by Laura Zerra

There's something special about using a knife you built with your own hands. Renowned survivalist Laura Zerra never leaves home without her knife. And in this book she teaches you everything she's learned from her own intense wilderness experience about what makes or breaks a great knife. Inside you'll find Step-by-step instructions for both forging and stock removal; profiles of some of the great bladesmiths working today; tips and tricks to take your knifemaking to the next level.

Hundreds of color photos.

159 oversized pages

Introduction

1. Tools of the Trade
Setting Up a Shop; Safety Equipment; Tools; Forging vs. Stock Removal; Blacksmithing Tools; Building a Two-Brick Forge

2. Designing a Knife
Knife Anatomy; Tang; Blade Profiles; Designing Your Knife; Making a Template

3. Understanding Steel
What Is Steel?; Heat and Steel; Selecting Steel; Cutting Out a Blank

4. Blacksmithing
Heating the Steel; Making a Game Plan; Hammering; Moving Steel; Making a Hot Cut; Knife Forging 101; Normalizing; Annealing

5. Grinding
Blade Profiling; Grinds; Blade Geometry; Learning to Grind; Making a Scandinavian Grind

6. Heat Treating and Finishing
Final Tooling of the Steel; Hardening; Quenching; Hardening in a Pit Fire; Tempering; Tempering 1080 Steel; Grinding the Surface; Polishing

7. Making a Handle
Scale Materials; Pins; Handle Ergonomics; Making a Wooden Handle

8. Making a Sheath
Sheath Styles; Sheath Materials; Leatherworking Tools; Making a Leather Sheath

9. Sharpening and Knife Care
Sharpening Tools; Mechanics of Sharpening; Sharpening a Blade; Keeping an Edge

Glossary

Resources

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Index