Condor woodlaw mods

V

Vpetrell

Joined
Jul 14, 2015
Messages
272
Bought a condor woodlaw blank for my girlfriend as a camp knife. I wasn't stoked on the handle shape or overall shape of the knife. I know it's a purpose driven dragon, but she needed to like it.

So o reprofiled the handle, dropped the point. Started a convex and made some scales our of red cedar heart wood. I think

She then asked if I could put some turquoise stones in the wood. [emoji15][emoji15][emoji15]

So I tried and this is what I have so far. Still have a bit of hand sanding to do and make a sheath for it.

So far turned out great. Since I do everything on a whim and kind of wing it with measurements, there are a few mistakes that I can fix, but since it's a user, I like to call it character :)

Let me know what you think. Only pic so far and I should have done wip pics but didn't. Face palm.


Anyways here is the only pic I have so far. I'll put more up tonight

What it started as

1621c8796e5b91530d8367d2196e1d8f.jpg



Progress so far

edb5cfbef8c832a5e724a99ce8ec39e4.jpg



Let me know your thoughts so far!

Thanks

VP
 
I like the mods to the blade shape and the handle/blade transition, as well as the handle shape too.
But if you don't mind a few quick tips?

Next time you try something like this, see if you can score some stones that are a bit larger than you want and sand them down to a more cylindrical shape with Silicon Carbide sandpaper. It Should cut it just fine.

I cant really twll from the angle shown, buy it doesn't look like you have That much material to remove until the handle is rather thin, and unless she is Really petite, it may be too thin for comfortable usage with extended time periods.
That being said, if you are planning on sanding them smooth, use "regular" sandpaper for stock removal. Once done with that you can bathe it in a soak of Tung oil and allow that to soak in, and reapply and let soak in and again and again and again... until you are hppy with the grain that pops out.
Doing this will allow for some added water resistance (though cedar is good with that anyway). But added protection is Never a bad thing.

If you had used stabilized wood, then I would have suggested SiC (Silicon Carbide) to cut them both flush. Then back to regular to refinish the wood since the SiC will shed it's cutting agent and dull and darken the wood making it look "dirty and dingy".


If you had used stabilized wood, then you wouldn't have as much of a worry of the wood absorbing the slurry created by the wet sanding that aided in your cutting of the stones. Which would allow you to refinish the rest of the wood more easily, while getting a longer lasting finished product.
Though I would still suggest against using SiC for Any wood slabs since the slurry is a Royal pain. For the most part I go up to 400 grit sandpaper then through progressively finer and finer steel wool and finish with a few soaks in Tung oil.
-----
So far it looks like it is going to turn out to be a nice looking piece for the Misses, she ought to be proud to carry it.
 
NJBillK said:
I like the mods to the blade shape and the handle/blade transition, as well as the handle shape too.
But if you don't mind a few quick tips?

Next time you try something like this, see if you can score some stones that are a bit larger than you want and sand them down to a more cylindrical shape with Silicon Carbide sandpaper. It Should cut it just fine.

I cant really twll from the angle shown, buy it doesn't look like you have That much material to remove until the handle is rather thin, and unless she is Really petite, it may be too thin for comfortable usage with extended time periods.
That being said, if you are planning on sanding them smooth, use "regular" sandpaper for stock removal. Once done with that you can bathe it in a soak of Tung oil and allow that to soak in, and reapply and let soak in and again and again and again... until you are hppy with the grain that pops out.
Doing this will allow for some added water resistance (though cedar is good with that anyway). But added protection is Never a bad thing.

If you had used stabilized wood, then I would have suggested SiC (Silicon Carbide) to cut them both flush. Then back to regular to refinish the wood since the SiC will shed it's cutting agent and dull and darken the wood making it look "dirty and dingy".


If you had used stabilized wood, then you wouldn't have as much of a worry of the wood absorbing the slurry created by the wet sanding that aided in your cutting of the stones. Which would allow you to refinish the rest of the wood more easily, while getting a longer lasting finished product.
Though I would still suggest against using SiC for Any wood slabs since the slurry is a Royal pain. For the most part I go up to 400 grit sandpaper then through progressively finer and finer steel wool and finish with a few soaks in Tung oil.
-----
So far it looks like it is going to turn out to be a nice looking piece for the Misses, she ought to be proud to carry it.
Click to expand...

Just saw this!

But yea they stones went in easier than expected but I do wish I was able to sand flush more than I can without taking off more of the handle.

It is a a bit of a thin handle but works for the lady and is surprisingly comfy in my hand also for how small of a grip it is

If I would have thought about it more, I probably would have went about it a different approach than I did, handle size, but what can ya do!

She loves it as of now. I finished the sheath for it so I'll put those up tonight when I'm home from work

Thanks for the advice!

VP
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top