Knife Pattern and Handles

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I like knives. I don't know why, but I do. They are extraordinary tools. When you need one, nothing else will do. I decided, a few months ago, to try to merge two of my hobbies: 3D printing and knife making. I was interested in seeing if I could print handles to a fixed blade knife on my 3D printer. The answer is, yes. The attached file is my first attempt at this fusion. The file contains 3 objects to be printed: two handles and a pattern for the knife blade. The blade (obviously) needs to be made of steel. This is where some skill at knife making becomes important. I used a piece of an old bandsaw for my blade. A few minutes with a grinder, a belt sander, and a drill, and I had a knife blank made from the pattern. The heat treating process took the longest part of the build. After heat treat, I attached the handles with epoxy, two 1/8 inch (~3mm) brass pins, and a 1/4 inch (~6mm)brass tube for a lanyard hole/third pin. After some time with a whetstone, I had a reasonable general-purpose blade. Notes: 1) Sharp knives are sharp. Use them responsibly. As with any tool, improper use can result in injury or death. 2) The pattern if for a knife with a blade of 3 1/4 inches (~82.5mm) and a handle of 4 3/8 inches (~111mm). Total length is 7 5/8 inches (~194mm). 3) The knife built from this pattern ends up as a fairly standard shape for a general purpose/camp knife. The blade has plenty of belly for slicing, to make it good for general tasks and food preparation. The blade shape is something between a "flat back" and "drop point" design. The flat blade back does descend slightly toward the tip of the blade. Of course, you could make the blade shape anything you desire, so long at the full tang through the handle is unchanged. Happy modding!

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