Make your own Athame!

Some traditions call for a specific size for the Athame, though it usually is between six and twelve inches. The size of your Athame should be of whatever length is comfortable for you.

Stop by your local hardware store and ask for a piece of un-tempered steel that can be tempered (also known as 10/10 steel). If they don’t carry this, buy a steel file that is about three inches longer than the knife you want to make. Also buy a course steel file and a fine steel file to file your new blade into shape. Be sure to get a hacksaw and blade capable of cutting the file once you have removed the temper from it. (Yes, files have a temper, so dont make them angry!)

I know what your first question is. "Don't you need a forge to get the steel hot enough to remove the temper?" Well, yes. Do you have a charcoal barbeque? Great! You have a forge! However, in a barbeque, it takes longer. So be patient. Even the shaping of your blade will take some time.

If you are making your blade out of a file, you have one advantage. The advantage is that you won't have to cut out the tang for your handle, as a file already comes with a tang! You have to remove the temper from the file before you can do anything else. To remove the temper, stock up a large pile of charcoal in your barbeque (large enough to bury the entire file.) Once they are fully lit, bury your file halfway deep in the pile of charcoal. Cover any exposed ends with charcoal using a pare of long handled tongs. The file will need to stay in the charcoal untill the charcoal goes out. This may take all day, so start early in the morning. BE SAFE! Don't leave the fire unattened! If you need to leave it for a short time, put the cover on your barbeque untill you get back! This should be enough to remove any temper. If the metal is still hard to work with, repeat this procedure.

You also need to do the above procedure for untempered metal, to make it soft.

If you dont have a barbeque, and no other way to do this, you can lay it on the burner of a gas or electric stove. This will take a long time, but has the advantage of being able to see the to-be-blade. Once it it becomes a dull red, it is ready. Turn off the stove and let it cool down naturally.

Mark on the steel or file with a Sharpie marker (or other permanent marker with a fine point) the shape you want your knife to be. Make sure you mark the tang as well if you are not using a file. Just trace the one from your file. Remember, an Athame is a double edged blade. With the hacksaw (or a power bandsaw if you have one) cut out your blade and tang, and file off any rough edges. Now start shaping the blade area for sharpness with a grinding wheel, if you have one. If not, then use the files, rough file first. Finish it off with two grades of wet and dry sandpaper. If your blade is being made from a file, make sure to remove the grooves from all surfaces.

Now you have to harden and temper it. You ask "but didn't we take the temper out of it?" Yes, but your blade will not hold an edge if we dont harden and re-temper it. Heat up the blade again, this time making it red hot, not dull red. Then take hold of it with a pare of pliers (the longer the handle, the better) and immerse it into a bucket of tepid (warm) water. If the water is cold, it will crack. Let it cool, then clean it with wet and dry sandpaper. Youv'e just hardened your blade.

Now you need to temper it. Again, reheat it. Again immerse it in tepid water and clean it with wet and dry sandpaper. Next, heat up again to a dull red, this time keeping a good eye on it as it changes color. It will get a bright, light straw color, then a medium straw color.Immediatly dunk it into the tepid water and let it cool off. Do not allow it to go past the straw color, it will go blue, then purple and green. Keep an eye on the tip, as this will change color first. Keep the point furthest away from the heat to allow an even heating.

To make the handle, take two rectangular pieces of wood and trace the tang onto each of these. Chisel out the marked sections one half the thickness of the tang. After this is done, the two pieces should lay together perfectly with the tang between them. When they fit together well, roughen the inside wood and spread a good epoxy resin glue all over, including in the tang grooves. Put the tang in it's grooves, press the two halves together, and clamp. Clamp slowly to give the glue a better spread. Leave clamped for three days.

When unclamped, draw the shape of the handle you desire, then cut or carve it out. To finish, sand it down with a coarse sandpaper, then again with a fine sandpaper. then paint or stain the handle.

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Another way to make your Athame

Try to find a suitable piece of steel. If one isnt available then a file or chisel will work just as well. Whatever steel you have it is going to be hard so the first job is to soften it. Heat the steel till it is a dull red. If you have no other way then lay it on the burner of a gas or electric stove. You may have to leave it there for a few hours with the burner turned on high. It will eventually turn a dull red color. Once it has reached that color, turn off heat and let it cool down naturally. Now it will be softer and easier to work with.

Mark on the metal with a pencil the shape you want it be. With a powered bandsaw, or a simple hack saw, cut out the profile and file off any rough edges. Then start shaping the blade for sharpness. A grinding wheel would come in handy here, though you can work with roughand smooth files.The blade is going to be double edged so you are aiming for a diamond shaped cross section. Finish off the blade with two types of wet and dry paper.

Now your blade will need to be tempered. Heat it up again this time until its red hot.Then take hold of it with a pair of pliers and plunge into a bowl of TEPID water or oil, not cold or the blade will crack. Allow it to cool off then clean i with wet and dry paper.

Next, to temper it, reheat the blade to a dull red again. Again plunge it point down, into TEPID water or oil, moving it up and down in the liquid. Clean it with wet and dry paper then heat it up again. **WATCH THE BLADE CAREFULLY THIS TIME AS IT CHANGES COLORS** It will go to a bright, then light, straw color, then to a medium straw color. Immediately plunge the blade into water and let it cool off. (DON'T let it get past the straw color; it would go on to blue, purple, then green) Watch the point as it will change colors first. At the first sign or of "blueing" on the point, plunge it back into the water.

**NOTE** The colors will appear quickly so keep the point furthest from the heat.

Once the blade is cold take it outside and plunge it into the ground a few times (there is a method to the madness) Now you have:

Moved the blade through the AIR, heated it with FIRE, plunged into WATER, and showed to the EARTH.

For the handle, take 2 pieces of wood. Draw around the tang, the handle part of the blade, on each of the pieces of wood. Then chiselout the marked sections, each one to half the thinkness of the tang. When finished, the 2 pieces of wood should lay together perfectly with the tang inserted between them. When youare satisfied they fit well, slightly roughen the inside of the wood and then spread a good epoxy resin glue all over. Put the tang in place, press the two wooden handle halves together and clamp. When clamping, put the pressure slowly so as to give a better "spread" to the glue. Leave clamped for AT LEAST 3 days.

When removed from the clamp, draw a profile of the handle you want on the wood and start cutting and carving it to shape.

Some traditions call for certain signs to be carved on the handle. Even if yours doesn't, you may wish to decorate it with some. I put my craft name and monogram on mine. You may also wish to etch something on the blade as well.

Melt some beeswax and cover the blade with it. Then cut into the wax with sharp inscribing tool, A nail will do the trick, in the way you want the inscription to look. Make sure that you go right through the wax to expose the blade. Then pour on either sulphuric acid, iodine, or a similar etching agent. Leave on for a few minutes then rinse off by holding under running water. The acid will eat into the metal while the wax is protecting the rest of the blade. IT WOULD BE WISE TO PRACTICE THE ETCHING ON A SCRAP PIECE OF METAL FIRST SO YOU CAN DETERMINE THE AMOUNT OF THE TIME TO LEAVE THE ACID ON BEFORE FLUSHING IT AWAY.