Brief tutorial - a simple fixed blade

J

John T Wylie Jr

Joined
Feb 1, 2007
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Awhile back a co-worker approached me about what to get her son for making Eagle Scout , and she was trying to decide to get him camping gear or a knife as a reward. I suggested she go with the camping gear.
That shocked her , since I am known as the knife nutt at work. Go figure eh ?

When she asked Why not a knife ? I informed her that he is getting a reward knife , only she ain't paying for it , then I asked her permission to make him one , which after showing her pictures of some of my past work as well as my carry knife , she readily agreed.

This is the simple design I came up with:
blade steel 154CM .140 thick (donated to the cause by Alpha Knife Supply)
blade length: 3.4"
heat treat: Paul Bos

The design was drawn on thick paper ,cut out , then traced onto the steel , rough cut ( and I do mean ruff ) on the band saw , then the final profile done on the Bader with 60 grit.
Profile.jpg


Here it is profiled , surface ground poor boy style on the flat platen and also the 9" disc. Wasn't sure if I would taper the tang or not , so I drilled many holes just to be safe .
Profile2.jpg


Grinds done , jimping done on the spine with a 20LPI checkering fille , sand hand satin work done ( up to 220 ) and it was off to Paul Bos for HT.
ReadyforHT.jpg


Fast forward a little bit ( thats knifemaker time for 2 months ).
blade back from HT , hand satin to 400 grit ( sorry , that all the finer I have)
Start to work on adding the scales.
Handle1.jpg
 
Drill the holes for the corby style bolts , scribe the profile and off to the bandsaw.
Handle2.jpg


Repeat for other side and now I have a pair of scales....I have also counter sunk the holes for the bolts , which never seem to fit just right , so I turn the bolts down to fit the holes nice and tight. ( cordless drill and slack belt ...poor boy lathe )
handle3.jpg


I then shape the scales up to the scribe lines , and shape the front of the scales so they match , then do a test fit..
handle4.jpg


All going according to plan , I add the red liners into the mix and shape the front of the scales , final sand and buff.
Ready.jpg


handle6.jpg


handle5.jpg
 
ok so all is set , cut the lan tube , test fit it , and disassemble once again , clean everything with acetone , tape up the blade...
Ready...set
Set.jpg


Glued.. yeah the Kant twist are over kill , since the Corby's will hold it tight , but I never take a chance. With the Corby bolts the epoxy is just a sealer.
glue.jpg


Wait about 24 hours ,then on to shaping the handle and get started on the leather sheath.

The plan is to present the knife to him at his awards ceremony , along with a photo album with pictures of the build. Hope it brings him many years of good use.
 
With the epoxy cured ( epoxied it yesterday afternoon ) , it was time to trim of the excess bolts on the band saw and get to profiling. Sanded the outside to shape and broke the corners to a bevel with a 60 grit. For me this makes it easier when rounding the scales on the slack belt.
Ruffcorners.jpg


Then 80 grit to rough in the contour :
countourstarted.jpg


From here on out , all handle work is done in the knifemaker vise using 1" shop rolls in 80 , 120 , 220 and 280 (sometimes 400).
handsandshape.jpg


taking shape pretty nice , at 220 grit here.
220grithand.jpg


Love the effect of the red liners against the OD Green
220gritbyhand.jpg
 
This is about it for today , will do final cleanup , logo and sharpen after I make the leather sheath:

ODGreen.jpg


redliners.jpg


readyforsheath.jpg


Now to find all my leather working tools....and a clean spot on the bench to work the leather.....and get back to working on a slip joint design.

I have no clue if this is the way others do it , but it works for me , I am open to both good & bad criticism. :thumbup:
 
Great job, John. That's pretty much the same way I do my handles. That's a fine looking knife!

--nathan
 
Nice gesture on your part that i'm sure the scout will appreciate. That's a good looking blade and tutorial to go along with it.


Johnny
 
Cool tutorial and a good deed bro! Nice blade and you gave me a couple tips on finishing up the scales, thanks bud:thumbup::D

Looking forward to the sheath.

Chris
 
Excellent tutorial John :thumbup: :thumbup:

And, might I add, a great looking knife ! ;)

I've always liked the way you finish your handles.


Carry on my friend ....................... :cool:




:thumbup:
 
I really agree that the red liner material sets it off nicely. I have been using black and white... now I'm gonna have to try out soome red. Any idea if somebody makes a nice dark green? Also, what kind of epoxy are you using?
 
David , thanks , that means a ton to me , as you already know , I have a great deal of admiration for your work.

Showed it to the scouts mom today at work , she loved it , and she is not a " knife person " ( her words).
 
Coming from an Eagle Scout, I can say that I most certainly would have loved to receive such an awesome knife as a gift for earning my Eagle Scout rank. Great job and as was already said great gesture on your part.

Also, thanks too for the handle scale tips :)
 
Ok, if I can ask a question here, this shows a "toward the tang" sanding of the micarta right up to the metal, but no scuffs on the metal. This is an area I am having trouble with, not scuffing the metal. What's the trick there?

Then 80 grit to rough in the contour : [IMG said:
http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af236/VegasBlades/EagleScout/countourstarted.jpg[/IMG]
Click to expand...
countourstarted.jpg
 
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