Bill Menees's Blog

I finished knife #5 today. I wrapped it a few days ago, and I polished and sharpened it today. I learned a lot making this knife. I now know more of what I can and can't do with the tools I have. Most of the limitations of my tools affect the blade appearance (e.g., no hollow grinding, no mirror polish), but I can at least make some interesting knives with what I have. It's just slow going.

This knife is a stripped-down tanto with no menuki, fuchi, habaki, etc. It has no temper line (hamon), and it uses a full tang because that was easy and strong. Basically, everything is as simple as I could make it on this knife while still applying a lot of the principles I've learned in my recent studies. One day I hope to be able to make traditional Japanese-style katanas, but this is just a small step toward that.

The wrap is all done with 1/2" black "leather-like" strap that I got at Joann's Fabrics. I didn't want to use real leather since this is the first knife I've made with a wrapped handle like this. The faux leather feels fine, but next time I'll try to find some that's 1/4" or 3/8" wide.

For the finish on the oak I used Minwax's Pecan Polyshades to apply the stain and polyurethane sealer at the same time. I applied two coats per the product directions, but I applied it with a paper towel instead of a brush. It took several days to dry to a hard, non-tacky finish, so I don't know if I'd mess with Polyshades again. The final finish is ok though.

Material: D-2 steel with oak handles (tsuka) and scabbard (saya)
Blade Length: 6 3/4"
Overall Length: 12 1/4"
Started: September 1, 2006
Finished: September 30, 2006

Labels: Knifemaking

I was on vacation this week, so I did some more work on knife #5. I've got the guard and handles on, and I've made the wooden sheath. I've also put some stain and polyurethane sealer on the oak.

Now, I have to do a lot of polishing work to get off the glue and the scratches that were introduced while assembling the guard and handle. Then I'm going to wrap the handle "katana-style" (i.e., tsukamaki) and possibly put a decorative wrap or knot (sageo) on the sheath.

Labels: Knifemaking

My martial arts book, "The Road To Shodan" is almost ready. This weekend I finished the front and back covers (visible at http://www.roadtoshodan.com/), and I uploaded the "final" PDF to Lulu.com. TRTS has an ISBN now (978-1-84728-379-5), and I've order the review copy of the book. Once I approve it, then it will be published in Ingram's "Books In Print" list, and a few weeks after that it will be for sale on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Border's, etc. That's when the tens of dollars will start rolling in...

Labels: Martial Arts

Over the Labor Day weekend, I started on knife #5. I recently watched an awesome video on making katanas, and now I'm extremely fired up to make one. Unfortunately, I don't yet have all the equipment or skills to make such a large blade, so I decided to make a "small" tanto knife instead.

The picture at the top is a 12 inch bar of D-2 tool steel that this knife started from. Notice that the top edge of the bar is beveled. That's because this steel has already led a long and productive life as a wood planer blade. Unfortunately, that also means that it is work hardened, which makes it a little more difficult to work with than new steel. But it's what I have, so it's what I'm using. For more info on D-2 steel see Engnath's Steels Used By Knife Makers.

The picture at the bottom is the 12 inch tanto blade after it has been profiled and rough ground. Since I only have a 1x30 belt sander, I can't hollow grind the blade. So it is flat ground, which makes it a little ugly. It still has plenty of scratches, so now I'm working through various phases of hand sanding to get those out. I sure miss Bob's belt sander and buffer.

I've also started a guard (tsuba), but I haven't finished or polished it yet. I plan to round off each corner with a 1/2" radius, and then I'll blacken it with some gun bluing (why isn't it called gun blackening?) That will make it look cooler.

I plan to use oak for the handle slabs, and then I'll wrap it with the traditional katana wrap (ito). Then I'll make a scabbard (saya) from the oak too. (For help with the terms see the Visual Guide to Japanese Sword Terminology.)

I hope this will turn out well. I'm leaving out a ton of small details found on traditional katanas and tantos, but it should still be a cool knife. Or at least it will be good practice for the next one.

Labels: Knifemaking

This is a cheesed-together panoramic shot of my workshop in the garage. It's not much to look at today, but it's coming together slowly and surely. Last weekend I built the new workbench on the right, and I'm going to mount some of my tools on it soon. I need to get some lights installed over it first though.

Now what I really need is a metal-cutting bandsaw, a good 2x72 belt sander, and a buffer. I've got a line on some of those, but in the meantime I'm doing everything with my 1x30 sander, files, and hand sanding and polishing. It makes me REALLY appreciate when I get to work on Bob's high-end tools.

Labels: Knifemaking

A few days ago my wife's grandfather gave me some cool new knifemaking supplies. He sent me three antlers, some oak, some cocobolo, and some koa wood. This should make some interesting handles.

He and my father-in-law have also graciously offered to give me several other tools and supplies that I need for knifemaking. They both have huge, well-stocked workshops, so I'll benefit from their spares. I'm a lucky and grateful guy.

The box in the background is a grandfather clock kit, which ironically enough also came from Amy's grandfather. I hope to put that together soon with my son Aaron.

Labels: Knifemaking

I found these two early photos of knife #4, and I thought I'd post them so everyone could see what a real knife-in-progress looks like. These were taken about 3 weeks before I finished the knife.

The handle slabs had been epoxied on, and the epoxy got on the blade and just about everywhere else. The left side had been partially shaped up, and I'd barely started on the right side.

They say all's well that ends well, but this one was an ugly duckling for part of its life. For me, it's fun to look at now that it's finished.

Labels: Knifemaking