How to Make a Metal Pocket Knife

Use 12-gauge copper sheeting to make a metal pocket knife.

Make a metal pocket knife using an old hacksaw blade and a sheet of 12-gauge copper. This crude pocket knife works no differently from a professionally made knife. A rivet holds and hinges the hacksaw blade and the copper handle. A form of the pocket knife has been used since Roman times. It had no spring mechanism but the blade of the knife did fold into a handle or housing. The pocket knife was used for both eating and fighting during the Middle Ages.

Things You'll Need

• Safety goggles
• Old hacksaw blade
• Ruler
• Oil pencil
• Bandsaw
• Awl
• 12-gauge copper sheet
• Bench vise
• Rubber or rawhide mallet
• Wooden folding carpenter's ruler
• Rubber or rawhide mallet
• Round file
• Flat file
• Drill press
• Pop rivet gun
• 1/2-inch pop rivet
• Whetstone
• Lubricant oil

Instructions

1. Mark across a hacksaw blade 1/2 inch from the end. Place a mark 3 1/2 inches from the first mark. Repeat, and place another mark 3 1/2 inches up the blade for a total of three lines. Using a bandsaw, cut the hacksaw blade on the three marks.

2. Measure and mark a rectangle mesuring 3 3/4 inches by 1 1/2 inch on the copper sheet. Using a bandsaw, cut out the rectangle on the lines.

3. Place a ruler down the center of the longest length of the rectangle; hold the ruler firmly. Score the top of the copper with an awl. Pressing firmly, draw the awl across the surface of the copper.

4. Place the copper rectangle in a bench vise so the scored line is even with the top edge of the bench vise. Use a rubber or rawhide mallet to bend the remaining copper at a 45 degree angle.

5. Remove the copper from the bench vise. Lay the copper on a hard surface. Place the copper over the edge of one section of a wooden carpenter's ruler. Tap the copper down with a rubber or rawhide mallet and until it is flush with the ruler.

6. File the indentation for the blade opener with a round file. Remove the ruler to make the indentation deeper. Use the round and flat file to round and shape the ends of the copper to the desired shape. Remove the carpenter's ruler.

7. Secure 1/2 inch of the hacksaw blade in the bench so it lies on a horizontal plane with the teeth upward. Use a flat file to file off the teeth and bevel the edge of the blade. Flip the hacksaw blade periodically to work on both sides, which will keep the top of the blade even. Use a 70 degree bevel for the blade. Repeat with the other hacksaw blade. Remove from the bench vise when completed.

8. Place the two sharpened hacksaw blades around a third unsharpened hacksaw blade with the sharpened cutting ends on the same side. Place the three pieces inside the bent copper rectangle so the cutting blades point toward the inside of the knife casing. Center the blades, and place the non-cutting edge 1/16 inch from the cut edge of the copper. Gently tap the edge of the copper with the rubber or rawhide mallet to hold the blades securely. A gap will exist above the blades.

9. Measure, center and place a mark 5/8 inch on the end of the copper where the hacksaw blades were not sharpened. Use a drill press and drill a hole through the copper and hacksaw blades. Remove from the drill press.

10. Use your fingers to pry open the copper far enough to remove the blades. Discard the unsharpened hacksaw blade. Reinsert the two sharpened hacksaw blades with the cutting edge up. Line up the holes. Squeeze the copper so the front and back are flat and not angled.

11. Place a pop rivet through the hole, and secure.

12. Open one blade at a time. Use a whetstone and lubricant to sharpen the blades.

References

• Big Site of Amazing Facts: History of Pocketknives
• How to Sharpen a Knife