A Father's Day Knife WIP

L

Lettered Churl

Joined
Feb 20, 2012
Messages
33
As Father's Day is approaching, I decided to make a knife shaped object for my father. Over the years he has received his share of macaroni art, ties, and socks. This year is going to be a little different. He is getting the grown up version of macaroni art, a knife made by his son.

I am new to knife making, so the knife shaped object that he gets won't be to the level that the custom makers on this forum produce. I know he'll love it though, just like the stuff I used to make, it'll be the thought and effort that count.

So, on to the good stuff. I picked up some 5160 from Aldo, cut into 8 inch sections. I drew and cut out the design, traced it on the steel, and away I went rough cutting the shape with the angle grinder. The profile needs cleaning up and refining, but you can see the basic idea of what I am going for. As you can see below in the picture, there is a lip on the handle side of the ricasso. I'll be widening the curve to flow better into the handle and remove the lip, so the back of the ricasso will either be straight or, more likely, have a larger radius to the curve without extending it further up toward the spine.

I have an Atlas Mini Forge with which I intend to do heat treating, using the "check for non-magnetic" method. I plan on doing two to three normalizing cycles before the final hardening and quench in canola oil. I'll then temper it two or three times at 350 for two hours a pop, letting it cool to room temp in between.

Knife1sized.jpg


The handle will be made from redwood burl, from Burl Source, and some Macassar Ebony. The ebony will be a bolster at the blade side of the scale.

Now, I would like some advice. I am thinking of using either nickel/silver or copper as a spacer between the redwood and the ebony, and using pins of the same material, either nickel/silver or copper. If I use copper, what sort of patina can I expect to develop and will it cause a problem with the wood on either side? Is epoxy between the wood and metal spacer the best way to form the scale, or are there better ways to do that? Will the spacer cause an issue or weak spot in the connection of the scale and tang, if the scale is simply epoxied to the tang?

I'd also appreciate any feedback on the design and the process as I go through. Thanks in advance for any advice, help, and comments.
 
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Copper would look good with those woods. You could even put a 20 gauge copper liner under the scales, and use the same metal for the spacers between the bolster and scale.

Place the scales and the bolster pieces on the sheet of copper and put in the spacer. Make sure there is plenty of epoxy between everything and clamp it all down on a flat surface gently ( too hard and you will squeeze out all the epoxy). Let dry for 24 hours, and trim the excess copper away. Shape just like they were one piece scales. Mount and pin to the blade with epoxy.
 
I appreciate the suggestion on using copper liner, that'll make a nice layered effect.

Most likely an obvious question, but the holes for the pins should be drilled after the scales are epoxied and set, correct? Not drilling the separate holes in copper and wood, then aligning before the epoxy.

Thanks.
 
Oddly enough, I just used copper sheet as a liner under ebony. I drilled the holes in the ebony first then clamped the copper to one of the scales and drilled the holes. I made sure I put a pin in the first hole before I drilled the second. But you could do it your way as well.
 
I would use a good grade epoxy, and glue up the assembly, then drill it as a single piece. Rough up the copper surface and flat sand the back of the wood with 60 grit paper before glue up. G-flex ( West System) or T-88 ( System Three) will both work well for this type of assembly.
 
LC, nice job on the design, your dad will love it! Love the explanations and suggestions, I had occasionally wondered similar things, but had not bothered to ask as I have not gotten around to doing much making yet. This past month I have had about 5 days at home, total, rest of the time is offshore, (they don't let us make too many knives out here...) I hope to get my little shop set up soon so I can attempt to make a couple more knives on my off time, working with a 1x30 clamped to the rail on the porch kinda sucks, but not as bad as doing most of my profiling with an angle grinder like I was before.
 
A quick update, not much progress since my initial post, but I have the handle materials cut, a little sanding and I'll glue them up. Since I did everything at an angle, are there any suggestions to clamping this together while letting the epoxy cure? Here's a photo to show the angles I am talking about. The bad cellphone pic doesn't do the redwood burl and ebony any justice, but it is still a good illustration.

Knife3.jpg


hickman1, you are one up on me having a 1x30 sander. I just have an angle grinder and a dremel, which means I will be spending a fair amount of time draw filing.
 
Looks great!! I love using copper. It's been my experience that as the copper is exposed to the acids and oils of the hand, it will begin to patina. You can expect colors ranging from blue to purple. I really like the warm tones and buttery feel of copper.
 
I'm committing some thread necromancy for a good reason. Work, life, and a new daughter got in the way. What was a Father's Day gift turned into a Christmas gift a year later. However, my Father was none-the-less excited to receive this:

42fbc010-0e86-4455-9ebc-78a84ea09461_zps8eb28aef.jpg


Photo does not really do the handle justice. The redwood burl from Burl Source gives some great chatoyance.
 
Nice looking knife I'm glad you finally got it done. I'm in the same boat with a new 2 1/2 month old (my first), plus work and everything else... Lets just say I'll be happy if I can get something completed for next Xmas :D
 
Great work! The different types of wood and the copper really compliment each other. I notice the final product is different than the original profile, I like it. Same thing tend to happen to me as well. The knife seems to evolve into something better than what I had pictured.

Keep it up!
 
Some of the evolution was intentional, some fixing mistakes, but all told I'm pleased with it. I learned a lot through the process and this forum. I'm looking forward to my next couple, hopefully they will get done in a quicker time frame.

Huff, congratulations! The spouse/kid/work/hobby balance, like the projects, is always evolving. I hope to have it figured out in another twenty or so years.
 
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