Gut Hook Hunting Knife

This is a short instructable showing you the steps to make a gut hook knife.

The Materials

Blade - Steel 3/16" - I've seen people use lawn mower blades or you can purchase the steel off eBay and temper it yourself. The steel came off an 5000lb piece of switchgear that I acquired from a jobsite.

Wood
Finish Nail

Tools

Metal Bandsaw
Sharpie
Pencil
wood Glue
Grinder
Vice
Sand paper 80-6000 grit
Hammer
Drill and bits

Choose a design and start by drawing onto the steel with a sharpie.

- Once you have your final design drawn, cut the steel using a metal saw such as a bandsaw.

- Grind a slit for the gut hook. If your design requires holes in the blade, drill them now.

- Place the knife in a vice and grind the blade to desired shape. Don't make the blade to thin or the metal will start to fold on itself.

- Sand the blade from 80-6000 grit

- Trace the handle using a pencil on the desired wood.

- Cut the wood a little bigger than the metal handle so you can sand it flush later.

- Once cut, drill holes the size of the finish nail into the wood and metal.

- Cut the finish nail 1/8" bigger than the wood and metal put together.

- Glue the wood onto the metal.

- Hammer the Nail on an anvil or hard surface. Be careful not to crack handle! This makes the nail flare on both sides to fasten the handles to the metal.

- Let the glue dry

- Shape the wood around the metal handle.

- Once sanded, clean the wood and finish it with stain or preferred finish.

- Enjoy!