Cutting out knife scales?? I failed so far....

J

JonnyBoy369

Joined
May 25, 2014
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45
Hello blade forums, I am currently working on my first project knife. I have so far gotten the old handle off, cleaned the tang, I mirror polished the blade , its beautiful. I found some brass tubing I'm gonna use for pins, and got the holes on the tang filed so the tubing fits perfectly. So far, my project was going like I'm a pro. Today I tried to cut out some Cocobolo wood scales I had obtained (its a full tang kitchen knife). I clamped it to my work table, and then I tried to cut the scales to shape with a small hand coping saw. It made a complete mess, it was impossible to keep straight. I had to throw the scales out, wasting several hours trying to make it work. I live in a tiny studio apt. In the city, so I can't get big woodworking tools . can you guys please steer me in the right direction what to get?? A tiny scrollsaw I'm thinking, but I don't know. Also, to bore holes in the scales for the pins, I was going to use a hand operated hobby hand drill. I am thinking after my cutting experience today this is not gonna work either. Will I need a small drill press?? I don't mind the investment, I intend to keep working on lots of knives. Thank you I need help with this...
 
Cut the scales too large, a 1/4"-1/2" overage will give you plenty of oops space. Then go at it with 60 grit sand paper and a wooden dowel, or a nicholson 4 sided file (one flat rough, one hand round rough, one flat fine, one half round fine).

I will use the half round rough for the most of it, then the sand paper moving through the grits.
 
I've cut scales with a coping saw before. Go slow, make sure you have a good line follow with the saw. Be patient.

For my edification, what is a hobby drill? Is it one of the old "egg beater" style drills? I've used those for years and got pretty good with one. I still have two of them which still get used.

Please be careful when working with cocobolo. Some people are very sensitive to the wood and the dust from it. Good idea to wear a respirator when working with it. If I handle cocobolo too much, my skin will start to peel a little.

Let us know how things progress.

Ric
 
Thank you also Ric. I had ordered the Cocobolo scales before I knew about the allergic dust. I threw them out I'm not gonna use that wood again. Yes, it is a tiny little hand cranked drill. I attempted to use it to ream out the holes in my knife tang, they were a bit smaller than the brass tubing. It was completely useless for metal. I gave up on that, went and bought a needle file which did the trick. I don't have a good work table, just a collapsible plastic "heavy duty" lol Stanley one I got at the hardware store. It is flimsy and the coping saw made it vibrate like crazy. I need a vise and a heavier work table. I'm considering not getting those, but buying a mini band saw. I could just sit on the floor with that to cut the scales to shape. I don't have room for a heavy table, but the small band saw I could fit here easily. How should I drill the holes for my pins?? Should I clamp the tang to the scale and drill through the hole??
 
I'm getting too frustrated because I had such a hard time trying to cut these first scales. I don't need to stuff my house with power tools lol. I need to slow down, get some cheap non-volatile scales to learn with, and use my hand tools I already have. I have been working by c-clamping my materials to the collapsible table. I need to know what order to do the work in correctly. I'm thinking maybe if I clamp the uncut scales to the tang, drill the holes, trace onto the scales, then cut out larger than like you guys said . Then I can epoxy it together, let it dry, and finish the shapi g with a file and sandpaper. Does this sound right??
 
Jonny, go watch YouTube videos on knife making. You do not need to reinvent the wheel, just learn from watching and you will have all your questions answered. :D
 
You've got the right idea now.

I live in a pretty small apt as well, and have done my fair share of projects. I also only have limited tools because of space (two clamps, a jig saw, coping saw, orbital sander, carpenters square, and a drill). You can do quite well for yourself once you understand the limitations of your tools (like knowing that straight lines and coping saws don't mix).

If it were me, id probably rough cut the scales, mark the holes (one scale at a time, and making sure to use a center punch to make sure the drill bit stays centered), drill the holes (trying to keep them as level as possible). After that I would epoxy, wait, then shape and finish (make sure to tape the edge before you do tons of sanding/shaping).

Good luck with the project :).
 
JonnyBoy369 said:
I'm getting too frustrated because I had such a hard time trying to cut these first scales. I don't need to stuff my house with power tools lol. I need to slow down, get some cheap non-volatile scales to learn with, and use my hand tools I already have. I have been working by c-clamping my materials to the collapsible table. I need to know what order to do the work in correctly. I'm thinking maybe if I clamp the uncut scales to the tang, drill the holes, trace onto the scales, then cut out larger than like you guys said . Then I can epoxy it together, let it dry, and finish the shapi g with a file and sandpaper. Does this sound right??
Click to expand...

Absolutely!

Patience and planning the various stages, are the keys to good results.
For drilling holes in the scales, I use a small drillpress.
There are many portable models on the market to choose from.
For shaping the scales, I use the above mentioned method (sandpaper & files), but also a portable 1" x 30" beltsander.
A Powerfile from Black&Decker is very useful, when shaping radioused curves.

Here's my tools except the drillpress and the Black&Decker Powerfile:

1405173269-IMAG0072.jpg
 
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Do you have a balcony or sturdy kitchen counter? I've heard of guys clamping their work to a balcony hand rail to work on.

I survived many years with a hand crank drill. It can be done. To get holes as close to perpendicular to the surface, I often place a carpenter's square next to the drill as a visual reference guide. I was amazed how much this helped with any hand held drill.

Lay out and cutting scales. This is my method.
1. Place blade on the piece of scale material.
2. Trace the handle and location of the pins on one of the scales. I use the actual knife for this.
3. Clamp the blade in place on the scale on a scrap piece of wood (backer for drilling).
4. Using one of the holes in the tang as a guide. Drill your first hole for the pin. After drilling the hole, place a pin in the hole. This serves as an anchor point.
5. Drill the next hole, using the hole in the tang as a guide. Put a pin in it. Do this for the remains holes.
6. Leaving the pins in, unclamp the knife and scale. Using a scribe, I trace the handle profile on the scale. Unpin and mark the surface of the scale so that you know which side of the knife it goes on.
7. Repeat for the other scale.
8. Cut scales with coping saw.

A good source I found for wood for handles, is hard wood flooring scraps. I got some hardwood flooring scrap (oak, black walnut, maple, birdseye maple, bamboo, ipe) for cheap at a building recycling center.


Ric

Fill out some of your profile information, you never know there may be a local maker on the forums near by who may be willing to help you.
 
Thank you for the step by step Ric. I am going to follow the instructions as you posted. I appreciate the help. John
 
If you have a counter available that is sturdy enough, consider a file/sanding board:


All that would be needed aside from the steel is two C clamps.
 
I have c clamps, this is how I've been working with them attached to my collapsible table. I want to get a mini band saw and drill press eventually, but I think I need to learn to do this stuff completely by hand first. I'm going to order some more scales and use the instructions you gave above... John
 
The method above will allow me to put the handle together for final shaping... Should I epoxy it all together before I do the shaping , or just dry fit it together until its shaped??
 
I epoxy the scales on before I shape them. As I shape the handle, I check it to see how it feels in hand. Remember, you can take more material off, but you can't put more on.

Ric
 
I hot glue the scales on and use a trim router with a flush trim bit with bearing it works pretty well!
 
Epoxy is cheap for the quality of the bond. Hot glue is the stuff for making stockings for Christmas.
:D
 
I thought it was a joke lol. I found some Yellow pine bed rails in the hall lol, 1/2" thick. I successfully cut some scales from this with the coping saw last night. Now, I'm going to get a piece of glass , also free, and use this to put my sandpaper on and sand them down to 3/8". Then I'm gonna use the method above to make my handles. This old yellow pine is gonna look really cool actually, I have ten old Chicago Cutlery kitchen knives I'm gonna use this for all the handles. I plan to do the super glue finish on them, and I am mirror polishing all the blades by hand. I know these knives aren't worth much, but they are all saved from the thrift store bins and I should be pretty good at this by the time I finish ten. I know yellow pine isn't fancy, but the boards I found are really old and solid its not like modern lumber. I am from GA, the most common tree there is yellow pine so its cool to me...
 
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