A DIY blade for Morseth Fans

Leatherface,

Send me an e-mail with your address and I'll mail you a couple of pieces of teak. Teak is naturally oily wood that doesn't need to be stabalized. I'm sure I'll have a need for some of your leather expertise someday anyway, so I'll just go first and send you the wood. I also have small pieces of walnut, and maple and cherry around too. Those aren't stabalized, but I'm not sold on the need to stabalize straight grained pieces. Dan may be able to shoot me down here and I would be glad of the correction if I am wrong. Most stabalized woods you see are burls, and burls have crazy internal stresses that make them prone to cracking. If you want to use a straight grained wood you shouldn't need stabalizing.

Do a couple of real small drill holes for your tang BEFORE any shaping. That way if you screw this part up you can ditch the blank before you've done any real work on it. Then burn in the tang. Its a lot easier than filing the hole.
 
Leatherface said:
Thanks guys...

Now I have an even SILLIER quesition...What does that brass thingy do atthe end of the handle/beginning of the blade?? some knives have it and some dont...I lost that brass thingy that goes on my khuk somehow..Do I need another?

BTW...I am going to Home Depot tomm to see if I can get a chunk of wood on the cheap...How big should I cut it?? (no sense me trashing nice stuff right?)Thinking something flat and simple like one of the guys just did to his Khuk in one of the threads in the main forum...

OHH YEA...I see that most of the Puukkos are handled with a round handle...Is this normal and can ya buy them similar to the Po' Boy handle?? yea I really liked that knife!!! GRRR now I wanna order one of those blades from ragweed!
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iffn that was me and my "machete" (really i was aiming for a more bowie/big knife style) if you look REALLY closely, there's barely a flat surface on it. the top has a subtle curve to it, cross section is a LONG oval, overall, with two swedges (i guess that's the word) on each side, and almost not quite finger grooves on the bottom of the grip), the butt end is curved and rounded.

mostly carved with a puuko actually, and then finished and the rounding done up with a dremel - woo howdy - it's like carving butter with those. one of these years too, i want to study how folx carve fancy handles in actual fancy handle/knife shops - micarta! woo. plus dust remediation systems. oh yeah.

bladite
 
CRIPES!!! Man did I get myself in trouble with this thread.

First I say "gee, that looks fun! I think I'll get one!" but then one wasn't enough, so I got five Morseth blades.

Then I saw the Ulu's at the bottom...hey...those are neat! I might as well get a few to throw into the order, afterall, that Ragnar fella charges a whoppin' $5 shipping on all his orders.

Well....gee...nice blades need nice handles...

I think I'll get some Maple Burl for them....if one is good then three is better...

oh..hey...looky...Purpleheart...the wife would like some of that for hers..better got some of this too....


wow...Ebony! I've always wanted a knife with an Ebony wood handle....I'll get some of this too!

Of course I need some brass and stainless bars for my guards....some pins....wouldn't hurt to get some spacer material...a bit of leather...some pins...a couple pieces of laminated wood....aw what the hell, I'll throw in a few of those Puuko blades too....

So far I'm into this for about $270.00. I'm gonna wind up selling ANOTHER gun just to pay for knife parts! At least I'm unlikely to lose money. Give a few away for gifts, and I could probably recover from some debt if I sell a couple. Really not much to lose but time, which I seem to have plenty of for another month or two. I've lost time doing stupider things. (just ask any of the local Orthopedic surgeons in my area):rolleyes:
 
hey runs... you posted twice :)

where's the ULUs at? i poked at the site and can't find them... don't have time now (nap!) but will try again later.

bladite
 
They're right at the bottom of the Bruslettos. Unavailable right now cuz I got the last three though....:p

They sell some Inupiat style Ulu blades at North Coast and there's some Apron style handles at Jantz Supply.

As I recall the Inupiat style ones at NC are about $5.00 a piece...not bad.
 
I once found a vintage Moreseth at an antique mall in Wisconsin. The only thing wrong with it was the tip of the blade was broken off (%2@*& knife throwers!) The "safety" sheath was very innovative at the time. It was laced leather and lined with some kind of hard material that seems like thick linoleum. Look at the picture in the ad for details. I think I paid $18 for it.
For many years, A. G. Russell sold Moreseth blades, and, I believe, kits. Don't overlook Ranar's kits if you're just starting out. He also lists some good free sources for handle material. I burn wood in the winter, and always pull out a few logs with interesting grain. Check out the woodpile. :)
The most telling part of knifemaking -for me- is the transition from blade to handle. How this is resolved, says a lot about the maker's skill level and thinking.
 
Andy,
One of my steady customer's (dude buy's pistols constantly..yea I love tha guy!:D ) gave me a piece of mahagony this afternoon...If I can get that working I should be ok...Problem is we cant really tell which way the grain is going...Drill first??thanks I will do that very thing...Burn it in?? ahh ya mean drill a guide hole in the wood and heat the tang up red hot and shove it in there?? wont that hurt the strength of the blade steel?? Or am I missing something??

Leather tips?? I will answer any question ya got anytime bro no worries there...But judging from your work already you got the touch..kudos!

Bladite...Yup yours was what I was referring to...No disrepect intended inmy calling it "machete like"...I was referring to it being flat instead of rounded and that is what I am shooting for...I plan on using it as my walking knife (been on a diet for 3 months and I am down 42 pounds so far) and I want it to stick to my side as much as possible to aid in stability..

RWS...IS that wood listed on Ragner's site?? I missed it

Steve, thanks bro

Bri in Chi...If mine will stay on the knife I will be right pleased with myself:D
 
If you wrap the blade in a wet paper towel it will be fine. When making a file blade you gotta do that anyway. You don't want the tang hard and brittle so you anneal it. While doing that I just burn it into the wood. It melts its way in there just like it was melting plastic. I put the wet towel wrapped blade in the vice, heat tang with torch, then push wood down onto glowing tang. It takes a few burns. Perfect fit and no risk of splitting the handle. When done I ream the ashes out of the hole with the tang and then clean the tang thoroughly with 80 grit sandpaper.
 
The wood I got isn't on Ragnars site. I got the stuff at North Coast.

http://www.northcoastknives.com/northcoast_knives_Supplies.htm

http://www.northcoastknives.com/northcoast_knives_Supplies2.htm

I've also been stocking up on Mahogany and Walnut. The local hobby shop has been selling 4x3x12 inch lengths for about $3.50 each. (gimme a holler if y'all want any)

Looks like Ragnar pulled the Ulu completely after I bought the last three. Hope he gets more in!


Burning the Tang in....hmmmm....I may have to try that....I'll do it on one of the Lauri PT blades first, since they're cheapest of my lot.
 
I wonder if that makes Ragnar scratch his head a bit. I just can't help but to imagine one day everything is moving along at a ho-hum pace, and the next day there's half a dozen orders for knives that haven't sold in God knows how long....:D

Now I gotta figure out the best way to do the Ulu handles ....that's....my own little headscratcher. I'm probably gonna need all three of the darn things just to figure out how to get the handle right on a single one. :o
 
Runs With Scissors said:
CRIPES!!! Man did I get myself in trouble with this thread.

First I say "gee, that looks fun! I think I'll get one!" but then one wasn't enough, so I got five Morseth blades.

wow...Ebony! I've always wanted a knife with an Ebony wood handle....I'll get some of this too!

Ebony looks great when finished. Be careful when working with it. If your grinder or other tools heat it up, it will crack. The oils will also run out of it.

Finish it to 1500 or 200 grit and give it one light coat of tung oil a night for a week. Absolutly beautiful.

Big hint here. If you handle is made up of a wide spacer and the then the bulk of the handle there is less chance of your centering drill walking off course. The shorter pieces are easier to work.

Looks like we'll have to restart this thread in a month or two and display our newly crafted knives!
Click to expand...
 
Leatherface said:
Andy,
One of my steady customer's (dude buy's pistols constantly..yea I love tha guy!:D ) gave me a piece of mahagony this afternoon...If I can get that working I should be ok...Problem is we cant really tell which way the grain is going...Drill first??thanks I will do that very thing...Burn it in?? ahh ya mean drill a guide hole in the wood and heat the tang up red hot and shove it in there?? wont that hurt the strength of the blade steel?? Or am I missing something??

...

Bladite...Yup yours was what I was referring to...No disrepect intended inmy calling it "machete like"...I was referring to it being flat instead of rounded and that is what I am shooting for...I plan on using it as my walking knife (been on a diet for 3 months and I am down 42 pounds so far) and I want it to stick to my side as much as possible to aid in stability..

RWS...IS that wood listed on Ragner's site?? I missed it

Steve, thanks bro

Bri in Chi...If mine will stay on the knife I will be right pleased with myself:D
Click to expand...

careful burning some woods, especially tropical ones, the dust from carving, and the ash, and the particles/out-gassing from smoke could be very toxic. some people react to some of them (cocobolo for instance) iirc as if it were poison ivy (poison wood!)... want to breath that? wear a full face mask ;)

oh, and for toxic, watch what you heat up for metals too. doing a burn off with some metals and you'll die. zinc in particular is nasty, google around and you'll find some case stories of folx that got some nice galvanized metal, burned off the coating, and "mysteriously" died weeks later. eek. be careful out there.

still, this burn in method sound amazing. i want to try it.

diet? 42 lbs? woo hoo! good on you. do what you need to keep it off too, it's worth it - 8 yrs ago i lost 90. felt great, started weight training and kickboxing, and got up to 220, am now at 230 and weaning back down to at least 220 again. rawr :)

bladite
 
Howard Wallace said:
he he he ... Looks like I got an ulu blade just in time.
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sniff ulu sharks sniff sniff :)

i make my war cry now "ullululululululululululululululululuuuuuuuuu" :)

bladite
 
Thanks much for the heads up guys, especially on that Ebony. In retrospect an ocassionally impatient greenhorn such as myself could have chosen something a bit less expensive and more forgiving...

I'll probably do my first one or two using the cheaper Walnut, mahogany, and antler that I've already got lying around. I think it's really neat, the tips and tricks that pop up in these threads.
 
Any of yall ever tried mesquite for handle material?
Dirt cheap and a decent hardwood.
I have seen some really pretty bowls and table tops made from mesquite burl.
I have some I BBQ with, may have to go dig through the couple bags of chunks I have left.

DaddyDett
 
DaddyDett said:
Any of yall ever tried mesquite for handle material?
Dirt cheap and a decent hardwood.

DaddyDett
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A couple of our daughters live in Phoenix and one has a fireplace. I was testing the edge on a khuk one day on her firewood and noticed that some of it had a really nice grain.
I don't know if it was mesquite or what but it was harder than my Aunt Myrtle's feet.
I think any desert hardwood would make a decent knife handle.
 
Aunt Myrtle Burl is hard as snot!!!!!:D
 
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