade show a
true reflection when viewed in oblique
light. Before honing and buffing, the reflec-
tions will be rather dull, but they will
enable you to spot irregularities in the sur-
faces. While grinding the blade to final con-
tour, true up the tang and fit the hilt and
butt piece. In the knives pictured and de-
tailed, the hilt is of brass and the butt piece In the tempering process the blade is heated in an
of aluminum. The hilt is filed to the rough electric furnace which permits close control of tem-
shape before fitting to the tang. Final finish- peratures so essential to proper tempering of steel
ing of the blade is done on a hone as in the
lower right-hand photo, and t h e fine
scratches left by the final grinding are re-
moved by buffing on a stitched buff as in
the lower photo on the opposite page. The
buff should be charged with polishing
rouge of the type specified for steels.
Although ivory, staghorn and even cer-
tain metals are used for handles, ordinary
top-grain cowhide is recommended for
hunting knives. The lower center photo at
the right compares the rough with the fin-
ished leather handle. Details below and
on the opposite page give sizes of the leath- Leather handle is roughed out with a coarse rasp
er disks. Note that the latter are oval in and the hilt and butt piece are filed to the rough
shape. Finish with emery wheel and a stitched buff
rough shape and that the center holes are
cut rectangular to fit the tang snugly. Five
.062 fiber squares in three colors are fitted
on the tang next to the hilt. Then follow
with the leather disks and three or five
fiber squares. Cement each disk and square
to the one preceding. Then attach the butt
piece firmly in place by peening the tang
projection. Rough to size and shape with a
coarse rasp as in the upper center photo at
the right. Then finish the hilt and the entire
handle with a medium emery wheel and fi-
nally bring to a high polish with a stitched
cloth buff charged with polishing rouge.
When buffing be careful not to heat the
leather handle unduly. The shape of the
Above, the rough and finished handles of the all-
handle is optional. Grind it to a form that purpose knife. Below, honing the blade by hand on a
suits your finger grip. * * * three-part professional-type hone. Note blade angle
 TOP OF BLADE
SHARPENED FOR 1'' BUTT
PIECE

LEATHER HANDLE

ALL PURPOSE FIGHTING KNIFE