Handle shape advice

L

lanternnate

Joined
Nov 5, 2016
Messages
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I am working on my first hidden tang and at the same time first birch bark stack handle. I'm not quite happy with the shape I have yet. I'm pretty confident it needs to go on a diet and thin out, but I'm also wondering if I should look to shorten at the same time. Knowing it's a subjective taste thing, I still wanted to get others thoughts. It's real easy to take wood off, but not put it back on ;) The stack is g10 then the birch bark then cherry on the back. It's hopefully going to be a gift for my brother in law if I can get it all worked out.

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It looks comfortable to me the way it is. My first stick tang knife I kept sanding too long, took too much wood off. I think a fuller handle is more comfortable than a thinner/smaller one, and the handle material construction you chose should keep it light. good job imo
 
The handle could take a little thinning, but be careful you don't grind into the tang hole. This is a common error if taking it as thin as John sketched at the finger groove.
Puukko have beefier handles than most western hunting knives, so you are pretty close as it is right now.
 
Thanks guys. As is, it just doesn't look "right" to me, but I've been struggling to pinpoint why that is. John's sketch looks "right" to me, so it must be that front pudge. I think I'll slowly and carefully work towards that keeping the caution about the tang hole front of mind. I have a fairly good idea of where the tang is. I made it straight rather than tapered so that I could try to maintain an understanding of where it was inside. Boy I wish I had a grinder with a small wheel attachment at this time. Getting that curve up front right will be tricky.
 
If you have a Bader or kmg style grinder, the platten wheels can be used for some of that. A small wheel would be easier, but you could still rough it in on the 2" wheel, and finish with files
 
Unfortunately I'm still just working with a Viel 1x42, so I have no wheels to work with at all. A real grinder is on the wish list, but it'll be a bit before I have the fun funds for it. Right now I only give away anything I make, so it's kind of a one way cash flow hobby :)
 
Ahh yeah, that would be about the extent of cutting sharp radaii that's doable on a slack belt.
I normally just use my big grinder to rough everything out, and finish with a 1x42 slack belt.
You could take the same approach, but rough it in with a half round file before going back to the sander.
A finer wood rasp would be ideal.

It's an easy trap to fall in thinking machines will make work easier. Unless you take the time to learn how to use them, you'll just be able to make mistakes faster.
I did all of my handle shaping with rasps and files before getting a grinder
 
Using John's sketch as a target and Geoff's advice for the half round rasp I had another go at it. I ended up going back and forth from the rasp to the 1x42 slack belt a couple times as I walked it in. Did a fair bit of hand sanding as well to try blend it all. I also came up the sides with the rasp as well to get a bit more of a palm swell effect. I'm now happier with the shape, so thank you very much guys. The new issue I have is that I exposed some gaps between the birch bark that didn't show up when things were fatter. I obviously didn't get it under enough pressure to get all of the pieces fully flat and pressed together. Is wood filler an appropriate solution or would there be a better approach to handle the gaps?

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Looks pretty great!
I have a birch bark handled knife I made and had for awhile. Initially, I left the handle too thick and I ended up not using it much. But I took a knife to it one night and carved out a much more comfortable handle and now I've worn the heck out of it!
(I'll try to post some pics later)
 
Going back and forth and touching things up is the best way to do a good job! I still touch up guards and transition points with a crossing file on virtually every knife.
As for filling it I'd be inclined to hand sand around the crack a bit, and when the crack fills with sanding dust give it some CA glue.
I've never worked with birch bark mind you, so you'd probably want to wait on someone who has. I've just found that approach to work well on most things I've tried it on for tiny cracks and such
 
knife handles are subjective. what is right for you, maybe too small for me. unless you are trying to make an exact copy of another knife, don't worry about the "Looks" worry about how it feels in the hand. think about how it feels in your hand, how easy is it to get a pinch grip, how you fingers lie. having a turned down end of the handle will force me to put my little finger where you want it, not where it is the most comfortable
 
lanternnate said:
Using John's sketch as a target and Geoff's advice for the half round rasp I had another go at it. I ended up going back and forth from the rasp to the 1x42 slack belt a couple times as I walked it in. Did a fair bit of hand sanding as well to try blend it all. I also came up the sides with the rasp as well to get a bit more of a palm swell effect. I'm now happier with the shape, so thank you very much guys. The new issue I have is that I exposed some gaps between the birch bark that didn't show up when things were fatter. I obviously didn't get it under enough pressure to get all of the pieces fully flat and pressed together. Is wood filler an appropriate solution or would there be a better approach to handle the gaps?

a0Yz7dL.jpg

zjMslAt.jpg
Click to expand...
Amazing change. It looks perfect imo
 
That looks much better!
It's always amazing the change even 1/16 of an inch in the right place can make
 
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