How to make a knife sharpener from an old wrench. DIY wrench knife Wrench knife reviews
Greetings lovers to burn metal. This time we will look at how to make a simple and interesting knife from wrench. Homemade is good because almost everyone has a wrench, and you can also use your old broken wrench for this purpose. Wrenches can be made from various alloys, most of which are alloys with vanadium. Such alloys are not very suitable for making knives, since the metal is plastic and when sharpened, the blade will not keep its sharpness for a long time. However, many even like it, because the knife can be quickly sharpened. And the frequency of sharpening depends on what you plan to cut.
It is not difficult to make such a knife, here we will not forge anything, the only thing we will do from the complex is hardening. However, this procedure is doubtful, since in most cases we will not know how to harden such steel. In general, everything turned out interesting and original. Let's take a closer look at how to make such a knife!
Materials and tools used
List of materials:
- 30 wrench or similar;
- a piece of board (for overlays);
- brass rods (for pins);
- epoxy adhesive;
- wood impregnation oil.
List of tools:
- Bulgarian;
- belt sander;
- marker;
- vice;
- clamps;
- forge furnace;
- drill;
- drilling machine;
- sandpaper.
Knife making process:
Step one. Cut out the main profile
First, we clean the key from rust so that we can draw on it. It is convenient to do this with a grinder with a wire nozzle or sandpaper by hand. Next, take a marker and draw the desired blade profile. Well, let's move on to cutting. We clamp the key in a vice and cut off the excess with a grinder. Also, the author cut off the extra parts in the bow of the blade, so as not to grind the excess later.
At the end, we go through the contour with a grinding disk or we process the contour on a belt grinder, as the author does.
Step two. We form the blade
Next, we need to shape the part of the knife that will be the blade. We take a marker and make the necessary marks. Next, we clamp the blade in a special holder and proceed to grinding. We need to grind off everything superfluous, to form the desired thickness of the blade. As a result, we get an excellent blade.
Step three. Making bevels
Again we take a marker and draw the width of the bevels, the author has the maximum width. This will allow the knife to cut well as the blade will be thin. We also take a caliper and draw a center line along the blade. We will be guided by it when forming bevels. A little work on the belt sander, and the bevels are ready. If there are deep scratches on the metal, sand them down by hand using sandpaper, since further hardening is to be done, and the metal will be processed worse.
Step four. Tempering the blade
The author decided to harden his blade, but the problem is that it is not known what grade of steel was used, because all steels are hardened in different conditions. However, you can try hardening the blade, but it is better to experiment with a separate piece of metal. The author heats the blade to a yellowish glow, and then cools it in oil. The tempering procedure was not performed, so it remains unknown whether the blade will be brittle after that. After hardening, the metal can be scratched with a file, if scratches remain, then the hardening has failed.
Step five. Cleaning the knife and drilling holes
After hardening, there will be traces of oxidation on the metal, we need to remove them. To do this, we work with sandpaper, wetting it in water. Water allows the paper to be cleaned effectively and it works better. Of course, the sandpaper for this should be on a fabric basis.
Next, you can drill holes. This can be quite problematic, use a drill press with good drill bits. The holes should be of such a diameter that the pins go into them as tightly as possible. This will ensure a good grip on the handle.
Step six. We make overlays and assemble a knife
The author makes the overlays from wood. We attach the handle to the board and drill holes for the pins. Well, then we cut out two linings, we process them on a belt grinder. The author brings the lining to the finished state, that is, together with the knife, we will no longer grind the handle.
That's all, the lining can be installed on the knife. Here we need pins and epoxy glue. We carefully clean all surfaces to be glued so that the glue adheres well. We apply epoxy glue, install the pins and tighten everything with clamps until the glue hardens. When the glue dries, carefully cut the pins and lightly sand the pads to level the pins with the plane.
Further, the tree must be impregnated with oil to protect it from moisture and dirt. It is also recommended to cover the metal with oil so that it does not rust during storage. In general wrenches tend to rust quite a lot, apart from modern shiny wrenches which are well protected from this. That's all, the knife is ready, it remains to sharpen it!
That's all, the project is over. good luck and creative inspiration if you want to repeat. Don't forget to share your crafts and ideas with us!
Hello everyone, in this instruction we will consider the method of making an interesting tactical knife from wrenches. In fact, tool steel is the best choice for making knives, it is strong due to its high carbon content and can be hardened very well. If you suddenly break the key, do not forget that this is high-quality steel and something can be made from it.
The knife is made without the use of a forge, all you need to have for heat treatment is a gas burner, and preferably two. The author uses them not for hardening, but for tempering the metal and relieving internal stress, so it is not necessary to heat the metal strongly.
Since steel is processed without tempering, manually turning such a knife will not work, here you will need it. The made knife is so sharp that the author shaves his hair without any problems, while it is so strong that it can cut branches.
Materials and tools used
List of materials:
- wrench ¾;
- cap part of the key;
- two screws with internal nuts (like pins);
- pads on the handle (suitable wood, textolite, etc.).
List of tools:
-
- files for metal and wood;
- Bulgarian;
- gas-burner;
- drilling machine or drill;
- marker;
- electric jigsaw;
- machine or grinder with a wire brush;
- pliers, screwdrivers and other little things.
Knife making process:
Step one. Local tempering of metal
In order for the wrench steel to be machined with hand tools, it must first be released. To do this, the author heats the steel with a gas burner and, tapping with a hammer, allows it to cool gradually. It is advisable to repeat the procedure several times. If the hammer began to leave a mark on the metal, then the steel is released and can be processed.
Step two. Groove under the handle
The knife has two handles, if I may say so, one is the main one, and the other is under the finger, thanks to this design, the knife can perform various tricks, and it also holds well in the hand. We take a file and grind a groove, another part from the wrench should go here. The groove can be easily machined using files, because we released the metal and it became soft. Perfectly match the parts to each other.
Step three. Drilling mounting holes
Two holes must be drilled in the tail part of the hole; they are designed to install pins, which are bolts with nuts. Drilling them with a conventional drill without releasing the metal will not work, here you will need a drill with a special tip. Well, or, you can still locally release the metal and drill them with a regular drill.
Step four. Let's start sanding
Now we need such a powerful tool as . Let's start grinding, first of all, grind the workpiece along the contour to get the desired shape.
Next, we proceed to the formation of bevels. Judging by the video, the author makes them by eye, without marking anything on the blade. If the tape on your machine is narrow, then we make the bevels sequentially. When making bevels or sharpening a blade, always hold the blade up against the moving belt. Remember that the metal cannot be overheated, as it will be tempered. Cool the workpiece in water from time to time.
Step five. Handle pads
Let's start finishing the handle, here you will need textolite, wood, you can also use animal horns and other materials. Plus in favor artificial materials that they, as a rule, do not need additional finishing. For example, a tree must be impregnated with oil so that it does not absorb moisture.
We attach the tail part to the material and circle it with a marker. You will need two patches in total. Cut them out with a jigsaw and then drill two holes for the pins. Screws with union (internal) nuts are used as pins.
Now screw the pads together using the screws and nuts. Thanks to the one-piece design, you can make both parts exactly the same. And again we go to the belt sander, we process the profile of the product along the contour in order to align it. In principle, other types of work are not necessary.
Step six. Knife assembly
We take the lining and unwind them, then install them on the knife. The author does not use glue for installation, in connection with this you will have the opportunity to replace the pads if they collapse. The most important thing is to tighten the nuts well. First we twist with a screwdriver, then we can finally tighten it manually. But keep in mind that if you tighten it too hard, the lining material may crack.
Having collected the knife, we again go to the belt grinder. Now we need to form the final handle profile. The metal should be flush with the handle. Grind sharp edges and shape the comfortable handle profile to your liking.
In conclusion, the author proceeds to the manual processing of the handle. For this case, you will need sandpaper. We make the handle absolutely smooth, gradually reducing the graininess of the sandpaper. To make the sandpaper work well, moisten it with water, so it cleans itself.
Step seven. Temperature treatment
Before this step, the lining must be removed by unscrewing the screws and nuts.
The author warms up the blade with two burners. This process is called metal tempering, which makes it more elastic and also relieves internal stress. However, this step is not necessary, since in the manufacture of wrenches, the metal is already hardened to optimum hardness. You can visually determine the heating to the desired temperature by color, the metal should become straw-colored.
Step eight. Blade cleaning
After heat treatment, the metal will change color, this problem must be solved. A machine with a wire brush will come to the rescue. We clean the metal to a shine.
Step nine. Sharpening and polishing
Install a fine grit belt on the belt sander and coarsely sharpen the knife. Hold the blade against the movement of the belt. Then a polishing belt is installed on the machine. With it, you can polish the knife to a shine, and sharpen the blade to the state of the blade.
Do you want to start making knives, and do not know where to get good steel for this business? It's right under your nose - it's wrenches. They use high-quality high-carbon steel, which lends itself well to hardening, forging, and so on. Of course, the wrench must be branded, and not from raw Chinese steel. As a rule, when processing good metal with a grinder, abundant sparks are poured.
Wrenches are not expensive, a made knife will cost tens of times more than a key, even if it was just bought in a store.
The technique for making a knife, which we will consider today, is a rather professional approach - this is forging. But there is no need to be scared and run away, when making a knife, the author used very simple, common tools, which anyone can probably get. As for the stove, it can be made from a bucket, and coals for the grill act as fuel.
Materials and tools that the author used to make the knife:
List of materials:
- a wrench (you can choose the size at your discretion);
- two nails (used as pins);
- wood (for overlays on handles);
- epoxy adhesive;
- wood impregnation oil.
List of tools:
- clamps;
- gas burner (optional);
- dremel or drill with a grinding attachment;
- polishing nozzle for a drill;
-
- grindstone;
- files;
- vice;
- sandpaper of different grain sizes;
- a hammer;
- anvil;
-
- oil (for hardening);
- pliers;
- oven from a bucket (or similar);
- coal;
- household hair dryer + piece of pipe;
- ignition fluid.
Knife making process:
Step one. We prepare the workpiece
We take a wrench, which is not a pity to sacrifice, and from it the carob part. The key does not have to be good, you can use a broken, gouged, and so on.
Step two. Leveling the workpiece
Fire up your stove, the coals can be fanned with a regular hair dryer. We heat the workpiece red hot, after which the metal will become soft. We clamp the workpiece in a vise and align the cap part, as it is done at an angle. All this is done with light blows of the hammer.
Step three. Let's start forging
We heat up that part of the workpiece that will act as a blade. We work with a hammer on an anvil. The metal cools down quite quickly, so the workpiece will have to be heated more than once, how much depends on the skill. Form the desired profile of the blade, align it.
Step four. We form a rough grinding
We have formed the main profile, now we clamp the workpiece in a vise and go through the blade with a grinder, with a grinding wheel installed. You can turn the profile along the contour, as well as form bevels. When forging, you should try to make the blade as thin as possible, so that later there will be less grinding work.
Step five. hardening
Before tempering the knife, the author decided to flatten the cap part of the key a little so that it does not interfere with holding the knife. But it is not necessary to do this at all, you can leave it as it is. We warm this part red-hot and then squeeze it in a vise.
Let's move on to hardening, it is important to note that this process also involves the use of metal tempering, but for some reason the author missed this point. For hardening, we heat the knife red-hot and cool it in oil, vegetable or mineral oil can be used. Judging by the color, the author uses automotive testing.
Further, it is recommended to temper the metal, as it will be brittle and may break at some point. Put the blade in the oven and heat for about an hour at a temperature of 200-250 degrees Celsius, then let it cool in the oven without opening it.
Step six. Drilling holes and assembling the handle
First of all, you need to drill two holes for the pins in the tail section. As pins, the author decided to use ordinary nails. This is not aesthetically pleasing, but reliable and practical. Just like that, you won’t drill holes in the hardened metal, for this you need to release it. We take a torch and heat the metal in the right place red-hot, then let it cool down smoothly. Everything, the steel has become soft, holes can be drilled with a conventional metal drill.
You can start assembling the handle, here you will need plywood, thin boards or other similar material. If you wish, you can make a typesetting pen. We take blanks and drill holes for the pins in them, assemble all the details on the nails. To glue the components you need epoxy glue. At the end, we will tighten the whole thing with clamps and let the glue dry completely. Complete drying of the epoxy adhesive takes 24 hours.
Step seven. Let's finish the handle
Let's start processing the handle, for rough work use a sharpener or rasp. To process problem areas, use a dremel or a drill with a grinding attachment. We form the main profile of the handle depending on the needs.
Now comes the stage of finer wood processing. Sandpaper will help us with this. First we use large paper, then smaller and smaller. We make the handle absolutely smooth.
Step eight. We sharpen a knife
To sharpen a knife, the author uses a special sharpening
I like to make handicrafts with my own hands. Especially from objects and things that have worked their way. So to speak, breathe into them new life. Wrenches ... Over the years, with intensive use, their working edges (mouth) wear out and gradually diverge (especially when applying excessive force to them when unscrewing rusted or heavily tightened bolts and nuts). It is impossible to use such keys, and it is dangerous (you can damage your fingers), it is a pity to throw them away. What to do with them?
There is an exit! Get a knife out of him! And what: a suitable size (the larger the key number, the longer and more massive the knife will turn out), high strength and hardness (usually the keys are made of chromium or chrome-vanadium structural steel grades 40X, 40HF, 40XFA and their foreign counterpart AISI 5140). The steel grade is usually indicated on the pen in the form of raised numbers and letters, or simply the words "chrome vanadium".
The knife made from the key turns out to be so sharp that it can shave hair without any problems, while it is also quite durable, so it will also work for chopping branches.
Used materials and tools
To work, you will need the following materials:
- wrench 30 or so;
- wooden bars (for handle overlays);
- brass rods (for pins);
- epoxy adhesive;
- hardening oil;
- polishing paste;
- wood impregnation oil;
- rags, paper napkins.
To carry out operations, you will need tools, processing material and fixtures:
- belt grinder (grinder);
- endless abrasive belt, sandpaper;
- files for metal and wood;
- Bulgarian;
- drilling machine or drill;
- marker;
- clamps;
- vise;
- based oven gas burner;
- drill;
- scriber;
- metal ruler, etc.
The process of making a knife from a wrench
First you need to put the workpiece in order (we have a wrench). It must be cleaned of dirt and rust with a grinder or a drill with a wire nozzle. Now, on the cleaned surface of the key, using a metal ruler and a scriber, it is easier to mark the knife profile with some tolerance.
After that, they begin to cut off all that is superfluous with the help of a grinder and a cutting wheel, having previously securely clamped the workpiece in a vise. The closer to the intended contour the cut is made, the less it will be necessary to grind the metal on the belt grinder.
In order to outline the profile even more precisely, the workpiece is additionally processed on a belt grinding machine using an abrasive endless belt. At the same time, burrs are removed and sharp corners and edges are rounded.
The following operation will not be superfluous: removal of excess metal with a grinder in the area of \u200b\u200bthe future blade.
To do this, the workpiece must be securely clamped in a vise. It is better to complete this transition on a grinder, which will bring the cross-section of the knife blade closer to its final shape.
The next operation is one of the main ones. It is necessary to form the cutting part of the knife - the blade. Using a marker, a border is drawn between the blade and the base of the handle. Then the blade is clamped into a special holder and excess metal is symmetrically removed from its sides in such a volume as to form a thickness over the entire height of the blade equal to that of the finished knife from above with a small tolerance.
Again, with the help of a marker, bevels are outlined, leaving a narrow belt at the handle (it will give greater strength to the blade). Moreover, the wider the bevel, the thinner the blade and the better the cut. Then a center line is drawn along the blade with a caliper. We need it in order to navigate along it, forming symmetrical bevels on both sides. Again, the blade is installed in the holder at the right angle and the bevels are polished on both sides almost until they are completely ready.
Bevels should be brought manually using sandpaper, after securing the blade with a clamp. This must be done also because after hardening the metal is more difficult to process.
The next operation - hardening - is also very responsible and difficult. The blade is heated in a furnace based on a gas burner to a yellow glow and lowered into a container of oil for cooling. A sharp temperature drop not only causes changes inside the metal, but also on its surface: in some places oxidized areas will be visible. They are quickly removed with cloth-based sandpaper in the presence of water.
Next, using a drill or drill with an appropriate nozzle, convex inscriptions are removed - the numbers of the key heads and the steel grade. This must be done so that the pads fit snugly against the base of the handle.
Now the blade is polished with the help of polishing paste and a felt circle worn on the drill spindle. After this operation, the blade acquires almost mirror shine and the blade is sharp enough.
Next, three holes are drilled in the handle, having previously marked their places with a core and a hammer. Drilling hardened metal is not easy. It's better to do it on drilling machine rather than using a drill. The holes in diameter should ensure a tight fit of the pins in them, which will be the key to reliable fixation of the overlays on the handle.
Then the almost finished knife is dipped in a special oily liquid, polished again with a nozzle on a drill and wiped with paper napkins to a mirror shine.
Overlays can be made from birch, beech, maple, cherry, pear, etc. wood. Using the handle as a jig, holes are drilled in wooden bars under pins.
The overlays are then machined on a belt sander to their final dimensions.
The last operation is the installation of overlays on the knife using pins and epoxy glue.
All glued surfaces are well cleaned, lubricated with glue, pins are installed and tightened with clamps until the glue has completely hardened.
After the glue has dried, the pins are cut flush with the lining and lightly sanded under the surface of the lining. The tree should be impregnated with oil so that it is protected from moisture and dirt. It remains only to wipe the knife with a rag, and it is ready to go.
In custody…
It must be borne in mind that according to GOST 2838-80 “Wrenches. General specifications”, the hardness of the handle of the keys can be 5 HRC units less than the lower hardness limit for the throat (average value 41.5 HRC). Therefore, when marking the profile of the knife, the tip of the blade should be directed towards the larger throat. Then a significant part of it will have increased hardness.
You should not use cheap (usually Chinese) keys marked "Drop Forget Steel", which means "forged steel", as a blank. They are not suitable for making knives either in terms of strength or hardness.
