Another dagger?!?!

Well, if anyone is curious, I decided to make a down and dirty broach by taking a hacksaw blade and grinding 2/3rds of the teeth off. and creating a rounded head that can get into small holes and cut them into slots deep in a handle block. Seems to be working okay... certainly faster than using a needle file at this depth... but I still wish I had a real broach. Something tells me the work would go faster still.
 
What a project! Great work and I'm enjoying seeing the progression of the knife. You're making it really hard for me to resist yet another hobby!
 
Last night I finally got the tang hole connected deep enough that the pieces come together. I'm pleased with the alignment, so I will next begin carving the handle and finishing both the guard and the handle. Sorry for the crappy picture... that's what happens when I have to rely on the flash in a dark room.

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Today I spent some time sanding the guard and working a little on the handle. Both are still in a crude state, but I thought I should show the progress anyway.

On the handle you'll see that I've attached a piece of fossil walrus ivory. This is, in fact, the piece I found at an estate sale recently for a little bit of nothing.

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You'll notice the original piece had a number of bad cracks in it. Today I worked on the piece until all of the cracks had been removed, and drilled a hole in it and attached it to the handle using 1/4 inch 20 twist all-thread. I then sanded the handle down to the same point. There are still some small spaced at the join, but I'll sand those away more slowly and carefully. I also plan to carve a design into the ivory to give it a bit more character.

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Sorry to disappoint, Patrice. ;)

Not to worry, though.... the takedown project is next up after this one is done.
 
I realize it doesn't look like I made much progress, but I spent a LOT of time today making sure the join line between the ivory and the wood was smooth and clean, and putting the basic shape of the handle where I though it ought to be. In retrospect I may have removed too much of the handle, as I have now spoiled the flow line from the blade through to the handle. I like the shape of the handle... I like the shape of the blade... but together they make an awkward marriage.

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i don't think what your saying is what I initially saw until you said it. It isn't spoiled in my opinion i don't see it as awkward. Maybe after you dwell on it a while it will resettle in you mind. Its a good transition. The thickness of the guard makes the transition perfect in my opinion. Nice dagger
Print out a picture then shade in the handle with a pencil and you'll see this is a better transition, like it was meant to be even if it wasn't and I think that's where your having issues. Its a beauty
 
I think it looks pretty nice. I see what you mean about the flow at the handle guard junction. Could you add a ferrule/spacer to bridge the gap somewhat. Maybe about 1/4 inch thick and rounded over at the edges. I'm picturing a copper(or other material) doughnut slightly larger than the handle but slightly smaller than the ricasso??
Darcy:)
 
I'm thinking I'll just start over on the handle... I only had about 5 - 6 hours invested in it anyway. I'll just set that one aside to use on a future project, should one arise that needs a barrel shaped handle... and it probably will.

I've been spending time sanding the guard. I started last night by flattening the place where the handle meets the guard, then reshaping the bottom to curve smoothly again. Since then I've gone through 240 grit and 320 grit sanding all over, including the points. I've been using a suction cup based vise from HF to hold the piece in place while working. I had low expectations for that vise, but it has quickly become a favored tool. It came out of the box with rubber grip guards to keep the vise from marking the work piece. Best thing is that the suction cup base really works well, and the pivoting head allows me to put the workpiece in any position I need for best angle of attack.
 

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tryppyr said:
I'm thinking I'll just start over on the handle... I only had about 5 - 6 hours invested in it anyway. I'll just set that one aside to use on a future project, should one arise that needs a barrel shaped handle... and it probably will.

I've been spending time sanding the guard. I started last night by flattening the place where the handle meets the guard, then reshaping the bottom to curve smoothly again. Since then I've gone through 240 grit and 320 grit sanding all over, including the points. I've been using a suction cup based vise from HF to hold the piece in place while working. I had low expectations for that vise, but it has quickly become a favored tool. It came out of the box with rubber grip guards to keep the vise from marking the work piece. Best thing is that the suction cup base really works well, and the pivoting head allows me to put the workpiece in any position I need for best angle of attack.
Click to expand...


I use one of those as well and it does work well and is at a great price.
 
Today I went through my wood stash and decided that attempt #2 would be done with the stabilized Koa block I bought from Mark a few weeks ago. I've drilled the three holes and am now in the process of connecting the holes into a slot.

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The hole is now a slot and the slot is complete. Koa is a lot easier to work than the previous mystery burl. This weekend I'll get the handle shaped. It currently suffers from blocky handle syndrome. ;)

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First things first... remove the excess thickness from the block and mark the "not to exceed" lines for the width so we don't repeat the mistake from the first handle.

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Next step, determine the final shape of the wood and draw in those lines.
 
I did some shaping of the handle today, and decided what I want for a pommel. The idea is to create a point similar in shape to the points on the guard, but larger. The thought was to create something vaguely like a scorpion. I spent over an hour at the grinder today trying to shape the pommel from mild steel. It's coming along... but a LONG way from being something I'm even likely to use. Not sure this idea will work, but we'll see. Anyway, here is the current state of the handle. As you can see, this time I didn't remove too much from the top... but night have removed too much from the bottom.

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