handle liners

S

scrapin' by

Joined
Mar 28, 2000
Messages
4
any thoughts on using one or more sheets of brass,copper or aluminum sheet as handle liner on full tang knives? i thought this would add a nice touch but i dont seem to see any knives made this way. maybe there is a reason why???



also, anyone used mahogony for handles? how did it work out?



 
I almost always use a combination of fiber and metal spacers at the gaurd area even on full tang knives. The handle could match the gaurd and would look good I think. Thanks for the idea. The mahogany was used alot on fine furniture 100 years ago and with the right style would look great. It has alot of pores to fill though. Maybe not for beginners. Bruce
 
I have worked with Mahogany quite a bit during some home remodeling projects. My opinion is that it is too soft to make a good knife handle. It does not crack easily but it is easy to scratch and dent.

Fox
 
Aluminum sheet for liners would probably not end up looking too cool (unless anodized, but then try finishing the thing without removing the anodization!) because it would turn out almost the same "color" as the steel. Opposite idea for the brass...in my opinion brass just doesn't look good with steel. It's that whole gold-silver conundrum! I have seen people use anodized titanium for a liner, which is cool, but again, may be troublesome during the finishing stages. I suppose if you were to use stabilized handle materials you could probably anodize the Ti liner sheet AFTER all the finish work was done. I don't know if that would affect the steel at all, though. Probably depends on what is being used. Also, in terms of the brass more than anything else, even a very thin brass sheet, especially considering it is on both sides, would add noticeable weight to the handle. This could be good or bad, depending on the knife design. I suppose you could cut channels, drill holes, etc to lighten it, though.

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Thin metal spacers could also present a cutting hazard depending on the handle material, but I like the gold/silver contrast on some pieces, and if you filework them first, and don't grind the handles down that far, you could get some interesting patterns, especially when you take anodization into account.
I've used mahogany on a couple of pieces, and I liked it a lot, but it was rather exceptional mahogany. Transplanted to FL, cut 70 years ago. With that long to cure, it had some impressive character.

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Oz

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The short answer is that you can do anything that strikes your fancy. That's what's neat about knifemaking. No Rules Rule!

And like most anything in knifemaking, it isn't what you do so much as how well you do it. Give it a try and let us know how it does.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
I have done this with brass sheeting before. About the only suggestion that I have is to put some other spacer material between it and the blade. If not, the joint will look very dirty after buffing. I have also sandwiched thin stainless sheeting between two pieces of black spacer material. This looked very good between the blade and the scales. I suppose the only rule, if there is one, is never put metal to metal, it just doesn't look too good and you really don't get good contrast that way.

C Wilkins
 
I like black/brass/black and ironwood on each side. It's a nice combo IMHO. Mahogany is a little too soft. I remember my grandmother hating us playing around a mahogany table she had. We were always putting dents in it. Can't imagine it would be any better for handles.

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Gene Osborn
Center Cross Metal Works
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword...
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