Fitting scales to full integral full tang?

John mc c

John mc c

Joined
Aug 23, 2018
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3,079
Hey guys
So I've forged out a full integral chef knife yesterday and just thinking about how to go about fitting scales
Both ends are radiused on small wheel attachment
I've done fitting scales to a integral bolster with the pencil on the bolster marking the scale trick but I don't see that working so good on a full integral
Is it just a matter of trial and error til you'e happy or any tricks of the trade I'm missing
Thanks for any help
 
not sure of the question. are you asking how to radius your handle material to fit the radius between the tang and integral bolster which was done with a small radius attachment ? yes a photo is worth a page of words :)
 
I'm reading on how to upload a pic here atm
I'm far far from tech savy
I'l get it just doing couple things at once here
You are describing an integral knife which has integral bolsters but I'm talking about what id call a full integral which has integral bolsters and an integral butt cap
I'l get pics up this eve i've just taken some and joined imgur
 
iG3S5le.jpg

Just rough forged.
Won't get to do pre ht grind til monday
I' only forging less than 4 months and that Top knife I finished before Christmas but it didn't make it out the door
 
That last shot explains bit better
I will radius both of the internal sides of bolster and butt cap on the forged knife
Like the finished knife but on both ends and I'll be aiming for more slimmer than that bolster
Now fitting the scales on the finished knife was bad enough and my wood work is criminal as you can see but how do I fit a full Integral?
I'l post back with a pic of it ground on Monday and it will explain better
 
Just to explain the state of that finished knife
It was part of a set with a nakiri,petty and gyuto that I gave as a Christmas gift that I had a week to do by hand although I did have the gyuto already forged out
It' didn't pass muster in the end so it never got a decent finish.
 
And again just to explain my 52 mm gyuto template with the square heel and flat profile fits easily in that forged knife
That finished knife was the one and only knife I ground the heel like that.looks terrible,part of the reason it's still here
But they all forge that way for me and I correct on the grinder
 
If I understand the question, my answer would be it's the same way as what you did for the bolster end fit on the finished one. It just takes a lot more careful marking and grinding. I'd suggest hand filing or sanding and repeated checking of the fit.
 
If you used a 1/2 inch small wheel for make the radius, you can get a1/2 inch router bit to mount in your drill press. Dress the front of the scale to match then measure and work to match the butt cap radius.
 
I admire you for tackling this, and will be following this thread.
I’m in the process of a practice integral just to get a feel for fitting the handle scales to the bolster area.

May I ask how long you have been forging and approximately how many knives you have forged ?
 
Thanks guys it's just as I thought.trial and error it seems
I'm forging about 4 months but that's all day every day and I've forged about 40 integrals in that time.mostly chef knives from 1" round with hammer anvil and guillotine fuller
I'm living the dream and loving it :)
 
The 1/2" router bit is good idea but I don't really use a small wheel attachment as such I run the belt over and back under the top wheel of my flat platten and eye ball it in using that,all DIY even the wheels I made so it's very imprecise
 
Just a bit of advice and safety warning, a router bit will not work in a drill press like that at least not safely, most drill press max out at 3000rpm, only a few that I’ve seen go above that speed, that is way too slow for a router bit, they are designed to run above 12000-20000rpm with small bits the faster the better usually, other than the speed issue most drill presses are not made to support side to side force, unless you have a mill that is made for that. At slow speed the bit will want to grab more and chatter more which is very dangerous on such a small work piece. You could take a piece of metal and sand the radius into it and the use adhesive backed paper attached to the metal piece to sand the radius into the front of the scale.
 
Thanks Joshua I don't know anything about mills or their bits
And thanks for that idea I might try that with what I came up with myself which is similar,I'll use an integral like the finished knife in pic,just without the scales on and use that as a guide,Mark inside of integral with pencil and offer scales up to it then sand off scale where pencil is.the usual way to do a radiused scale but just on both sides
I need another nights ash in my annealing box after spilling a lot so be a day or two before I get to try this
 
It can be done, using the same pencil trick, or just by rubbing the scales to the steel and then inspecting for small shiny spots on the wood, then removing with needle file, then try again, and repeat.
Just did this one recently:
49314263_2035190636557002_8330463789308706816_n.jpg


49674105_2040387826037283_6579396903945895936_n.jpg


Just takes a lot of patience, and maybe a good book or music in your headphones.
 
Wow Salem stunning work.as always
And thanks
A needle file would be much more accurate than sandpaper like I've used before
I'm a master of zenning out at this work so no problem there
Altho I work in silence. Doesn't stop me dancing around my anvil when steel is heating up tho:D
I'l get them annealled tonight and ground tomorrow.
 
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