# 11 complete

M

Maelstrom78

Joined
Sep 21, 2013
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1,574
With some heavy influences from an existing design from a maker here (no prize for guessing!) I have #11 completed.

Aldo's 1084 two brick forge 130 degree canola 400 degrees HT etc...
Stabilized ambonya burl
Black canvas bolster
black and white G10 liners and my first white spacer between bolster and scales
Stainless pins


2rdk9ae.jpg


nzel8g.jpg


Next knife I'm going to make the liners match up so they flow better. I just left it at a 1000grit cork belt finish but even though the 1084 will patina I will still do some hand sanding in the future. Also learned that a clean new buff is a thing a beauty.

Either way it's nice to see improvements and to try new things. This was my first CA finish. Put the first one on too thick and had to remove it with the debonder and try again.
 
Great job. I haven't tried any sort of bolster yet but am planning on giving it a shot soon, yours turned out very well.

I guess big Chris.
 
Not Big Chris! Good guess though.

Bolsters add a step and some complexity but to me they also add so much to the final look.

For me using micarta or a wood for the bolster makes the mating between scales and bolsters easier as they grind/file/sand similarly as opposed to a metal bolster where you have to be more careful to not remove more material on the softer scale and leave the bolster proud. I've gone away from trying to use the grinder for the whole thing. Just profiling to the tang and roughing out the general shape. Then files for the most part before sanding.
 
That's a great looking knife, a close up of the handle would be nice, I would like a better look at the wood ;0)
 
Thanks Frank!

Also what looks like a blemish on the bevel of the blade is just the reflection of my face... Terrifying as that is!
 
Maelstrom78 said:
Not Big Chris! Good guess though.

Bolsters add a step and some complexity but to me they also add so much to the final look.

For me using micarta or a wood for the bolster makes the mating between scales and bolsters easier as they grind/file/sand similarly as opposed to a metal bolster where you have to be more careful to not remove more material on the softer scale and leave the bolster proud. I've gone away from trying to use the grinder for the whole thing. Just profiling to the tang and roughing out the general shape. Then files for the most part before sanding.
Click to expand...
Firstly, very nice looking knife!

Regarding getting a steel bolster flush with your handle an easy way to do it so to use a slack belt, preferably where your wheels are closer together to get more tension,keep slightly more pressure on the bolster (to prevent digging into the handle) sand the boslter and handle together up to 320 grit and from there switch to a flat disk up until 1000 grit.

After that its onto hand sanding. For hand sanding you want a hard backing surface for your water paper, something with give will bite into the wood and wear it away faster than the metal. Try and keep a portion of the water paper on the bolster at all time which will also prevent digging into the wood. You shouldn't need to do much hand sanding. Then a quick lick on the buff and you're done!

(Don't buff too much or you'll wear the wood away faster than the steel)

Pretty simple once you give it a bash

Nick Wheeler has some good YouTube videos showing how to do it

Cheers
Clive
 
Ding ding!

Yeah I think I ended up with a fiddleback + some of the chef knife handles I had saved in my knife pics folder.
 
aikiyoda said:
Firstly, very nice looking knife!

Regarding getting a steel bolster flush with your handle an easy way to do it so to use a slack belt, preferably where your wheels are closer together to get more tension,keep slightly more pressure on the bolster (to prevent digging into the handle) sand the boslter and handle together up to 320 grit and from there switch to a flat disk up until 1000 grit.

After that its onto hand sanding. For hand sanding you want a hard backing surface for your water paper, something with give will bite into the wood and wear it away faster than the metal. Try and keep a portion of the water paper on the bolster at all time which will also prevent digging into the wood. You shouldn't need to do much hand sanding. Then a quick lick on the buff and you're done!

(Don't buff too much or you'll wear the wood away faster than the steel)

Pretty simple once you give it a bash

Nick Wheeler has some good YouTube videos showing how to do it

Cheers
Clive
Click to expand...



Thanks! I do have a reversible disc grinder (not variable speed unfortunately) and I have found that very helpful for doing what you have described.
 
Wooooood.
3348d3b.jpg

Too much glare in the pic so you can't see the chatoyance(less in this particular piece of wood compared to a piece of maple burl I've used). Using nicer materials is a slippery slope I can see:)
 
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Great job! Looks like a comfortable handle shape and the the bolster looks well made!
 
Maelstrom78 said:
Wooooood.
3348d3b.jpg

Too much glare in the pic so you can't see the chatoyance(less in this particular piece of wood compared to a piece of maple burl I've used). Using nicer materials is a slippery slope I can see:)
Click to expand...


Looks like the voids in the wood are not filled when they got stabilized. You can fill small ones like that with few coats of CA glue (sand in between) then when you sand it down it'll be filled and look solid. Great looking knife though!
 
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