Advice on handle shape (I may have messed up)

N

Natemiester

Joined
Jul 14, 2014
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5
So I'm working on my second knife, and I got a little overzealous with the hacksaw and file, and now the first curve of my handle is about 1/8 inch deeper than I intended. Do you guys think I can still salvage it? Here's a picture (It's 8 inches total)-
oqO4mer.jpg
 
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I don't think there is a problem. I would bring the curve more to the front. It would be a more definite finger notch. Frank
 
Yes, it can definitely be saved, although the shape may not end up what you intended. I would remove material from rear part of that curve to widen it and make it smoother, just be careful not to make it any deeper while doing so. It would also help to reduce some of the bump between the two curves. You can also remove more material in the choil area.
 
Thank you guys so much. I'll post a pic when I've re-shaped it (along Biker's lines).

EDIT: Here it is with handle work almost done (haven't modified the blade yet)
G1dQ6WW.jpg

Thanks again for the advice.
 
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I agree with Biker. Maybe take a little off the top of the front of the blade.

Tim
 
tim37a said:
I agree with Biker. Maybe take a little off the top of the front of the blade.

Tim
Click to expand...

I agree with Tim, smoothing the transition towards the tip, or alternatively dropping it a little would balance things out a bit IMO.
 
Also don't forget you can compensate for less depth with thicker handle scales if necessary
 
fishface5 said:
Also don't forget you can compensate for less depth with thicker handle scales if necessary
Click to expand...

With all due respect, you are flat wrong. The human hand just doesn't bend that way.

The last thing a knife designer should do is make his handles thicker to "compensate" for a crappy profile. :thumbdn: That will only make it suck worse, be more difficult to index, and probably "want" to turn/twist in the hand... that's a nightmare.

I base this on fact and experience, not theory. My work has been tested by everyone from pre-pubescent kids to frighteningly-large men with hands the size of catcher's mitts.

A bad handle profile cannot be "saved" or "fixed". It's gonna suck no matter what the maker does. Making it bulkier will not help.

At the risk of being accused of blatant self-promotion, allow me to say this... I've made my bones in this game, and I enjoy a certain amount of following, by making handles that little girls and huge men alike find comfortable and easy to hold onto and use.

You might be surprised how much common ground there is in that regard... and making handles clunkier is not part of that.

There is only one true "rule" to making knife handles... grind away everything that hurts.
 
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Incidentally, I think the OP's handle design was pretty good to start with, and it's getting better. :thumbup:
 
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