Square 1...no workshop, no knife making tools, no materials, no experience and not much money - perfect! But, I do have a garage...with no electricity...!

Having reorganised and tidied the garage to give me a corner that could become a workshop of sorts, I then set to building a work bench. Big enough to work on, small enough to fit my garage corner, tall enough not to give me back ache and strong enough to take a beating - how's that for a design brief...?! Finding the cheapest timber I could, this is what I've produced:

Once all the paint had finally dried I added a replaceable plywood top. I was lucky enough to find a Sheffield made Record No.4 bench vice for a reasonable price that is also now firmly bolted on.

Two big lessons from the work bench build:

1) this knife making project was going to take some time; and

2) spirit levels and sloping ground do not square things make!

None the less, the bench is level, wobble free, solid as a rock and fully functional - not bad!!