How to Make a Greek Kopis From Recycled Steel
Introduction: How to Make a Greek Kopis From Recycled Steel
The Greek Kopis was a large, one-handed weapon used by the Greeks as a tool for cutting meat, ritual slaughter, and performing animal sacrifices. I found out about this blade while watching season 6 episode 9 of forged in fire. When I saw this episode, I immediately thought it would be very fun to make. The one thing holding me back though was my lack of skill and knife-making knowledge. I decided to try it though because I figured I could always reuse the steel I to make another knife if it was too difficult.
If your lack of skill or knowledge is preventing you from trying a project, just try it. The worst-case scenario is you just have to reuse the material for another project. Also, if you haven't made any knives before, I do encourage you to try it because they are surprisingly fun and satisfying to make. (ALWAYS always use safety gear while using power tools. For example, use ear protection for loud tools like angle grinders and sanders, and use eye protection and dust masks while grinding and sanding metal and wood.)
I hope you enjoy this project!
Supplies
Materials
High carbon steel (main blade)
Angle iron (guard)
Handle material (handle)
Ammo Can (Quench tank)
Canola or Corn oil (for quenching)
3/16 inch brass rod (handle)
5 minute epoxy
Tools
Handheld drill or drill press
3/16 inch drill bit
Angle Grinder
Cutting and Grinding Angle Grinder Disks
Belt Sander
40-120 grit sanding belts
Charcoal or Propane Forge
Step 1: Finding Harden-able Steel
This is The most important Step of knife making. The reason it is so important is that there are a lot of different types of steels, some of which are better for knife making than others. The steel that is best for making strong, durable knives, is high carbon steel. Mild steel, on the other hand, is not as strong, but is cheaper than high carbon, and is less work to make a knife with because it doesn't need to be quenched (I will explain quenching on step 4).
The most common way to determine if a piece of steel is mild or high carbon is by using a method called spark testing. 34
Spark testing is where you grind a piece of steel so it sends off sparks. Mild steel sparks are white, have small forks, and their length will vary more than that of high carbon steel. High carbon steel sparks have a bushy spark pattern (much forking) that starts at the grinding wheel.
Step 2: Drawing Out the General Shape
After you have chosen the steel that you want to use for your knife, I recommend drawing out the shape of the knife on a piece of paper or on the steel itself (Which I did in the picture above). The length of your Greek Kopis can range from 48 cm to 65 cm, although you should keep in mind that the longer your blade is, the heavier it will be. Also, the handle is something that I would always make too small when I first was starting to make knives. I usually make my knife handles 4-5 inches long. (You can use the cover photo as a guideline for the shape if you want, or you could just look up what a greek kopis looks like)
Step 3: Grinding Out the Shape
Remember to always use ear protection, eye protection, and a dust mask while working with metal.
To grind out the shape of the knife, I used an angle grinder with a cutting disk to follow the lines I had drawn on the steel during step 2. Remember to leave a small bit of extra material so you can smooth out any rough edges on the sander. Another reason to leave a small bit of extra material is in case you cut too far into the piece of steel on the angle grinder. If you don't have a belt sander, you can also use a grinding disk on the angle grinder to do the same thing as the belt sander.
Step 4: Quenching
(You can skip this step if you don't have access to a forge)
This is one of the most important parts of the knife making process. This step is important because it is where you put the strength into your blade. The way you quench is by heating the blade, then putting in in oil to cool it down quickly, hardening it. The Heat of the blade before your quench should be between 1050 and 1090 degrees Celsius, (1922 and 1994 degrees Fahrenheit)but if you can't measure the temperature, just heat it until it is a red to orange color. 34