Customer Reviews

Knifemaking: A Complete Guide to Crafting Knives, Handles & Sheaths

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If you're a blacksmith looking for tips on making knife blades, there's not a lot here for you. Sorry. But if you'd like to make a knife without building a forge or buying a stock-removal system, you're in the right place. This book was originally written for the Scandinavian market, and then translated into English. The people of Sweden, Norway and Finland often buy an inexpensive (locally made) knife blade, then assemble the handle from wood, or birch bark, antlers, brass spacers, etc...and make a leather and/or wooden sheath for themselves. They wind up with a 'custom' knife for the low price of a blade, their time, and a few natural materials they gather on the spot. This is a tradition in their part of the world, and this book shows how to do it, and do it very well. It has clearly translated instructions, good illustrations, it's well worth the asking price. FWIW, I've made these knives and I love 'em. They're inexpensive enough to make and give away, and a knife you've made will be one of the best gifts you can ever given anyone. I don't sell my knives, but that's up to you.

If you're interested in learning how to do this, use your favorite search engine to find info on purchasing the blades blanks worldwide, the blade makers include such companies as Helle, Frosts, Brusletto, Eriksson, Karesuando, Marttiini. A lot of the blade vendors in Scandinavia, two vendor's of these blade blanks in the US that I recommend are Ragweedforge.com and Kellamknives.com. With a $12 blade and this book, some wood, some glue and some time you, too, can make great knives.

Bo Bergman might not yet be known outside Scandinavia, but here he has been one of the brightest shining stars in the area of creative knifemaking for over a decade. His book "Knifemaking" is a compilation of two of his bestselling books and it contains all the things you need to know to become a passionate craftsman.

The instructions are very easy to follow and a lot of pictures and illustrations guide you through all the steps. Througout the text you can really tell that Bo Bergman not only knows what he is talking about, but also that he also loves what he is doing.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that wishes to express themselves through a very beautyful and long lasting art.

I got the recomendation for this book off the Ragweed web site. It was rather hard to find, but Amazon found it for me. I am a beginner knife maker, and this book is perfect for a beginner, you will learn so much. Why bother making a blade when you can buy some great blades from Thompson's Scandinavian Knife supply or North Coast knife supply. Who has the time or equipment to forge a blade? You can get a nice Lauri pt with a rockwell sharpness of 63 that will be sharper than anything you now own. Bo will show you how to make the handle and sheath for your knife. He has quite a few step by step projects that are incredibly detailed. The knifes turn out great and they will be unlike any you see on the net. Many of the Scandinavian web sites just have pukko style knives. He has a large varitey of scandianvian knifes. He has instructions for a handle made out of layers of birch bark that looks awesome. I am making a Sami style knife at the moment and it looks great. You learn something with each knife. His instructions on making sheaths is alone worth the price of the book. He shows you how to make all leather, wood and leather, and all wood sheaths, very cool. I would recommed this book to anyone who wants to make a very function knife that they can actually use. Many of the knife books out there show you how to make huge knives that are really not that practical, if you need a weapon, get a gun. But if you want a knife that has years of tradition behind and can be a great tool,then get this book.

The nitty gritty: does it allow you to craft a knife? I'm just completing my 2nd knife based entirely on this book, so for me--yes.

The book assumes you have a blade and are interested in the scandinavian approach to turning it into a knife. There is some general discussion, but mostly it is a description of several projects involving different styles and materials in handle making and in sheath making. There is enough detail to allow you to 'join the dots' or use it as a basis for taking off on your own. It is also pleasant to see that the 'suggested tool kit' does not run into $$$$$$ or involve special use machines, which encouraged me to get going.

Bergman does a fine job of encouraging the reader to make, use, and appreciate Scandinavian-style knives. The reader is also encouraged to confront and appreciate a set of knife traditions that, until recently, have been neither well known nor sufficiently appreciated outside their native Scandinavia. In short, Bergman's book is both a useful "how-to manual" and a fascinating cultural study.

Bergman's instructions to aspiring knife makers are sufficiently clear and encouraging such that all but the most inept tool users will come away with sufficient knowledge and motivation to encourage them to attempt to make their first Scandinavian-style knife and, most likely, many more such knives thereafter. I suspect that there have been many useful and even attractive knives that have been made using the instructions in this book that have amazed all who have seen them, including the knifemakers themselves

I was at least as impressed, however, at the insights that Bergman provides non-Scandinavians into the cultures, traditions, and mindsets that surround and inform the making and use of knives in Scandinavian societies. It might not be too much to say that Bo Bergman may, in his way, be "right up there" with Ingmar Bergman, Ole Rolvaag, Soren Kirkegaard, and the Norse and Finnish sagas as a useful point of reference for non-Scandinavians into the subtleties of Scandinavian culture and psychology.

I learned recently that this fine book has gone out of print. This is unfortunate. I can only hope that a means can be found to re-issue this work so that new members of the rapidly growing cadre of Scandinavian knife enthusiasts can also benefit and be inspired by Bo Bergman's skill and wisdom.

I just finished probably my 10th or so knife using the techniques learned in this book. This book is currently available in a German edition from Dick Fine Tools but the English version is still out of print. It is very nearly worth whatever you have to pay if you are at all interested in Scandinavian knifemaking, an excellent book. As an addition, if you can find Swedish Carving Techniques by Wille Sundqvist he goes into knife usage in depth. These two books will have you making spoons, small bowls and even buttons for a favorite jacket, all with knives and a few carving tools.

phil

This book is wonderful. There are many details inside to make handles and scabbards for pukkos. Small lack about blades... The project section shows what it is possible to do.

Bergman describes in clearly written detail how to craft a knife handle.

if you are into making blades, this is not the book for ya! it might seems to be, but it isn't, it doesn't include instruction for making the blades itself. For me, it's more likely to be a wood working process rather than making knives itself.

If you are fond of decorating your knives' sheats and handles, this is the book for you. it discusses more about handles and sheats more than the blade itself, it's a little bit frustrating because we don't usually have complete resources for blades, so making blades is really a need, and it even says "complete guide to ....". reminder for those, that you might consider this book a second option coz the title and contents itself seems to be misleading.