Boss Jack gets new slabs

high desert

high desert

Joined
May 20, 2009
Messages
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Well I have tried to warm up to the Boss Jack before but never kept them. I had a proto and 2 blade show specials. I passed them on because I felt that either the blades were too thick or the handles too thin. Really wanting a 6 inch blade I saw this LE user up for sale. It was different than the others. Satin finish, no choil, only .18 thick and with canvas slabs which i prefer in users. I knew I would end up making spacers so one thing lead to another and I figured I would try to pattern my handle as close as possible to the spyderco Bushcraft uk. If you have held or more importantly used this knife then you would know what I mean. The boss jack blade is similar to the bushcraft so here it is. My second attempt at handles.
 
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Second "attempt"???
Those look pro, brother!!! Very nice work!!!
 
Looks excellent!
What kind of wood?
1/4" brass rod? If so what did you use for adhesive?
 
Thanks for the complements. The wood is mountain mahogony. It's also called iron wood. It's twice as hard as oak and hell on chain saws. Desert iron wood you usually see is darker an little more figured and with more defects. This was a dead limb on a tree where I fish. I figured it would be seasoned. It can be found where you live. The pins are 1/4" brazing rod and the epoxy is gorilla.
 
I really, really like what you did at the pommel. I don't really like the exposed tang that much, but you can't just cover all the way to the corners with new scales since the steel is rounded. You handled it elegantly :foot: Bravo :thumbup:
 
Thanks. I wanted to hold it back a little so I wouldn't blowup the slabs if I strike with it and needed to leave the reveal because of the nuclear meltdown ball bearing treatment as you noticed.
uyotg said:
I really, really like what you did at the pommel. I don't really like the exposed tang that much, but you can't just cover all the way to the corners with new scales since the steel is rounded. You handled it elegantly :foot: Bravo :thumbup:
Click to expand...
 
Awesome and I just put mine up for sale on fleabay..... damn if I only had the time.
 
After final fitting and sanding. I put a coat of clear on it for now to seal it. I will sand it and coat it again with a clear matte finish.
 
Looks very nice, congrats on some fine work.

You are right, the BOSS Jack LE needs thicker scales.
 
Thanks. It is. The branch on the left is the mountain mahogny (ironwood) and the one on the right is black oak. I used the slab 2nd from the left on my bj.
 
Awesome work man. I just finished the second set of my own BJ slabs. I dont think the fit and finish is as nice as yours. I'll get a thread going with some photos.
 
This knife has the nuclear melt down edges on the top of the spine and at the pommel and I did not want to mess them up while grinding the slabs so I made a template knife out of 1/4" plywood to get the rough fitting done and it was a good way to check the thickness of the slabs. I then used 1/4" pins to attach each slab to the knife one at a time then with a red pencil I marked the slab from the reverse side and then grinding then to within an 1/8" of finish size. Then glued and pinned then in place and finished by hand sanding to avoid damage. I left the slabs 1/32" long just incase of shrinkage in the future. It was time consuming and I am sure there is a better way but I did not want to mess up a good knife and I am pleased with how the handle fits my hand with no hotspots. Everybody should rehandle at least one knife. I was going to try on a kitchen knife first but just jumped in instead.
 
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