Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Marking Knifes

  1. #1

    Marking Knifes

    My go-to knife for marking joinery has always been a humble x-acto knife. I recently came across Matt Estlea's iteration of David Barron's marking knife design. This knife uses a disposable blade made by Swann Morton. These blades are replaceable like an x-acto blade but slightly thicker, stiffer and longer: they are slim enough to get into tight spaces but tough enough to do a fair amount of corner clean-up. These blades come in a few shapes, but the 01 version in which the cutting edge is parallel to the handle somehow seems more useful than the typical V shaped craft knife blades. These blades are double beveled, so some people will not find them suitable for some tasks (like transfering dovetails) - I've always found it more comfortable to rotate a double bevel knife right or left rather than upwards like you have to do with a single bevel knife.

    Since Matt admittedly took inspiration from (copied) David, I figured it was not unreasonable to take inspiration from (copy) Matt and make a version of my own. I've connected with Matt and sent him a sample: I look forward getting his feedback. I've been having fun tweaking the design a bit, finally using scraps of exotic woods from the bins, and figuring out some processes for making in small batches. I gave the handle a slim cigar shape with flats on both sides which keeps it from rolling off the bench and gives a reference to the orientation of the blade. To me this shape feels good in the hand and has a nice balance: it is on the delicate side, but I don't tend to work a knife too hard, so I don't see this as a problem. Making a batch of these gave me an excuse to add a small Unimat metal lathe to the tool arsenal but doing that has me thinking I should try to cover the cost of the new tool by selling some of the knifes. So far I've made a couple batches of 20 which are mostly going to friends and colleagues I'm also putting a couple a week on that big auction site.

    There are a bunch of process videos on Instagram if you're interested in how I've made these.
    https://www.instagram.com/gonnamakesomething/

    I'm starting another batch soon. I'm hoping I can get my production time down and maybe offer the hardware as a kit for people who want to turn their own handles.


    IMG_20200822_094757_504.jpg IMG_20200822_095229_493.jpg s-l1600 (3).jpg s-l1600 (2).jpg s-l1600 (1).jpg IMG_20200804_130236.jpg
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Kevin Groenke
    @personmakeobject on instagram
    Fabrication Director,UMN College of Design (retired!)


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Marina del Rey, Ca
    Posts
    1,934
    The Japanese marking knives are excellent.

    kiridashi_japanese_marking_knife.jpg
    anreissmesser-japan-309020.jpg
    Last edited by andy bessette; 08-23-2020 at 2:28 AM.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •