First Attempt at Blind Tangs

[JustinJ]

Still relatively new to knife making. Guess I've got a couple dozen knives under my belt now, and I feel I'm progressing with every one I make.

I'm making several knives to send as a thank you to a group I deer hunt with in Iowa and Missouri. Tried my hand on a couple of blind tang knives. It was certainly different than the full tang knives I had been making, and I learned a lot along the way. My blade to guard fit was not perfect, and in hind site I wish i would have just spent a little more time making it right, but I had too many irons in the fire and sort of rushed it along. Still working mostly with O1, as my modest heat treat kiln can handle the temp and soak time fine and I'm getting good results.

Also, have been trying my hand at forging. Haven't tried making a knife yet, but have been busy making tongs, and playing around some with bottle openers just getting a feel for things. It's not as easy as it looks!

 

[JustinJ]

These are a couple of full tangs I'm sending along as well. Been working on trying to soften my plunge line up from my first few knives I made. I'm starting to get more of a radios there, not where I want to be yet, but much better than the sharp hard plunge line I was getting on my first few knives. Still learning with etching my makers mark too. I've only done it a couple of times now. Think I had a little too much electrolyte on the pad this time, I can see some faint lines where it bled through where I had it taped off.

 

[Ken H>]

Good job - especially the copper. You might tell us more about the handles - type of antler, wood, finish, etc. You mentioned the blades are O1.

 

[TheEdge01]

Still relatively new to knife making. Guess I've got a couple dozen knives under my belt now, and I feel I'm progressing with every one I make.

I'm making several knives to send as a thank you to a group I deer hunt with in Iowa and Missouri. Tried my hand on a couple of blind tang knives. It was certainly different than the full tang knives I had been making, and I learned a lot along the way. My blade to guard fit was not perfect, and in hind site I wish i would have just spent a little more time making it right, but I had too many irons in the fire and sort of rushed it along. Still working mostly with O1, as my modest heat treat kiln can handle the temp and soak time fine and I'm getting good results.

Also, have been trying my hand at forging. Haven't tried making a knife yet, but have been busy making tongs, and playing around some with bottle openers just getting a feel for things. It's not as easy as it looks!

Nice work!!!!!

 

[JustinJ]

Good job - especially the copper. You might tell us more about the handles - type of antler, wood, finish, etc. You mentioned the blades are O1.

The antler is all from whitetail sheds I have found and collected over the years, which leads me to a question perhaps some veterans may be familiar with.

I've been cutting and making the antler scales from whole antler sheds. Usually when i get a knife finish ground and ready to start a handle, I'd find a shed that has an area in it that looks like I can get he scale out of, I cut that area out, RIP it in half, and face it off in the mill, then proceed to finishing out the knife. More often than not, from cutting the antler shed up, to unfinished up knife is a day or two, to three at the most. I've found on a few knives now, that the antler has slightly shrunk. Brand new knives, not used or anything, just that the antler is shrinking ever so slightly to where you can just start to feel a slight lip or edge where the tang is running proud of the scale. Anyone ever experience this? My thinking is I should start pre cutting scales well ahead of time to allow the antel to shrink or normalize before gluing up?

The knife with the copper bolster has ebony wood scales. That was my first time working with copper, and it had a few challenges I hadn't anticipated. The larger skinner with stainless bolsters has scales from some stabalized recovered sinker cypress local to my part of the world. The stuff is pretty soft, butni loved how it turned out and plan to do some more with the cypress.
The skinner with the rope file work has cocobolo scales.

 

[Cushing H.]

Hi Justin. Great work!

how lad are the knives that are starting to show that “shrinkage” mismatch between antler and metal parts? Of the knives that I have, some going on 35 years, the ONLY ones that have not, sooner or later, started showing that “lip” or “edge” are the fully synthetic ones. Natural material (Including stabilized woods) just expands and contracts with ambient /seasonal changes in moisture. I’m not sure if there is a darned thing you can do about it...

 

[JustinJ]

Hi Justin. Great work!

how lad are the knives that are starting to show that “shrinkage” mismatch between antler and metal parts? Of the knives that I have, some going on 35 years, the ONLY ones that have not, sooner or later, started showing that “lip” or “edge” are the fully synthetic ones. Natural material (Including stabilized woods) just expands and contracts with ambient /seasonal changes in moisture. I’m not sure if there is a darned thing you can do about it...

It's very minor. You cant see it with your eye, but you can just every so slightly feel it.

I personally love the look of an antler handke skinning knife, and I also really enjoy the aspect of repurposing the antler sheds, so I'm not going to let it deter me doing more, just curios to others experience. I realize with natural materials this is a possibility. I am going to try and pre cut a few scales and let the acclimate to the environment and see if it does have any impact, but I didn't suspect it will over time.

 

[Cushing H.]

It's very minor. You cant see it with your eye, but you can just every so slightly feel it.

I personally love the look of an antler handke skinning knife, and I also really enjoy the aspect of repurposing the antler sheds, so I'm not going to let it deter me doing more, just curios to others experience. I realize with natural materials this is a possibility. I am going to try and pre cut a few scales and let the acclimate to the environment and see if it does have any impact, but I didn't suspect it will over time.

I would not let it deter you either. I might be wrong ... but I am only relating my experience. I have a number of japanese Wa handles that were just fine coming in the door ... and not have that "lip" you mention between the bolster and the main handle material (magnolia). The one that really surprises me (and this is the one with the worst mis-match betweeen handle and metal bolster and tang) is an engineered material called Dymondwood. It is made from laminated wood material impregnated with a resin (a phenolic resin I believe). Again - coming in the door all was nice and smooth - now after 7-8 years it has quite a bad mis-match between handle versus metal components.

Horsewright has done a lot of antler-based handles over time. If he sees this, maybe he can relate his observations on how stable the material is over time (and if I know Dave, he will include photos to back things up )