Alabama Damascus full tang dagger

tryppyr · Aug 19, 2012

Today I spent a little time hand sanding the blade with 180 grit to address some problems. I was trying to square the center line and flatten out the ripples that appeared after HT. This is work I've been avoiding due to back problems lately, but today I felt I could do this without triggering the spasms... so far so good.

The blade is still a long way from complete, but I'm starting to believe I'll actually get this knife finished. The handle pieces are almost sized well enough to be secured into place for final fit and finish... but that won't begin until the blade is finished. You'll notice I've numbered the sides of the blade, which matches the number on the back sides of each handle piece so there's no chance I'll accidentally use a less than optimal matching of the parts.

CEHknives · Aug 19, 2012

Looking great thanks for posting and showing stages. I can't wait to see the end product.

tryppyr · Aug 25, 2012

Today's updates.

I finished the hand sanding the blade:

Then I etched the damascus:

Then cleaned up the etched blade:

Now I start seriously working on the handle.

tryppyr · Aug 28, 2012

Final assembly of the parts is under way. Yesterday I glued into place the bolster and the ivory part of the handle. Today I'm gluing the butt pieces into place. All use hidden pins, filling all of the holes I drilled into the blade. Once it is completely set and dried I'll shape the pieces and call this one done.

tryppyr · Aug 29, 2012

All assembly is complete, and final shaping has begun. So far I've done about all I care to do on power tools, so from here out it will be hand worked with files and sandpaper.

tryppyr · Aug 30, 2012

Not quite completely finished, but pretty close now.

Hengelo_77 · Aug 30, 2012

Are you not using visible pins?

tryppyr · Aug 30, 2012

No, all pins are hidden. Each of the holes in the tang (save for the big one) has a hidden pin. That really helped me align the piece correctly.

Glockman45 · Aug 30, 2012

That looks great! I love the contrast in the handle with the damascus. It all came together very well!
Doug

tryppyr · Sep 2, 2012

I did some more polishing today. Here are the final shots showing the side views, now sanded to 2000 grit and rubbed with denim. The front and back views are the same as before... just shinier.

tryppyr · Nov 25, 2012

Today I spent some time on getting real closure for this project by making the sheath. I think I'll give this to my brother for Christmas, as he's the one that gave me the billet from which it was made. The sheath is snug enough that the knife needs no additional straps or bracing to keep it from falling out under even the most demanding conditions.

As an aside, I took a lot of WIP photos for this sheath project. Maybe I'll post them later.