Here is a step-by-step walkthrough of how I make a knife from fresh wood.
Below you can see pictures with the different steps as well as an explanation of how I do it.
Click the arrow on the right to go to the next step

It is incredibly simple to make your own knife in fresh wood. Actually, you just need a fresh branch, a knife blade and a cutting knife. However, I also have a saw, a claw iron, a stick, a twist drill and some masking tape.

I start by cutting a branch of a tree. The branch should be approx. 4-6 cm. in diameter and approx. 12 cm long. Otherwise you can use a stem of approx. 10-12 cm in diameter and then split it into 4 pieces. Here is a piece of birch wood.

In the middle of the branch I drill a small hole with a 3.0 mm twist drill. You can also just use a regular screwdriver.

With the claw iron, I split the sides of the branch so that it becomes more triangular. Then there is not much to cut away later. You can also just use an ax.

The angle of the knife blade is placed in the hole in the middle of the branch.

Then I knock it all together. Use a log as a base and hit the back of the branch with a stick - or whatever you have.

Make sure the blade is straight, all the way around.

The knife blade is tapped all the way to the chest. You can be unlucky that the tree splits when you knock the blade in - then you have to find the new branch and start over.

Before I start cutting the stock, I wrap the blade in masking tape. Then I do not cut myself in the hand along the way.

Then it's just going on with the cutting knife. Freshly felled birch is easy to cut in, so you can quickly get the rough cut butt.

With a good sharp cutting knife, it is quick to cut it completely smooth and you do not have to sand with sandpaper.

The knife is cut. As the wood dries, the wood will contract and shrink around the angle of the knife blade. Therefore, it is not necessary to glue the blade firmly. It is a good idea to give the stock a little oil - then the knife stays nice.

Should it happen that the shaft splits while the wood dries, you can make a winding with a string or similar. It keeps it all together ...

Here is a winding - or tackle - with waxed linen thread. A recess is cut in the shaft so that the string is at the same height as the rest of the shaft. It actually also looks very decorative ...

Download the guide here...