Knife Making

A custom knife is a type of knife that is handcrafted by skilled craftsmen. They are made from high quality materials and are designed to be unique and personalized to the owner’s preferences.

In the world of premium knife making, M390 steel stands out as a paragon of performance and durability. Known for its exceptional edge retention, corrosion resistance, and overall toughness, M390 steel has carved a niche for itself among professional knife makers and enthusiasts alike.

The finish quality of the blade is determined by the Grit of the finishing grind. These can range from a low-shine 280-320 grit finish to a mirror-shine. The high polish shine can be accomplished by buffing with chrome oxide (ex. white chrome, green chrome), hand rubbing with extremely fine wet-or-dry abrasive paper, or with a Japanese water-stone, which has an approximate grit of 10,000-12,000. Most high quality manufactured knives have about an 800 grit finish.

A sheath is important to ensure safety and protection of a knife you carry every day. Making a homemade sheath is not as difficult, once you’ve got a set of required tools, materials and a bit of passion. Learn how to craft your personalized knife sheath in several simple steps.

CPM MagnaCut is a next-gen powder-metallurgy stainless tool steel engineered by Dr. Larrin Thomas. By eliminating large chromium carbides, it hits the “holy trinity” of knife performance—high wear resistance, high toughness, and real-world stainless behavior—at 60-64 HRC.

Mastering knife etching requires an understanding of chemical solutions, precise preparation, and careful execution. This guide combines the experience of professional artisans, historical insights, and technical expertise to provide a step-by-step roadmap for achieving high-quality etched blades.

Although to a beginner it might seem that a quality blade is everything required to make a knife a perfect cutting tool, the reality is a bit more complicated. The grind is an aspect often overlooked by knife owners, and every true knife lover has to understand how the grind impacts the use of a knife. The word ‘grind’ stands for the shape of knife’s blade and depicts how exactly the blade is made thin enough to cut with it. Explore the different edge types, their properties and strengths, to better understand how to have the best of your knife.

Hand engravers work on a variety of materials, including wood, metals, glass, stone, gems, leather and print materials. For engraving on metal, a variety of steels and alloys are suitable (however, you need to consider the level of metal’s hardness), as well as aluminum, titanium, gold and other non-ferrous or precious metals.

420HC is a mid-grade martensitic stainless steel—essentially an “improved” 420—with extra carbon and a forgiving heat-treat range that lets manufacturers deliver respectable hardness (≈ 56–60 HRC) and very high corrosion resistance at budget-friendly prices.