1st self-made puukko

Thanks for the comments everyone :)

defaultuser said:
Can you show the back of the knives? Always wondered how the long hidden tang was finished...
Click to expand...

Sure, heres a pic...
ylahela.JPG


After the pieces of wood for the handle are in place and some glue between them, the "end" ferrule is hammered into place. Brass is soft enough that you only need to do a small hole into it for the knife tang. This way the ferrule tightens the pieces of wood together, and the handle is solid. Then the tang is cut ~1mm above the ferrule, and hammered with a ballpoint hammer so it widens a bit, and locks the ferrule into place. After this the exposed part of the tang can be sanded flat.
 
Hi, Great job on the knife and sheath, Could you show a picture of the back of the sheath and let us know the trick to getting it so tight over the wood,
Thank you
Richard
 
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Tinbasher said:
Hi, Great job on the knife and sheath, Could you show a picture of the back of the sheath and let us knoe the trick to getting it so tight over the wood,
Thank you
Richard
Click to expand...
Sure,
tuppi1.jpg


The sheath is pretty simple to do... the puukko is wrapped tightly in thin plastic, the leather is soaked wet, and the sheath is kinda made "around" the puukko. So basically its just sewing, tightening, sewing, tightening etc... Its actually quite hard work, especially for your thumbs, since the leather needs to be tightened after every stitch :)

After thats done, the seam is glued (leather contacts when it dries, so without glue the seam would open up a bit), and the sheath is left to dry for ~24 hours, with the puukko in it (thats why it needs to be wrapped in plastic; to avoid rust).
 
Tinbasher said:
Cool, I thought it had a wooden insert.
Thank you for the explanation
Richard
Click to expand...

No you were right, it does have a wooden insert / liner around the blade... Its primary function is to add safety (puukko could easily cut trough the leather), but it also adds shape. But the techinque for making the sheath is the same; the insert is simply around the blade when the sheath is made.

I should've taken a pic when I was making the sheath, damn :grumpy:
 
attej said:
Thanks for the comments everyone :)



Sure, heres a pic...
ylahela.JPG


After the pieces of wood for the handle are in place and some glue between them, the "end" ferrule is hammered into place. Brass is soft enough that you only need to do a small hole into it for the knife tang. This way the ferrule tightens the pieces of wood together, and the handle is solid. Then the tang is cut ~1mm above the ferrule, and hammered with a ballpoint hammer so it widens a bit, and locks the ferrule into place. After this the exposed part of the tang can be sanded flat.
Click to expand...

Nice work. Do you waller out the hole on the end of the brass end cap so the tang fills into it as it flares out to hold everything together? Do you heat the end of the tang or is it peened cold? Thanks.
 
Loosearrow said:
Nice work. Do you waller out the hole on the end of the brass end cap so the tang fills into it as it flares out to hold everything together? Do you heat the end of the tang or is it peened cold? Thanks.
Click to expand...
If I understood correctly what you meant, yeah. I.e. the hole in the brass cap is kinda too small for the tang, and when you hammer the cap down, the hole expands. This way it fits perfectly, and holds the handle together.

The end of the tang is not heated, its just peened cold. But, the tang is not hardened like the blade, so its pretty soft. Its hit with a ballpoint hammer repeatedly, a few dozen times, but lightly, so the steel doesnt break.
 
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I must say that is an absolute beauty! I slowly building my knife making tools...eventually I find somebody to walk me thru it. That's a blade that will be handed down in the family...I would be very proud with a first blade like that! Congrats...:thumbup:

ROCK6
 
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