This section illustrates the step-by-step construction of one of my knives, through the use of photos and captions. This knife, entitled "Alchemy", is still under construction. This project would be much too large to include in its entirety here on the website, so this is just "Part One" of the whole project. "Part Two" of this project was published by Krause Publications, in a How-To book entitled "BLADES Guide to Knifemaking". "Part Two" consists of the construction of the "first" set of bolsters for "Alchemy", a complicated project that alone takes up 20 pages of text and 65 color photos.

My goal in creating this "behind-the-scenes" look is to help promote knives, keep hand craftsmanship alive, and to justify the originality and upscale prices of my work, by illustrating the complexities, time and work involved.

The only thing missing from the "Process" of this knife is the making of the Damascus steel blade (which I did forge-weld myself), and the subsequent surface grinding. The process of forge-welding is an entire process unto itself...
I do not recommend anyone repeating these steps without proper training, safety precautions, and proper equipment.

Click the Thumbnails below to enlarge the photo and to view the accompanying text.

Process Step 1 Process Step 2 Process Step 3 Process Step 4
Process Step 5 Process Step 6 Process Step 7 Process Step 8
Process Step 9 Process Step 10 Process Step 11 Process Step 12
Process Step 13 Process Step 14 Process Step 15 Process Step 16
Process Step 17 Process Step 18 Process Step 19 Process Step 20
Process Step 21 Process Step 22 Process Step 23 Process Step 24
Process Step 25 Process Step 26 Process Step 27 Process Step 28

View more steps of John Lewis Jensen's Process on Page 2


All Work Designed, Executed, and ©1996-2007 by John Lewis Jensen, unless otherwise credited. All Rights Reserved.