How to Make a Pocketknife

The first tool that some people owned was a pocketknife, also called a folding knife or penknife. With a blade short enough for the folded knife to fit easily into your pants pocket, you are always ready to trim, puncture, slice and peel when you carry your pocketknife. You can build a folding knife in less than an hour with just a few tools and a handful of materials like a piece of PVC pipe and an old hacksaw blade.

Things You'll Need

  • ½ inch pop rivet
  • 2 washers
  • Class 200 PVC pipe--at least 8 inches long
  • Hacksaw blade--used is fine
  • Pop rivet gun
  • Hammer
  • Stove
  • Sandpaper
  • Grinder
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Instructions

    • 1

      Break the hacksaw blade into three to four pieces at least 4 inches long each. Flex the blade back and forth to make the breaks. Hammer the ends flat.

    • 2

      Grind two blades into the shape you prefer, and grind a "clean" edge onto one of them. Leave the hacksaw serrations on the second blade. Ensure the blades never get so hot they begin to smoke or change color by dipping them in water occasionally. If they overheat, your blades will not hold an edge.

    • 3

      Cut the PVC lengthwise into halves or thirds. Heat one piece over the stove--be careful not to blacken it or get it too hot to handle--until it becomes pliable enough to shape with your hands. When the PVC is flexible enough, fold it around your two blades and press the handle around the blades, using a potholder until the handle cools and hardens.

    • 4

      Sand the edges of your PVC, and sand out a slot on the open side of the handle for your fingers to get hold of the blades.

    • 5

      Drill a pop-rivet hole 5/8 inch from the end of the handle that goes through the blades. Place an extra piece of hacksaw blade between the two pocketknife blades, to avoid making the rivet too tight, and leave one blade open to ensure the back of the blades fits firmly against the handle when open. Insert the pop rivet, with washers on each side to firm up the PVC. Crimp the rivet and sand off the head.