Frame Handle Fighter

Hell, why not? I find I am happiest when I can't get an idea out of my head, and I just try it. I have a couple knives that have never been finished yet due to difficulties stemming from work like that. I don't regret trying it at all though, a couple of the best knives I've made were the result of those decisions, too.

Or, you could just carve out the centers of the guard ends, leaving a round tapering beam on each side, meeting at the point- and then heat and twist it. Could be fun, you may be heating it for bending anyway... just saying.

Good luck.
 
Hmmm... that sounds like it would be easier... if I knew how to use my OA torch. Maybe this is a good time for me to learn a new skill. My wife will be furious. She worries constantly that I am going to burn down the house.

Today I sanded the blade a bit and drilled a small hole near the rear of the tang, and sent it out for HT. So apparently I have some time to learn new skills.
 
Making a little progress. I got the brass liners cut out and shaped and the pin holes drilled in the three parts so far. I'va also cut out the pieces that will become the bolsters (not pictured here).

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That's looking great! I'm glad you decided to take a chance on the framed handle, and I'm anxious to see how it turns out.
 
Greg,

I'm a little underwhelmed by the blade profile. I think the choil notch at the bottom is out of proportion to the size of the blade. If you increase it's length a lot, and height some, it'd give a better balance. It would set the blade apart from the guard and handle giving the knife a slim "waist".

On the guard. Salem's idea is great. I have forged a few spiral twisted tails on knives n such. If you take the guard and file two round bars and twist they will be organic and subtle. If instead you file the guard with two tapered squares on each end, twist them, then twist both it will add lots of ridges for texture. And fun to hand sand! Picture twisting a 1/4"x1/4"x2" square rod vs a 1/4"x2" round. Lots more texture in the square.
But... Your overall knife shape is more organic and less angular. So you could go with either style as a contrast.

A common way to work out metal shaping ideas is to use clay. It can be "forged" to figure out what you can do with a certain size of steel.
Some bladesmiths use clay to teach, and design damascus steel making. Get some clay and mock up your guard. Then bend, cut and twist until you get what makes you happy.

I hope you figure out your AO set up. Have a competent person show you how to install the regulators, adjust and test them, check your hoses etc. Following the basic safety steps you'll be safe.

Looking forward to seeing it progress.
 
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Thanks, Brian. When I first read Salem's idea my thought was to take two sections of round bar, and weld them to a small oval guard, then twist them together. Finally, weld the two tips together and shape the point. Doing it this way the tip to tip flow of the twisting lines would not be interrupted by the guard in the center.

Of course, this would all be dead simple for someone with forging and welding skills. My mind is recoiling from the challenge at the moment, and I'm trying to think of ways to make this seemingly impossible task simpler.

I definitely like the idea though.
 
Greg, you could do it in carving wax, and then have it cast. Using round wax rods and flat sheet, it would be done just as you describe. A low wattage soldering iron, or just a steel rod heated in a flame will do the weld/melt. Carve/file any details and have a jeweler or some art caster cast the piece for you. From there it is files, sandpaper, and dremel tools to shape and polish the guard.

I would recommend either green or blue grade wax.
 
Today I went to Lowes and got some welding steel (1/4 inch rods and a 1/4 x 3/4 inch bar) so I can begin attempting to make a guard the right way.

I also cut out the pieces of the horn scales I will be using and flattened the backs of them. Right now they are intentionally left oversized so I can make the final cuts based on the best/most symmetrical appearance. I don't want to cut them to actual shape/size until all the other parts are locked and loaded.

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Today I decided to take the next step toward getting the handle pieces ready. I cut some pieces off the brass rod to pin the current frame pieces together. This serves two main purposes. First it holds the pieces together while I work on things like flattening the edges. Second it lets me keep the pieces properly arranged so that things fit as they should (i.e. the pins go through the holes without being forced). Now that I've done this but I'm going to start working on the bolster pieces and make certain they pin flat to the frame with no wobble or warp in the pins before moving on.

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By the way, some of these pins are too short to be used in the final assembly... but that's okay... I have more rod to cut.
 
I think that is looking great Greg! You probably already said this but how are you planning on attaching the handle to the blade / Tang?
 
RyanW said:
I think that is looking great Greg! You probably already said this but how are you planning on attaching the handle to the blade / Tang?
Click to expand...

Hidden pin in the back of the tang. That pin will be steel.
 
Today I got the remaining metal pieces of the handle made. The still need to be cleaned up, but at least it all fits together now.

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Starting to slot in the horn scales. I decided to put the dramatic end to the rear. Kind of like the painted on flames on a hot rod.

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Greg - I've been following along with your progress on this.

Is it just a point-of-view illusion or are those scales cut too short/small(or, the bolsters are too short)? It looks like you have several large gaps as well as a number of smaller gaps that can't be covered or filled with the material you have there.

-Peter
 
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There, now we both have 2770 posts.

I am concerned as well. Please tell us that you've got it (literally) covered. You could always make some brass end spacers for the scales to take up gaps if you need to...
 
It's covered. The scales are cut too large, and have to be sized down to lower themselves into the slots. I'm taking this slow and careful because I don't have a second set to work on if I screw these up. The reason it looks the way it does is because I'm dropping the scales in from the top.
 
And now we both have 2771!

That's cool, couldn't tell if you had enough at the top of the scale to fit it up. Carry on.
 
This morning I finished slotting the scales and then removed most of the excess. Here's where it stands at the moment.

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