Damascus fighter WIP Professional pictures added!

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Now I grind the "face" of the guard clean, sand it to 240 grit, then finish it with a Scotchbrite belt:

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Now I grind the corners of the tang round, and soften it with the torch so I can drill through it later:

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After it cools, I clean the tang with acetone, and mix up some J-B Kwik:

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After cleaning the excess off:

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After all that, I decided I wasn't happy with the fit of the guard, (actually, there was a ding on one of the edges of the slot) so I pulled it off before the J-B Weld could set up. I'll clean everything up and fix it after lunch. ;)

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Phillip Patton said:
Now I peen the edges of the slot. This guarantees a tight, gap free fit.

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Click to expand...

Beautiful work! I truly admire (and envy) your skills.

I hope you won't mind a noob question?

I'm not quite following what sort of peening you are doing in this step. Where exactly and how do you peen? Are you hammering on the sides of the guard to make the entire slot narrower? Or are you using a punch on the edges of the slot from the back of the guard to make the guard grip the tang more tightly? Could you elaborate?

Thanks
 
woodwrkr221 said:
Beautiful work! I truly admire (and envy) your skills.

I hope you won't mind a noob question?

I'm not quite following what sort of peening you are doing in this step. Where exactly and how do you peen? Are you hammering on the sides of the guard to make the entire slot narrower? Or are you using a punch on the edges of the slot from the back of the guard to make the guard grip the tang more tightly? Could you elaborate?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Maybe this picture will show what I'm talking about better.

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This is the side that faces the blade. Can you see the dimples from the ball peen hammer? They expand the metal at the edges of the slot, and make the slot slightly smaller. Then the guard is driven onto the tang. Then the guard is taken off and the surface ground down until the dimples are gone.

Hope that helps. :)
 
Well, I got the guard re-fitted. It's now as close to perfect as I can get it. If it looks like there's gaps, it's just the damascus pattern on the ricasso.

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After letting the J-B Weld harden for a half hour or so, it's time to take the guard clamping jig off and start fitting the handle.

First I cut the end of the block to the correct angle. The surface exposed by cutting had some voids. I hope they don't get bigger....

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Then I drew the pattern of the handle onto the block of ironwood:

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Then drew the outline of the tang in the correct location:

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Then transfer the lines to the end and draw a centerline. Then locate the three holes that will be drilled to make the slot:

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Mark the holes with a punch:

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Then drill them:

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Here's how far it slid up. A little fancy work with the drill bit got it up the rest of the way.

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The epoxy. I always use slow set epoxy, since it's stronger than quick set, and I don't like to be rushed.

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My super high tech handle gluing jig. ;)

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Super blade, great work, lots of nice tips along the way. I really appreciate the effort you put into documenting your build. Thanks for sharing.

Jerry Fisher
 
After letting the epoxy cure overnight, it's time to shape the handle profile. I do this before drilling the pin hole, because it's easier for me to get the pin perfectly centered on the handle after the handle is shaped.

I normally use my wood cutting bandsaw to remove the bulk of material, but the drive belt broke this morning, and I didn't feel like replacing it. So, I used the belt grinder instead:

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Now I drill the pin hole. I usually use 3/16" pin stock, but decided to do something different this time and use 3/32".

First I drill a 1/16" hole:

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Then 5/64":

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Then 3/32":

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Here's the pin, cut to length and roughed up on the grinder:

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I used Crazy glue to glue the pin in. Sometimes I use 5 minute epoxy, and I've also used Gorilla Glue. They all work, but I used CA this time because it's fast.

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Here I'm marking some guide lines all around the handle. I got this idea from a recent thread of Nick Wheelers, though my setup is not as slick as his. ;)

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These next photos show my handle shaping sequence. You'll notice I run into some voids as I go. Thankfully, they are getting smaller, and I think the handle will work out.
I'm using a five inch wheel in these pics.

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Outstanding thread Phillip!!!!
Thank you big time for taking the time to post all the pictures and information on your build!!!
This is the first time I've ever seen a guard clamping jig like the one you use. If it's ok with you, I'd like to make one for myself.
 
Way cool! Your knife is progressing nicely. I have been looking for a decent how-to for a hidden tang knife and this is so far one of the best I have seen, gives me much more confidence to try one next! Maybe if I can get out of the boat yard in the next few days I'll try to start one.


-Xander
 
Well, I didn't get many pictures of the handle shaping process, but it is almost finished. After lots of grinding, then filling, then grinding, then filling....

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That is absolutely stunning! Thank you for doing the WIP on this piece. I've really enjoyed following along with your progress.
 
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