Frame Handle Fighter

The blade came back from HT today. Having done some flattening and reshaping on the handle, it's now apparent that the gap left for the guard is wider than the guard is. That tells me I have one of two choices... hollow out the frame a little more so the blade moves back a bit or start over on the guard using .25 inch steel. I think I'll go with the latter approach since I wanted to start over on the guard anyway.

Fighter47s.JPG
 
Started on the replacement guard today and did some work to get the fit right between the handle frame and the guard. It's still not perfect but it is getting close. The pin holes to secure the handle to the tang are about 1/32 inch (or less) off.

Fighter48s.JPG


Fighter49s.JPG
 
Have you considered bending the guard to form Crossada's?

It is long enough to do so and would look nice
 
Sanded the blade to 120 grit and started shaping the guard. I didn't tightly connect the pieces for this picture because it's a bit difficult to separate them when I do tightly connect them.

Fighter50s.JPG
 
I'm spending time now getting the guard shaped. This is being done now with needle files, so it's taking a while. Looks ugly now, but it's moving in the right direction.

Fighter52s.JPG
 
Looking really good, Greg.
This is by far your nicest project yet.

I would go ahead and heat up the guard and curve the quillions before you go much farther in shaping. That way you can fair in all the tapers and curves together.
 
I notice the top quillion was a little off so I tapped it into place. Now I see that I'll need to adjust the choil.

Fighter55s.JPG
 
Greg, I understand that its a work in progress.
just a couple things that make it look like a collection of parts as opposed to one knife; The spine line and the choil line.
meCFHrh.jpg


A good way to get that spine line straight is to remove the guard, put the handle back on and hold the whole thing on the flat platen until theres no more low spots.
pushing the choil forward, backward and upward would make it more functional and give better flow.
resulting in...
t1ZdWXD.jpg


just my .02
 
This has been a fun thread to read, Thanks. Looking forward to seeing the rest.
 
Hmmm.... I think the problem you see on the spine is just due to the angle of the photograph, so I'm not too concerned about that. If you look at the pin holes on the top you'll see how canted the picture is. I will definitely confirm once I'm done fitting the pieces together, and if I see a spin alignment problem I will address it... but I don't think I will.

I do kinda like the flattened choil, though it's a bit late in the process to be making that change. If I clip it as severely as you've pictured there will be too close to the pin location. I can lift it some, but not as much as you're suggesting.
 
Okay, after checking I did find a bit of a spine alignment problem, and have addressed that. Thanks for helping me spot it.
 
Thanks, Salem.

I'm getting close to completion on the needle file shaping of the guard, and will soon switch to sandpaper to finish the job. I also expect to finish the hand sanding and etching of the blade this weekend. After that I'll focus my attention on shaping the scales. I'm planning on giving them subtle palm swells.
 
First time I noticed this......................... Me likey it a lot.

Seriously I think this is going along splendidly.

Good job.

Syn
 
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