Finally getting some knife projects done!

Svashtar

Svashtar

Joined
Dec 28, 2003
Messages
4,793
I have had a dozen knives sitting around the shop for at least a year waiting for one project or another, but never seem to get the time to work on them.

Took a day off today and finished up 3 of them and thought I would post some pics.

Remember this crooked Sherpa Crow from last June?

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=406845&highlight=crow

This was the first small Crow that Vim did IIRC. But the blade was crooked, the handle flats were not symmetrical, and I really dislike the square guard on these.

The knife started at 13.2" and 13.3 oz. and ended up at 13" and 11 oz. Most of the weight loss was from thinning the blade. This got rid of the crooked bits and smoothed the whole profile out. Guess you could say I uncovered the nice straight blade hiding under the original. It also slices much better now.

I raised the primary bevel on the blade, took the edge all the way back to the guard, eliminating the ricasso (that part of the blade was unhardened anyway but this looks better) and sharpened the top clip point, rounding it into the main edge. Then buffed the whole blade out. I lost the blade markings in the process, except for a bit of the UB on the right side.

I recut the handle flats and then polished the handle out, then made the guard oval and cut some decorative notches in it with a chainsaw file. Shimmed up the scabbard with leather to accommodate the thinner blade.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I have two other small projects I finished today, and will post pics of those a bit further down.

Thanks for looking.

Norm

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The D-handle is one of my favorites. I'm still kicking myself for never being able to snag an 18" one while they were available, esp. that chandan one with the split scabbard that some lucky guy bagged here.

But, can't complain, and this 16" I worked on is a great size, and still weighs 31.5 oz., with some pretty hill walnut. The problem with these is just the rear portion of the guard. Finally got up the nerve to remove it, and the whole mod only took about 15 minutes.

The knife feels 100% better in the hand now, and you can really swing it without the rear portion of the guard tearing up the inside of your wrist.

Here are a few pics with the cut off portion of the guard as it was, and closeups of the aftermath:

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As you can see I took it off just above the rear bolster, leaving the polished hump sticking up about 3/32" or so. I thought about making it flush, but didn't want to mess up the neat engraving in the brass back there. It feels really natural this way.

If you're one of the lucky guys with one of these knives I think you'd appreciate this mod on your knife if you plan on putting it to use. :thumbup:

Norm
 

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This wasn't that big of a deal, but I was proud of it anyway. This is an older Sanu kobra that belonged to Rusty. Very unique 26" knife, at exactly 1 kilo in weight, with a longer than standard handle for this model. When I got it from Gin, I could see that the pommel had taken a really hard knock, which will invariably knock off a chunk of handle, either at the top or bottom of the buttcap, right where the handle sweeps up or down.

I straightened the pommel, then filed down the broken area to make a flat surface for the new piece. Then used gorilla glue to glue in a piece of red oak, which I secured with a 1" brad nail. I wanted something as hard as the ancient satisal that was on here. This handle has some rock hard burl chunks in it which are like granite. You can see some of that black burl at the bottom of the repair in the first picture.

In retrospect I probably shouldn't have used GG, as it left a visible glue line. Later I had to remove some of that line and fill it with putty and stain it, which took a while. If I had to do it again I'd probably use Titebond III, although with such a small contact portion I wanted it to be as strong as possible. I also wouldn't use the brad, as getting it set down into the hard satisal was a real pain, plus left a hole that had to be filled. The poly glue was plenty strong enough.

Sanded down the chunk of red oak, then finished it by hand, blending it to the existing contour of the handle. Set the nail and filled it and the glue line with putty. Stained the oak to get it as close as possible to the satisal (didn't quite manage a perfect match.) Then sanded the whole handle and finished it with Watco.

It's not perfect, but compared to the ragged chip that was there, it looks pretty good. :D

//

Norm

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Great job on the mods Norm. I especially like the crow blade now. Thanks for sharing.
DanR
 
VERY nice, especially the mod on the D handle. Never understood the original design.

Crow knife looks like it wants to be carried. Don't suppose that would go over very well in your neck of the woods?


:thumbup:







Kis
enjoy every sandwich
 
Thanks guys! Kis, that Crow would make a great little hunting knife, (the best part of the crows are the handle I think) but as you suspect anything around here longer than a small folder on your belt seems to get you some odd looks. I do carry a nice little Sarge puuko sometimes, but it is so small and light it is hardly noticed.

I loved the orig. D-handle until it came time to swing it, and then I got a rude awakening. Should have been obvious I guess, but it wasn't until my wrist cracked against that rear bit that I got the message. :eek:

Norm
 
Svashtar said:
I loved the orig. D-handle until it came time to swing it, and then I got a rude awakening. Should have been obvious I guess, but it wasn't until my wrist cracked against that rear bit that I got the message. :eek:
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Sounds like it could join the old Civil War cavalry sabers in the name "old wrist-breaker!"

Fantastic work overall. You did those knives justice, and that's saying a lot. :thumbup:
 
Aardvark said:
You're good, Norm. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you my friends!

I also almost have the new bolster done on the busted Museum Model, using 1.5" bar stock. I don't have a welder though, so am working on getting the whole thing together. I'll finish it someday...

Norm
 
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