Custom Knife Handle

[DIYknife]

I recently purchased the Cold Steel G.I. Tanto. I realize this is not a top notch knife but I was pleasantly surprised by the blade quality. The handle, however, is horrible. It's slippery, which is not good by any means. I've been playing around with a custom handle, the general idea of which is somewhat like this link. [ http://m.instructables.com/id/Full-Handle-Bushcraft-Knife/ ] I would appreciate any feedback, ideas, or alternate handle ideas. Thanks!

 

[Burl Source]

It would be best to post this in Shop Talk Q&A
The knife makers there will be able to help you with what to do.
There will also be some threads that walk you through constructing the new handle.
Good Luck

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

First, welcome to Bladeforums.
Filling out your profile is a really useful thing. It lets us know a bit about your age, location, occupation, hobbies, etc. That helps us give a better answer.

Second, unless that link you posted is the wrong one, I can't imagine a worse handle. The whole knife is crude and poorly made. That is not what you want to copy.


There are lots of ways to re-handle a knife. You could remove the scales and replace them with black canvas Micarta scales. They would be much more grippy, and the material can be worked with simple woodworking tools.

An easier choice would be to do a paracord braided wrap. You can tie and un-tie it until you get one you like. Once you have the wrap looking right, you can make it permanent by giving it a very light coat of epoxy resin. This will absorb into the cord and disappear, but the cord will become rock solid and firmly locked in place. If you search "Paracord Handle Wrap" and similar searches, you can find dozens of tutorials and styles. Paracord ( called 550 paracord)is cheap and comes in many colors.
Here is a tutorial from the site you liked for the other handle that will work easily on your knife:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-wrapping-a-knife-handle/

This is the custom search engine for Bladeforums. Store it and use it to search for info on projects and subjects in past discussions and tutorials.
https://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra

 

[jobasha11]

Don't learn knifemaking on instructables. Bad idea

Making scales out of your choice of material is fairly simple, there's plenty of threads on it here. Makers that post videos on YouTube can also be helpful.