Hello everyone. This months discussion topic is on knifemaking supplies. Suggestions and recommendations on where to get them. The regular knifemaking suppliers are fine, but what we would also like to have are suggestions about other companies that may be people have not thought about.
I will start with a few of mine.
Rio Grande Jewelry Supply is a great place for knifemakers. All types of fine finishing materials, files, burrs, blades for jewelers saws, precious metals, forming tools, etc. Great people to do business with and their tool catalog is like knifemaker porn. Definitely worth looking at.
Another is Refractories West. They handle all types of refractory coatings. Great place for satanite.
Also you might look at Amazon.com. They sell darn near everything now, including jewelry supplies and power tools.
Another type of company is auto body supply suppliers. There is a company in my town called B&H Auto Body Supply. A company like this is a good place to look for finishing materials. Like 4000 grit papers and the white ultra fine scotchbrite pads. Also body rubbing compounds for hamon polishing.
Also check out restaurant supply companies. Things we can use like stainless steel containers in different sizes.
Just a few to get things going. So where do you all shop? Also any questions concerning supplies and where to get them.
Thank you.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
Good topic, Brion. I'm sure that most of the suppliers that I use are the same as others. One exception might be: http://www.cuecomponents.com/. They are suppliers of components for making pool cues and keep many of the same exotic woods on hand that many of us use for handles.
Gary
Great topic, Brion
I have spent many hours thumbing through the Rio Grande catalog. A great source for supplies.
I would like to mention, Maxim Oil & Chemical for your heat treating oils. I know they have been mentioned before. They are great people to deal with, and sell in 5 gallon quantities.
Russell
Thank you Brion! This Topic should be a valuble resource for learning about additional suppliers of tools, equipment, and supplies for our members. I have a list of Suppliers with website links that continues to evolve on the ABS Website which could be useful, Click: Suppliers
Some of the Suppliers on the list on the ABS Website are ABS members whom I am sure you have met at our Hammer-Ins over the years and they include: Riverside Machine (Uncle Al Lawrence), Chile Forge (Stacie and David Starr), New Jersey Steel Baron (Aldo Bruno), Hawkins Knife Making Supplies (Rade, June, and Russell Hawkins), Stephen Bader Co.(Dan Johnson), and Rowe's Leather (Kenny Rowe). All of these suppliers are familiar with what we do and need and can also provide useful advice.
In addition, there are also suppliers that I have learned about over the years and want to share.
I know that Bill Moran purchased his curly maple from Wayne Dunlap in Chantilly, Virginia. I first went to Wayne Dunlap's shop with Master Smith Jack Fuller who had last gone there with Bill Moran several years before. The curly maple and several other hardwoods that he has on hand are highly figured. Wayne has a special for knife makers which is his $100 box of highly figured handle material. http://www.dunlapwoodcrafts.com/
Majestic Maple Stain
If you are using curly maple for your handle material then Majestic Maple Stain which is chromic acid and tap water is very helpful to really bring out the figure in the wood. You can obtain it from R.W. Wilson, P.O. Box 2012, Weirton, West Virginia 26062 or telephone 304-723-2771.
The Woodstock Oil Finish
Keith Casteel is nationally known for his fine engraving work on firearms and the carving of rifle stocks. Keith produces and sells his own wood oil finish which is an outstanding product and costs about $5 a bottle and can be contacted at Keith Casteel, Rt. #1, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia 26525, telephone 304-379-8309, or Email [email protected]
MSC Industrial Supply Company has an incredible inventory of supplies, materials, and tools with next day delivery. They also have a very knowledgable and helpful technical staff. http://www1.mscdirect.com/
Rio Grande Jewelry Supply store in Albuquerque, New Mexico has an outstanding inventory of materials and supplies. If you are ever in Albuquerque take the time to visit their showroom at their headquarters location. You will have an opportunity to see and touch the materials and tools and get some expert advice. http://www.riogrande.com/
Dan Cassidy
Journeyman Smith
Send an email to Dan
One of my favorite suppliers is Gesswein. They have an amazing array of hand finishing items. They have finishing supplies that I have never seen offered anywhere else. You can order from the Gesswien web site, but the best way to see what they have available is to get a hard copy of their catalog.
Lasco Diamond Products has diamond and carbide burrs. They also have diamond polishing paste.
Brownell's offers metal and wood finishing materials, as well as a good variety of tools and anti-scale compounds.
McMaster-Carr has an enormous inventory of tools, fasteners, finishing supplies, you name it….
Grainger Industrial Supply is a good place to buy parts to build and repair shop tools.
SmallParts has a nice supply of tools, but also has very small fasteners; great for folder makers.
Slice of Stainless is a great place to buy sheet stainless steel. The material that they supply comes well packaged and is very clean; minimal scratches to clean up when you use it. Another great place for folder makers to buy from.
Supergrit has a lot of abrasive supplies, including hard to find cork belts.
High Temperature Tools & Refractory. Refractory supplies and quenching oils.
Newman Tools has Clover lapping compounds.
Rockler Woodworking and hardware. Everything that you would expect, plus parts for building dust collection systems.
Halpern Titanium. Knifemaking materials.
I get my honing and polishing supplies from Japan Woodworker:
http://www.japanwoodworker.com
They also have some neat hand tools useful for things such as close cutting of wood, and their Sand Devil sanding block which let you get in close when you need to. They also carry Japanese feather files, very good for fine metal removal.
While already mentioned, Super Grit, Pop's, Uncle Al's, and the NJ Steel Baron are all great to deal with. They deliver promptly and will answer your questions.
Brion,
Great list! I would like to add a source that JD Smith informed me of for all those who use EDM type stones for fine finishing. This company is also a great source for files and burrs of all types as well.
FALCON TOOL AND DIE in Cleveland, Ohio. falcontool.com
If you don't know what stones you want try the "broken assortment" for $15 it is a great deal! The "N" type stones work well for me.
I get a great deal of satisfaction(and savings) out of constructing a tool. I also like that for most of these I've had to learn new concepts and skills to get them together properly. My offerings to this topic offer components for those "do it your selfers" of us. The only negative is this approach takes time away from the making of knives.
I'm upsizing my heat treat oven now with parts from duralite. All the parts of version one are from one of these three.
Duralite, Joppa Glass, and auber instruments.
Also I just finished a new electro etching machine; all parts purchased from Radio Shack. They arrived in two days.
Northern Tools and Hydraulics is where the majority of my parts (frame and hoses were bought locally) were ordered from for my hydraulic press. They have great service. The pump went out a few months after getting it all running. I called them and with no hesitation had a new one with a return paid stamp for the old one in two days. No problems since.
Wow, there is some great information here.
Wolf Automation has a good selection of Variable Frequency Drives. I got my 2 HP vfd for under $250. This is an open type that I put in an enclosure that I had. The best part is that they have complete manuals on line so you can see what you are getting into for wiring before you purchase.
Brian
I do a good bit of business with Pop's Knife Supply. They are good folks to do business with.
Dale
Dale Huckabee
Journeyman Smith
dalehuckabeeknives.weebly.com
|quoted:
I do a good bit of business with Pop's Knife Supply. They are good folks to do business with.
Dale
I just put an order in with them last week!
Another good one is USA Knifemaker's Supply. They have all kinds of stuff from kydex eyelet dies to single sheets of sandpaper.
I use barter to procure my handle materials. I have a buddy with connections to cut offs of various G10 and Micarta materials. I made him a knife and a hawk in exchange for a never ending supply in different colors, thicknesses and widths. I also worked a deal with a local bowyer for his scrap wood. He was burning top quality cocabolo, ebony, curly maple, and many other hardwood pieces that are the perfect size for knife handles. I traded a hawk for all his future "scrap".
While they're not everywhere, there are a lot of Woodcraft stores. This is a link to their store finder http://www.woodcraft.com/stores/
They have a lot of great wood working tools and I find myself trying not to spend a lot of money while looking through their wood section for handle material. The one near me carries a LOT of different woods in a lot of dimensions. I like getting to actually look at the wood prior to buying it, rather than having to order it through a website. They also carry different oils/finishes for woods as well as epoxies. There's even a small knife sections including blade blanks, bookmatched scales, etc. which can be great to get interested folks started in knife making.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
About the only supply outfit that I use, that has not been mentioned is Enco Enco and MSC are essentially the same company.
Something else that is likely the most used consumable in our shops is belts. My personal favorite is Tru-Grit in Ontario, CA. next in line is Pop's Knives and Supplies in Washinton, GA. Either offers a great selection of belts, and some of the best prices around for premium abrasives.
My general recommendation is that if you live east of the Mississippi, order from Pop's, and if you're west of the Mississippi, order from Tru-Grit.
For sheet type abrasives, I am fond of Rhyno-Wet sheets from Super Grit. I think it's one of the best price/quality ratio products around.
Something I find myself doing more and more often these days, is seeking my handle materials, especially woods, outside the traditional handle suppliers. Two things have driven me in this direction....1. The size that blocks/scales are now being offered...they keep getting smaller and smaller. 2. The prices! $70 for a block of stabilized Maple burl!? What are these people smoking? Last fall I was at a regional knife show, and there was an individual there selling Koa....all the blocks were smaller than what I would use for handles, and there was not a block on the table under $100! I very often seek my woods from non-traditional sources, and prefer to buy it in larger "chunks" that I can cut to the size(s) I like.
Ed Caffrey, ABS MS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
www.CaffreyKnives.net
Some places that take my money:
Budget Casting Supplies - refractory etc... They sell some stuff good to 3000 F if you're doing woortz etc... and metals for casting if you doing that. http://www.budgetcastingsupply.com/
Jantz in Oklahoma and Texas Knifemaker Supply have treated me well over the years. http://www.knifemaking.com/Default.asp and http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/index.php
Gilmer Wood. I love the scrap boxes. https://www.gilmerwood.com/
Tandy Leather is still around down here. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/home.aspx
Klingspor Abrasives - all kind of stuff thro more wood focused. http://www.woodworkingshop.com/
Constantine's Fine Woodworking - woods, etc. http://www.constantines.com/
Indian Jewelry Supply - silver wire and stuff http://www.ijsinc.com/
Kayne and Sons Hammer, Anvils, etc. https://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/
Pieh Tools smithing supplies http://www.piehtoolco.com/
Boone Trading - ivoery bone, teeth - http://www.boonetrading.com/
