Knife Making Tools for Beginners: £150, £500 and £1,500 Kits

How much do knife making tools for beginners really cost? You can make a proper first knife with about £150 of tools, set up a quicker small workshop for about £500, and have a shop with a variable-speed 2x72 belt grinder for about £1,500. Below are all three as itemised shopping lists, with rough US equivalents, and an honest note on what each one can and can't do.

These builds are for stock removal: cutting a knife from flat bar steel rather than forging it. That's the cheapest way in, and every tool here is still useful if you add a forge later. For forging kit, see our forging tools guide.

Each build assumes you own a sturdy bench, a cordless drill and a kitchen oven. Prices are dated October 2026; "estimate" means our allowance, not a quoted price.

The three builds at a glance

Build	UK total	US total (rough)	Profiling	Bevels	Heat treat	Time per knife
£150 hand-tool shop	~£120–230	~$150–280	Hacksaw + files	Files in a guide	Torch + bricks, or outsource	Days of evenings
£500 small workshop	~£470–690	~$675–955	Angle grinder + 1x30	Files, helped by the 1x30	As above, done better	A few evenings
£1,500 grinder shop	~£1,200–1,800	~$1,400–2,100	2x72 + angle grinder	Variable-speed 2x72	Outsource or forge	An evening or two

Totals are our estimates from the item prices below. US totals use US prices and allowances, not converted pounds.

Which knife making tools for beginners are worth buying?

Fewer than the shops suggest. Experienced makers agree that files, a vice, a drill and known steel are enough to start, and that you should make a few knives before buying big machines [1] [2]. One US maker priced a scavenged starter kit at "$100–$150 for everything" [3].

The money is worth spending in four places: good files, known steel, a heat-treat plan you trust, and safety kit [2]. The knife making tools pillar explains the reasoning behind every item here.

Build 1: the £150 hand-tool shop

This is the kit our how to make a knife guide uses. It's slow, but it teaches control and you'll keep every tool.

Item	UK pick	UK allowance	US pick	US allowance
Main file	Bahco 1-110-12-1-0 12" flat bastard fileTooled-Up	£15–25 (estimate)	Nicholson 10" mill bastard fileJantz	$10–20 (estimate)
Second file	Bahco 8" half-round second-cut fileTooled-Up	£10–15 (estimate)	Nicholson 8" half-round fileJantz	$10–15 (estimate)
File guide	Make your own (upgrade: hardened file guide with carbide facesAmazon)	£0–5	Same	$0–5
Hacksaw	Bahco 319 hacksaw + bi-metal bladesAmazon	£15–20 (estimate)	Bahco 325 hacksawAmazon	$20–30 (estimate)
Clamps	Bessey malleable G-clamps, x2Amazon	£8–12 (estimate)	Same	$10–15 (estimate)
Drill bits	HSS-cobalt 3, 5 and 6 mm	£8–12 (estimate)	Cobalt 1/8", 3/16", 1/4"	$10–15 (estimate)
Layout	Permanent marker + Draper carbide pocket scriberAmazon	£5–8 (estimate)	Dykem blue layout fluidAmazon + scribe	$8–12 (estimate)
Abrasives	Wet and dry paper, 120–3000 gritAmazon	£8–10 (estimate)	Wet and dry assortmentAmazon	$10 (estimate)
Steel	1084 or 80CrV2 flat bar, 3.2 mm × 30 mmUK knife supplier (TBC)	£10–20 (estimate)	1084 flat bar, 1/8" × 1½"Jantz · from $14.95 (Oct 2026)	$15–25
Heat treat, option A	2 soft firebricks, propane or MAP torch, magnet, canola oil in a lidded metal tin, KitchenCraft oven thermometerAmazon	£35–50 (estimate)	Same; torches ~$18–35	$40–60
Heat treat, option B	Post the blade to a heat treater	~£8 a blade (c.2018+)	Same	~$10 a blade (2022)
Handle	Hardwood offcuts, 6 mm brass rodAmazon, Araldite Standard epoxyAmazon	£10–20 (estimate)	Hardwood, 1/4" brass rodAmazon, G/Flex epoxyAmazon	$15–30 (estimate)
Safety	Safety glasses, Smartwares 2 kg ABC fire extinguisherAmazon	£20–30 (estimate)	Glasses, First Alert HOME1 extinguisherAmazon	$30–45 (estimate)
Total		~£120–230		~$150–280
Vice, if you need one	Draper 45230 100 mm bench viceTooled-Up	~£60 (Draper, Oct 2026)	VEVOR 6½" bench viseVevor · $109.90 (Oct 2026)	$70–110

Price sources: steel [2] [4]; firebricks under £5 each and outsourcing ~£8 a blade [5]; torches [6]; US outsourcing [7]; vice [8].

Sharpen on wet-and-dry paper laid on a flat tile or a sheet of glass, which uses the same paper as finishing. Add a whetstone when the budget allows.

What it can do: small, simple knives up to about 100 mm (4") of blade in 1084 or 80CrV2, with a scandi or flat grind and a wooden handle. Our First knife template is drawn for exactly this kit.

What it can't do: stainless steels (they need an oven or outsourcing), long blades, hollow grinds, or anything quickly. A torch and two bricks only heat small blades, and both Larrin Thomas and forum veterans warn that forge-style heat treat is easy to get wrong [9] [7].

Build 2: the £500 small workshop

This keeps the £150 shop and adds speed: an angle grinder, a 1x30 belt sander, a pillar drill, and proper dust and noise protection.

Item	UK pick	UK allowance	US pick	US allowance
Everything in build 1		~£120–230		~$150–280
Angle grinder	Makita GA4530R 115 mm angle grinderAmazon	£45–70 (estimate)	DeWalt DWE402 4½" angle grinderAmazon	$60–90 (estimate)
Discs	40-grit zirconia flap discsAmazon + 1 mm cutting discsAmazon	£15–20 (estimate)	40-grit zirconia flap discs, 10-packAmazon + cut-off discs	$20–25
Belt sander	Clarke CBS1-5B 1x30 belt and disc sanderMachine Mart · about £102 (Oct 2026) + spare belts	£110–120	VEVOR 1x30 variable-speed belt grinderVevor · $209.90 (Oct 2026) + belts	$225–245
Pillar drill	Einhell 450 W bench drillAmazon	£70–110 (estimate)	WEN 8" 5-speed drill pressAmazon	$100–150 (estimate)
Respirator	3M 6200 half maskAmazon + 3M 6035 P3 filtersAmazon	£40–45 (estimate)	3M 6200 half maskAmazon + 3M 2091 P100 filtersAmazon	$35–50 (estimate)
Hearing	3M Peltor Optime III ear defendersAmazon	£15–25 (estimate)	3M Peltor X5A earmuffsAmazon	$25–35 (estimate)
Sharpening	King KW65 1000/6000 whetstoneAmazon + Sharpal 205H leather stropAmazon	£40–55 (estimate)	Same	$45–60 (estimate)
Measuring	Adoric 150 mm digital caliperAmazon	£10–15 (estimate)	Kynup 6" digital caliperAmazon	$15–20 (estimate)
Total		~£470–690		~$675–955

Price sources: Clarke CBS1-5B £101.99 inc VAT at Lawson HIS [12]; Vevor 1x30 [13]; flap discs $12.86 for 10 [14]; 3M 6200 half mask £32.50 [15].

To hit £500 exactly, skip the calipers and the strop, and keep sharpening on paper for now.

What it can do: everything build 1 can, two or three times faster. The 1x30 profiles quickly and is very good for shaping handles. The pillar drill gives square, accurate pin holes. The respirator means you can safely use micarta or G10 handles.

What it can't do: grind good bevels quickly. A 1x30's belt and platen are too small for that, and makers are blunt about it: one called the table gaps "dangerous and frustrating" [1], and another said 1" machines are "just throwing that money away" [16]. Bevels are still mostly file work here.

Build 3: the £1,500 grinder shop

This is the shop most hobby makers end up with. It's built around a variable-speed 2x72 belt grinder, which is the single biggest jump in speed and control you can buy [1] [2].

Item	UK pick	UK allowance	US pick	US allowance
Everything in build 1		~£120–230		~$150–280
Angle grinder + discs	As build 2	£60–90 (estimate)	As build 2	$80–115
Pillar drill	As build 2	£70–110 (estimate)	As build 2	$100–150
2x72 with VFD	84 Engineering 2x72 belt grinderMultitool Products or VEVOR 2x72 variable-speed belt grinderVevor	£700–1,000 (estimate, see note)	VEVOR 2x72 belt grinder with VFD, 1500 WVevor · $779.90 (Oct 2026)	$780–1,100
2x72 belts	CIBO knife maker belt set, 10 beltsRightlines · £82.38 ex VAT (Oct 2026)	~£99 inc VAT	Benchmark 2x72 ceramic starter kit, 24 beltsBenchmark Abrasives · $162.74 (Oct 2026)	$100–165
Respirator + hearing	As build 2	£60–70	As build 2	$60–85
Sharpening + calipers	As build 2	£50–70	As build 2	$60–80
Heat treat	Outsource a batch, or upgrade to a small propane forge used only for heat treat	£40–150 (estimate)	Outsource, or VEVOR single-burner propane forgeVevor · $84.90 (Oct 2026)	$50–150
Total		~£1,200–1,800		~$1,400–2,100

Price sources: Vevor 2x72 $779.90–1,099.99 [19]; CIBO belts [20]; Benchmark belts [21]; Vevor forge [22].

There's no 1x30 in this build. It goes straight from files to the 2x72.

What it can do: flat and hollow grinds, longer kitchen and outdoor knives, quick profiling, clean handle shaping and fine finishes with Trizact belts. Belt speed control lets you grind slowly near the edge and fast when hogging steel. A 2x72 also resells for most of its cost if you stop [1].

What it can't do: heat treat stainless steels reliably at home. That needs an oven at £2,400+ ex VAT in the UK, or outsourcing [23]. Forging isn't included either; for that, add the core four from our forging guide.

What should you not buy on a budget?

Cheap file sets. Soft files dull quickly on carbon steel. Buy one or two good files instead of a set of six poor ones [2].
Mystery steel. Old files, springs and saw blades are unknown alloys, so you can't plan a heat treat for them [25].
A 2x48 or a bench-grinder belt conversion, unless you've checked that belts and wheels are easy to buy for it [1]. The bench-grinder 2x72 conversion kits we found on Amazon had mixed reviews, and we wouldn't recommend one.
A cast-iron anvil, if you're tempted to forge. Buy cast or forged steel, or use a block of steel [26].
A heat-treat oven before you need one. Simple carbon steels don't need it [2].

FAQs

What is the cheapest way to start knife making?

Files, a hacksaw, a vice, a drill and known carbon steel, with the heat treat outsourced or done with a torch and two firebricks. Allow about £120–230 ($150–280) if you already own a drill and a bench. Make small, simple knives first, and upgrade only when a missing tool is clearly slowing you down.

Is a knife making kit cheaper than buying tools?

Not really. Most "knife making kits" are blade-blank kits: a pre-cut blade plus handle material. They're fine for a first handle-fitting project, but they don't give you the tools to make the next knife. In the UK, blades and blanks are age-restricted, so sellers must check you're 18 or over. See knife making kits.

Can you make a knife for under £100?

Possibly, if you already own a vice, clamps and a drill, outsource the heat treat and sharpen on paper. Files, steel, paper and handle materials then come to roughly £60–100 by our estimate. Below that you're cutting into file quality, which is the one place experienced makers say not to save.

Is it worth buying a cheap belt sander for knife making?

Only for profiling and handles. A 1x30 like the Clarke CBS1-5B or WEN does those jobs well, but it's poor for bevels. If a 2x72 is your goal, many makers advise skipping the small sander and saving. If you already own one, it stays useful for handle work after you upgrade.

Knife making tools for beginners on a budget: three realistic shop builds Ad