Step-By-Step Knifemaking: You Can Do It!

Considering this book is over 40 years old and some technology and techniques have changed, this is a very informative and great step by step book for the beginner knife maker. It gives some old tricks that I didn’t even know about such as the artwork application on the blades, which is worth the price I paid for a hardcover book that was never opened! Great price, great delivery, everything they said regarding the condition of the used book!

Excellent book. Two things that you should depart from, however: 1- Boye recommends using scrap steel for knives. High quality knife steel is super cheap now. Buy new and save hassles. You can buy right here off amazon. Search for 1095/1080/1070 knife steel. 2 - Boye recommends Aqua Regia (mixture of Muriatic and Nitric acid) for etching. That stuff is alien blood! SOOO dangerous. Use Ferric Chloride instead. Works great, much, much safer (like a strong vinegar) and (again) you can buy it right here on Amazon for a few bucks. Luck!

Good book for learning and understanding of one perspective. Though the author does do things differently than quite a bit of other books I've read, but its good to see alternative methods. Wouldn't recommend this book alone as a way to learn knifemaking, but would be a great addition to 1 or more other tutorial books.

A true bible of the craft! The "used" book was in mint condition and even the paper used was soft, just shiny and thick enough to make it easy to turn but not reflect light while reading - talk about the old-fashioned tactile pleasure of reading! I very much enjoyed the effort put into this book's authorship and organization. The pencil sketches of types of knives, methods, and even shop motors are easy to understand and clear. The index in the beginning makes it easy to orient yourself to the subject matter and find a chapter. The writing is concise, telling you only what a layman would need to know, leaving you with no need to "google" any spurious details (after all, there was no internet in 197x, and this book was MADE to be taken out of a library - or loved at home on a shelf). My favorite part has got to be the photos and details about the engraving process - the safety risks of working with highly corrosive acid mixtures are made with good humor: "You can call your local fire department about disposal methods - but they may not know any better what to do with it than you". Anyone who enjoys metalworking, crafts, knives, bushcraft and the like will fall in love with this book. P.S. made a great Christmas gift!

Dad bought this book on a whim around 1990 or so. He played around with the techniques that Mr. Boye demonstrates, and made several knives over the next few years. Dad then decided to kick it up a notch and start forging steel. He steadily built up a knifemaking shop that included a self-designed forge and power hammer (not to mention building his own anvil). Later he learned the art of Damascus steel making from Bill Moran. Dad passed in 2014 and by the time he left us he had made many, many knives, each one a work of art. All of that started with this slick lil' volume by Boye. To be much recommended to anyone interested in knifemaking or metalworking in general.

I have bought cookbooks & cake decorating books for my wife for a fraction of the cost of this book... and they all have had full blown COLOR photos on every page. And that is the major flaw of this book (and to be fair, every knife making book I've bought which is why I've stopped buying books), no COLOR photos. Every single photo is b/w. To some this may seem shallow or nitpicking but to those of us who are visually stimulated, its a blow to my enthusiasm. Especially seems like a crime when having so many photos of etched knives that could be so inspiring. A crying shame I tell you! And at this price!!! It won't keep me from making this a hobby, just took my first knife making class and had a blast. If this had at least ONE COLOR photo, I would give it 5 stars. By far, this is the best book with its depth and breadth of knowledge on the subject. Can someone get a cookbook publisher to re-publish this please???

It was a gift and my son loved it, enjoyed putting it together.

This is a really good book on the subject. I love the fact that Boye likes to use scrap steel and turn that into knives. He uses the stock removal method instead of forging. This book is just a wealth of information and I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about knife making. It is true that Boye mainly makes chef knives, but all this information can be used to make any kind of knife that is made by the stock removal method. Enjoy.