Alabama Damascus full tang dagger

[tryppyr]

So you think this arrangement would be better?

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

Yes! Just use a good epoxy and it should work out just fine. I would finish and attach the front bolsters first. Pin and glue them in place, this will give you a solid surface to clamp the mammoth ivory against. Then the mammoth ivory and finally the rear bolsters. If you need to thin out any of the materials, especially the mammoth do it from the backside so you loose the least amount of color.

[tryppyr]

Thanks, Chuck. Good advice about thinning the ivory... it will need a bit of material removed.

I've begun to rough out the pieces, mostly just to make sure I had enough material. Looks like I do.

[bladsmth]

Greg,
Are you sure you want that hole in the end? It seems out of place on a dagger. The rounded pieces of muskox look nice as they are. Besides being easier to fit and finish, it will also make for a smoother and rounder butt.....and who doesn't like a smooth round butt

[tryppyr]

I'm not 100% committed to the hole, but it does still appeal to me. I know it isn't appropriate on a dagger, but so much of what I do is inappropriate I've essentially come to a place of disregard for convention.

I'll leave it whole for now, and revisit the hole idea later... but certainly before the blade goes off to HT.

[Mike Davis]

I will agree with two pins in the musk ox. That stuff moves more than any material i have ever used....pita!!! But when finished it looks just stunning!!! Also, depending on how thin the musk ox is, it becomes almost translucent when you buff it, have you given any thought to liners? You can influence the overall look of the musk ox with a set of liners...copper or something...just my 2 cents.

[tryppyr]

No thought to liners... but now that you mention it, I do have a thin sheet of copper my wife once used in her jewelry making class.

BTW, I was under the impression this musk ox piece was stabilized. It sure had a load of gunk collected at the rough ends.

[tryppyr]

So far today I have hand sanded three of the four bevels, and have removed material from the ivory pieces from the back (per Chuck's sage advice) so that they are now the same thickness as the musk ox pieces.

Still debating the hole...

[kevin -the professor]

I would put at least one pin through each of the pieces of material. The dovetails should be set so that the less likely to crack is holding down the more likely to crack. However, there is still the possibility of lateral forces. Epoxy is worst at lateral force and the dovetails will hold perpendicular to the tang. So, you need at least one pin in everything to provide lateral security. After all, that is what the pins are really for when there is adhesive used, also. The primary function of the pins is to prevent a sharp shearing force from popping the material off. Secondarily, they reinforce the adhesive by holding things down.

Sure, people always say, "the only reason I use epoxy is to seal from moisture." I do that also. But, the epoxy doesn't know that it is only supposed to work as a water sealant, and so it does its usual job of holding things together against forces pulling them directly apart. It does this well, too. Because of this, pins don't have to resist much force in that direction (or dovetails), despite the fact that they are also both very good are resisting those forces. A shear force, however, that is something that only the pins can really resist.

the dagger is looking good!

take care,
Kevin

[Chuck Gedraitis Knives]

You could use hidden pins for the mammoth ivory.

[tryppyr]

Still a couple of spots that need attention, but here is where I'm at today. Hand sanded to 120 grit so far.

[JGguns]

Looking good Greg. So have you decided on if you will be keeping the hole or not?

[tedinatl]

That looks great, Greg. Are you going to do some carving on the musk ox?

[tryppyr]

I haven't decided on the hole, yet. However, if I lose the hole, I probably also need to lose the protrusion it is currently targeted for. Frankly, I still think it adds character, and I'm not sure how I'd shape the back end without it.

No plans on carving the musk ox.

[Patrice Lemée]

How about some kind of large stone setting instead of the hole?

[JGguns]

How about some kind of large stone setting instead of the hole?

That would be slick, what kind of stone would you suggest Patrice?

I don't know what the proper look for a dagger is but I personally liked the hole. But I also think if you did some kind of stone or a nice piece of amber that would also look good.

[Patrice Lemée]

Not sure JG since I don't know much about stones but a nice deep blue or red would look great.

[tryppyr]

I think I'll hold off on setting any stones in this. A simple polished and rounded hole is all I had in mind.

[theevilmike]

Lapis lazuli would look awsome
lapis_ring.jpg

[tryppyr]

Yesterday I put the 45 degree bevel on all of the handle parts, largely to get to the point where I could measure the true length needed for the mammoth ivory pieces once I'd removed all the material needed to get clean bevels on the musk ox pieces. Right now the mammoth pieces are about .25 inch too long, which is pretty much where I wanted them to be.

Next step is to drill the pin holes into the tang. I'd thought about using some small Corby bolts I have, but decided that was overkill and that they'd be too large, so I'm going with steel pins instead.

I'm heavily leaning toward the hole in the handle still, but will make the final decision when I start drilling the other holes in the tang. I haven't decided how many "weight reduction" holes I might drill in the tang, but I'll surely be less agressive about that than most of the others on the board that make full tang knives.

- Greg