BK-Short, my Handle Project for the 16. UPDATE: DONE

[K9-Handler]

I knew you were old but damn, I'm surprised to hear you remember the 1800's.

...and there goes any chance I had of getting a nice cammo duracoated sheath.

Oh, hell, no. I'd even take YOUR money!

Actually, I learned to drive in a '53 Willys Jeep station wagon (it was old even then!) and it had a 6" high strip of decoration down the side that had that same pattern.

[orangish ducktape]

Very cool, they sure do look good!

-orangish ducktape

[K9-Handler]

the only part of that i understood was 'Finish up with the belt sander' . seriously. i have to go look up stuff on the interwebz to figure out what you just said.

Hey, Dude! Don't look now but this IS the Interwebz!

Some router bits have a tiny bearing riding on the opposite side as the part that goes in the router. That bearing rides on a part that you don't want cut, but it brings the cut as close as you could ever hope to get. Flush, even. Set the depth so the bearing just rides on the knife metal and while pressing inward the micarta scales miraculously become the same shape as the metal handle, plus have a radius'd edge so they don't hurt your hand when you grip. Since you can't do that around the front of the scales (your template became the blade), you will have to do that by eye. Works best with a router table, but can be done with a hand-held router. You will do one side at a time. Use scrap wood to practice instead of your $$$ micarta. Who knows? You might make a nice set of wooden scales while you're practicing! And whatever you do, try not to hit any of the screws!

Watch how this works, then use your imagination: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OEwvh9oJkc [BTW, the dufus in the video did it wrong, You should always push against the direction the cutter is going, not with it. So much for Interwebz "experts"!]

[gentemanndvm]

OH. i need one of THOSE routers. what i have is a plunge attachment to my dremel tool to make a nice vertical hole. yours sounds way better.
i wonder if i could get an attachment with a guiding bearing like that for my roto-zip?

and re: the E-5 , Army, '70-'71 Viet Nam in your sig. thank you.




edit: watched the video. i am totally going to find one of those bits that i can make fit on my dremel or roto-zip. i need one of those.

[K9-Handler]

OH. i need one of THOSE routers. what i have is a plunge attachment to my dremel tool to make a nice vertical hole. yours sounds way better.
i wonder if i could get an attachment with a guiding bearing like that for my roto-zip? i would inhale less micarta dust that way.
and re: the E-5 , Army, '70-'71 Viet Nam in your sig. thank you.

edit: just watched the video. i am totally going to find one of those bits that i can make fit on my dremel or roto-zip. i need one of those.

You're welcome. What size cutter shaft does the Dremel or RotoZip use? Routers are kind of standardized at 1/4", me thinks the Dremel may be smaller.

[gentemanndvm]

yeah, it's smaller than what i can see on that video. i don't know the size for sure, but i will be figuring it out tonight. and getting one in that size if possible. thanks. learned something.

[gentemanndvm]

alright kids, i think i'm done. hope you enjoyed my project. i did. thanks for the kind words and advice in process.

[thrillbilly]

looks great! now...box em up and ship em to me! LOL



but seriously, looks good, i like that barbwire micarta, and I like how u extended the grip. nice job man

[osodavis]

Thanks so much, K-9, great thread! Easy-to-follow steps, helpful pics, & I'm pretty stoked on that harbor freight belt/disc sander too, I think I'm gonna pick one up this weekend. I've been wanting to make some micarta scales for a while, & now I'm extra motivated! I'm loving the look of that barbed wire micarta too, I'm gonna grab some of that for sure! I have size XL hands, & I've been a little worried since I keep hearing that the tweener handles are not so comfy for big hands. So, now I have a perfect excuse to make my own.

[clich]

Awesome. You are braver than I. I have never even attempted the hex holes. Just the thought scares me.

[gentemanndvm]

thanks guys. and clich, funny to hear you say that, as you are why i did it.
i never even had the THOUGHT of doing anything to mod any of my knives until i saw your etching jobs, and your how-to thread. made me decide i needed to try it b/c it looked so good.

since then, several strip and etch jobs on the Beckers, stripped and polished the 9, bought a trail hawk and a spike hawk and stripped and etched those and stained the handles, decided to try making micarta/G10 handles for my BanTang BT4, altered the handles on my BanTang BT6 to fit me better, and made a couple sets of micarta handles for the 16s. and am currently etching the logo deeper on the FFG 16 before i strip and polish and see how it looks.

so don't tell anyone, but i'm bette midler, and you are the wind beneath my wings. non-ghey.

[crimsonfalcon07]

Great step by step. I admit to still not liking the shape at the top, but the journey was great, and end product does look fantastic. Like that micarta a lot.

[SoldMyHat]

That is some good work. Only thing I saw I would change is leaving more swell at the front of the handle to sink the bolts into the handle a little more. But it might be just fine in real life. I'm just judging by the pics. All in all, that is pretty cool. You are braver and have more toys than I. Lol.

[DylanMW]

Those came out looking real great! Looks like it might be time to build a big work shop and start pumping some more of those things out! I would be interested in seeing a Cherry Oak version of that I have always been a fan of the deep reds!

[Haze240]

Wow man, those micarta scales look awesome. Great job, and I'm sure your next set will go even easier.

[gentemanndvm]

That is some good work. Only thing I saw I would change is leaving more swell at the front of the handle to sink the bolts into the handle a little more. But it might be just fine in real life. I'm just judging by the pics. All in all, that is pretty cool. You are braver and have more toys than I. Lol.

yep. i'm going to figure out how to do the swells better for the next set i make. b/c getting those swells & indents right, when the indents are narrower than the width of the belt is going to some practice on my end. or lots and lots of hand sanding.

i see now why lots of knives have flat slabs for handles . i'm going to spend some more quality time with that chunk of practice micarta i've got, to get better at it. don't get me wrong, it's a comfy handle, and that bolt is completely recessed. but i can do better. cue the 6 million dollar man theme song.


edit: in case someone has the same bright idea about this i did: i tried to use my work sharp for this b/c it's such a thin belt. i thought it would work great, and let me work in a narrow space to sand it down. and it does work, but the WSKT belt spins WAY too fast for sanding micarta. it burns it. again, saved by that piece of practice micarta....

[thrillbilly]

yep. i'm going to figure out how to do the swells better for the next set i make. b/c getting those swells & indents right, when the indents are narrower than the width of the belt is going to some practice on my end. or lots and lots of hand sanding.

i see now why lots of knives have flat slabs for handles . i think i'll spend some more quality time with that chunk of practice micarta i've got.

lol...preciseley why my 9 has ''ESEE'' scales on it...Im afraid to try the swells. Im 99% sure I wld just ruin them. Besides, I like the flat scales...like a butcher knife.

[crimsonfalcon07]

I use the wheel on a sander to do the swells. Even a wider belt works fine. A small 3x18 hand sander would work fine for that.

[gentemanndvm]

CF07 - pm sent to get clarification on your technique. thanks in advance.

[crimsonfalcon07]

Replied. I'll try to get a video, or at least some pics so you can see how I do it. Perhaps not the most precise way, but you get comfortable and consistent contouring, and you can get the general shape down and take it to at least 120 grit (800 if you get a few belts from supergrit or somewhere similar), before you finish with hand sanding.