How to Make a Bowie Knife

I'm going to show you how to make this knife!

In this tutorial, I will show you all the steps necessary in making this bowie knife. Hopefully it will be helpful and will put into perspective how much work goes into making a custom knife. My instagram page (@starkknives) has a lot more pictures of finished and work in progress pictures of knives with different handle materials and shapes so if you'd like to see other examples of what is possible from this tutorial, feel free to check it out! :)

Step 1: Design

The first step in making any knife is coming up with a design. I like to use a free CAD program called DraftSight. Make sure to always make a hard copy that you can hold. This allows you to make sure the proportions are right and the handle is comfortable.

Step 2: Transfer design to steel

I transfer the design to my steel with a good old sharpie. This is AEB-L stainless steel, I like it because it still has a high carbon level that allows for good toughness.

Step 3: Cut and grind to shape

Next I cut out the rough profile on my bandsaw. This is a Harbour Freight Portaband that I clamp to my workbench. Make sure to get metal cutting saw blades.

Shape on Grinder

Shaping the knife using a 36 grit ceramic VSM belt on an 8" contact wheel. Trust me, you do not want to get your finger in the belt.... I use a 2x72 Pheer belt grinder. A cheap alternative would be a Harbor Freight 1x30 sander which can be bought for around $50.

Notice my fashionably torn gloves. ;)

Step 4: Drill handle pin holes

Drill holes into the handle. The large holes are for the handle pins and the small ones are for weight reduction as well as providing an extra attachment point for the epoxy.

Refine

Using a 3/4" small wheel to get into the area where the index finger goes.

Profile is done, time for the most nerve-wracking and exciting part: grinding the bevel.

Step 5: Beveling and getting the knife ready for hardening

I start the bevel by breaking the 90º edge of the blade with a worn out 60 grit belt.

Then I take the grind up to almost finished height and thickness with a new 60 grit belt.

Take the grind to final height and thickness with a 120 belt and then refine with an A100 and then A45 trizact belts. Sometimes I use a blue scotchbrite belt at this stage as well.

Clean up spine

Clean up the tang and spine with the same belt progression.

File sharpening notch

I put the knife in a vise and file in the sharpening notch with a 5/32" chainsaw file. The sharpening notch allows for easy access to the base of the edge so that you don't end up with a curved cutting edge.

File in jimping

I use the same chainsaw file to make the jimping on the spine of the knife. Jimping allows for better grip on the top of the knives, which leads to more control during use.

Ready for hardening!

One of the things I pride myself on with my knives is making them so that they cut well (sounds obvious but some knives are pretty much a sharpened prybar). I try to make them thin behind the edge while still being tough so that it has less resistance from the material being cut. The knife is now ready to get hardened. I sadly do not have a kiln for doing it myself so I have to send it out. The place where I send it heats the knife up to over 2000ºF before putting it into a cryo treatment and tempering.

Step 6: Pick out handle material

Here's the handle material my customer picked out. It is copper shreds with glitter cast in clear resin. The copper plate underneath will be used as a liner between the tang of the knife and the scales.

Step 7: Get handle ready for gluing

Trace the handle's outline onto the materials.

Cut on bandsaw

Then I cut the pieces out on the bandsaw.

Glue components together

Next I glue the material to the liners using G-flex epoxy. I and a lot of other knife makers use this epoxy. Make sure to clean the materials off with rubbing alcohol or acetone to remove all oils before gluing.

Clamp together

Clamp the pieces together making sure to not over-tighten so that the glue doesn't all get squeezed out. Yes, there is a handle under there. :P

Drill pin holes

Drill the pin holes in alignment with the holes in the knife's handle. These are 3/16" stainless steel pins. I also drill some little divots for extra epoxy to fill. (Note: make sure to flatten the scales again before drilling).

Shape and polish handle fronts

The final step for the handle before gluing it onto the knife is shaping and polishing the fronts to 1500 grit. If you leave this step until after you glue them on, you won't be able to get a nice finish without ruining the blade's finish.

Step 8: Put the final finish onto the blade

At this stage it is time to put the blade finish on the knife. This customer requested acidwashed flats and satin bevels. To acidwash, I submerge the knife in a 50/50 mix of ferric chloride acid and water to blacken the knife. The outlet cover is just so the blade doesn't lay flat on the bottom of the container.

Stonewash

The second part of an acidwash is stonewashing. I put the knife in a large thermos with some rocks and WD40 and give it a good shake. I taped the bevel of this knife so it would be protected from the acid. That way I wouldn't have to do as much work to polish it off. Otherwise the entire knife would be black if you wanted a full acidwash finish.

Final blade finish

I then go through the same belt progression to achieve a nice satin machine finish (120, A100, A45). If I didn't grind the knife so thin before hardening, I would go back to a 60 grit to thin the edge down.

Step 9: Handle contouring: where the knife comes alive!

Gluing the scales onto the knife is the same process as laminating the materials so I skipped that. Here is my sandpaper and pin storage. It is a tackle box with dividers. One important tip is always duct tape the back of your sandpaper. It will last at least twice as long because it won't tear.

The epoxy as well as using stainless steel helps prevent galvanic corrosion.

Grind down to the metal

I use a 36 grit belt and the two grinding wheels to get the handle material down to the metal. When using materials like copper, be sure to prevent overheating by dunking in water.

Rough contour

I put the initial curvature of the handle in with an 80 grit belt on the flat platen.

Form the "coke-bottle" shape

Then I use the 8" contact wheel to do the coke-bottle contouring. It is a classic shape that is really comfortable and secure to hold.

Blend contours

I use this scalloped 1x72 120 grit j-flex belt without a backing to blend all of the high spots together and give it a smooth feel.

Hand sand

I then clamp the knife to my workbench and hand-sand from 120 to 1500 grit sandpaper.

Apply finish

I finish my handles with this wood finish and then buff by hand with beeswax to give the handle a nice shine.

Step 10: Etch the logo

I use an etcher with stencils to mark the knife with my logo. It really gives the knife a completed look.

Finished

Here's what it looks like finished. The logo is my company's initials (SC) in Morse code. The dashes are made up of a spoon and a knife. The name is self-explanatory.

Step 11: Sharpen

The very last step is sharpening the knife. I use a 1x30 sander with belts ranging from 120 to 4,500 grit. The secret is to finish with a leather belt loaded with green buffing compound. It will give the edge a razor sharp mirror polish.

Cutting demo

As you can see, it's very sharp. ;)

If anyone has a question, let me know and I'll do my best to hang around and answer as many as possible. I also have some more pictures as well as a sharpness test video on my instagram: @starkknives :)

Handle close up

This photo shows the smooth contours of the handle and the thick copper liners.

This picture really shows the glitter effect in the handle material. The color changes depending on the direction of light. It can go from purple to yellow and any color in between.