First two knives-works in progress

[riversedge]

I've been working on my first two knives for a few weeks now. I take long breaks in between sessions due to having a 10 month old but here's what I've done so far. Any advice is welcome. Looking at the pictures myself a few things jump out at me. The steel is rough looking, the wood isn't sanded all the way, and there are noticeable gabs where the pins are. The gaps most likely come from me not using solid pins, instead I used some screws I had laying around. Any idea how I could make the gaps look better?

These are made from 0-1 steel with red oak handles.

 

[Frank Niro]

That side view doesn't tell me how thick the scales are. They do look a little fat. Sand both sides down some .If those are cutlers rivets or something like that they may have to be replaced since the heads will grind off.
Frank

 

[riversedge]

Thanks for the reply. Both of the scales measure to about 5/8ths of an inch. The pins are just normal screws that I cut with a hacksaw to size.

 

[viral]

Follow the stickies and some of the build alongs and use the proper tools and techniques and you won't have to hide anything. I see a lot of fit and finish issues that would be fixed by slowing down and using he proper tools. Brass pins are super cheap and so is a #30 drill bit.