Learning how to make knives with a Forged in Fire Champion

For years my role in the knife world has mostly been on the design side. I’ve spent countless hours sketching ideas, refining shapes, thinking about ergonomics, blade geometry, materials, and all the little details that can make or break a knife. Over time, some of those designs have turned into real knives that people carry and use, which is honestly one of the coolest feelings there is. But lately, I started thinking about something else.

If I’m going to spend so much of my time designing knives, why not also learn how to actually make them?

I am a firm believer that making knives can change the way I design... Learning the process can teach me to consider different things that I might not yet know. It is also a great way to gain even more respect for the craft. When you design on paper to later on refine on a  screen (that is my process), everything feels possible. Lines are easy to draw, shapes are easy to imagine, and nothing really fights back. But once you start working with steel, you quickly realize that every decision has consequences.

So I decided to start learning the craft.

To do that, I’ve been learning from Brandon Williams, a Forged in Fire Champion from Season 5 Episode 35. Having the chance to learn from someone with real experience in the craft is a huge advantage. There’s a lot you can read about knife making online, many Youtube videos to watch, but nothing replaces actually being there, watching the process, asking questions, and trying it yourself.

For my first knife, we kept things simple.

The project started with a flat sheet of 1095 steel. Just a piece of steel, nothing more. From there, the process began.

First came cutting out the profile and shaping the overall form of the blade. Then came the grinding, slowly developing the blade and handle shapes. Anyone who has spent time around a grinder knows this is where being careful really starts to matter. It’s easy to take steel away, but you can’t put it back.

Little by little, the blade started to look like… well, a blade.

There’s something really satisfying about watching that transformation happen. A flat piece of steel slowly becomes a knife. After the profile of the knife was finished, it was time for the heat treatment. Brandon did that on one of his fancy heat treat ovens... one day I will learn that, but not yet.

After the heat treatment, the most difficult part began. Grinding those bevels... holy smokes is that something hard to do. One of the most important things to remember here is that the belts move fast and can heat up a blade, and if you are not careful you could ruin the heat treatment. I burnt the tip twice and had uneven grinds for most of the process... but in the end I was able to get it the way I wanted it. I left the spine a little thicker than I normally would because I was worried about ruining the blade later and not being able to fix it. Going forward, that’s something I plan to improve on. We gave the blade a nice finish, and moved on to the handle. 

To make the scales I ordered some Dymalux. Dymalux is a handle material made by compressing layers of wood with resin under high heat and pressure, creating a strong, stable, and water resistant material that still looks like natural wood. The wood is dyed before being compressed, which allows it to come in different colors. I found a color that matched the Orbital Knives logo, and I thought it would look beautiful... and I was right. 

We gave the scales shape, drilled the holes, and installed them on the knife, and guess what... more grinding and sanding. The end result is beautiful (or maybe I'm biased), but I couldn't be happier with it. There are imperfections, and a thick spine, but it is my first, the first of many.