How to Make Neck Knives
Neck knives are convenient defense weapons for women. Well-made neck knives can be drawn one-handed. While they will not stop a determined attacker, they can provide a window for escape and the opportunity to call for help. The scabbard is the most important part of a neck knife, as it must hold the knife securely while inverted and have a way to attach to a necklace. The most common type of neck knife has a wrapped handle and a heat-molded plastic sheath. Follow the steps below to make your own neck knife.
Things You'll Need
- 1-inch by 4-inch by 1/8-inch piece of 01 tool steel
- Oven
- Black permanent marker
- Your choice of blade profiles
- Bench vise
- Right angle grinder
- 24-and 80-grit wheels
- Fine wire wheel
- Gun blue
- Leather strips or parachute cord
- Rubber cement
- Electrical tape
- Kydex (R)
- Power drill
- Rivets and rivet gun
- Heat gun
- Forming block
- Sharp metal shears
Instructions
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1
Temper your 01 tool steel by heating it to 400 degrees Fahrenheit in an oven or toaster oven for one hour. Allow it to cool to room temperature. Repeat the procedure three times.
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2
Use a black permanent marker to lay out the profile of your knife. This will be your knife blank. View sample neck knife profiles in the video in the Resources section of this article (Resource 1). Include a finger groove or other feature, such as a curve in the spine of the blade, so that the sheath will stay on the knife until drawn (Resource 2).
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3
Secure your knife blank in a bench vise. Use a right angle grinder and 24-grit wheel to remove material outside the black marker outline around your knife profile. Grind the cutting edges with an 80-grit wheel as desired. Use a fine wire wheel to create a brushed finish. Apply gun blue, if desired.
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4
Wrap knife tang with electrical tape until covered. Apply rubber cement to entire taped area. Wrap taped area with leather strips or parachute cord.
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5
Lay out Kydex twice as wide as the blade plus one inch, and one inch longer than the blade. Place knife on Kydex and heat form to the blade, as directed in the Kydex Knife Sheath tutorial in the Resources section of this article.
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6
Drill holes for rivet and neck cord. Cut the sheath to shape with sharp metal shears. Finish edges with your 80-grit wheel on your right angle grinder. Tie neck cord through hole in the end of the sheath. Attach rivets. Adjust sheath tension if needed, using a heat gun and forming block.
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Tips & Warnings
Knife maker Murray Carter expects neck knives to be "...light enough around the neck to not be bothersome, or noticeable, and yet powerful enough to do some heavy cutting...held safely and securely upside down in their sheath, but can be drawn and put into action with a minimum of effort" (Reference 1). Jim Garnder believes "...hunters use the neck knife...because it's easy to keep in reach even when adding or removing layers of clothing throughout the day. Fishermen too find this carry mode handy and convenient, and it makes it a lot easier to keep your cutter dry when wading" (Reference 2).
