Heading down to Johnny Stout's next week

Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity so I didn't get a chance to post. I am now back home and recovering comfortably. Yesterday went a little something like this:

First thing I did was jump on the grinder and take the bevels from rough grind down to 800 grit cork. I was tired on the last day and I could really tell because I was having trouble keeping my eyes focused as I worked down through the grits. If I were at home I probably wouldn't have tried to grind but, I had no choice if I wanted to finish this knife. I should mention that most of the grinding I did at Johnny's was on a TW-90. It's a nice machine. I'm curious if I will hate my GIB when I get back on it next week. Here's the blade after the cork belt.

Untitled by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr

Since I was going to have to sit around and wait for the 1-hour epoxy to set up, time was valuable. I skipped pictures of all the work getting to glue-up. What I did prior to getting to glue-up was hand finish the blade to a even 600 grit. Next the bolsters pin holes were tapered and they were installed and peened with nickel silver pins. The red linen micarta was cut out, squared and flattened. We added some red paint to the epoxy and attached the handles with brass pins. The 1-hour epoxy took right about two hours to set up enough to go back to work.

Untitled by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr

After the epoxy set, the handle material got roughed to the profile of the tang.

Untitled by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr

Johnny's workflow is to then take the profile all the way down to a nice 400 grit finish with everything square to the blade.

Untitled by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr

This is rough shaped on the 8" and 6" wheel with a 36 grit belt. Actually starting to look like something.

Untitled by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr

Johnny showing me how to use the rotary platen to refine the shape of the handle.

Untitled by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr

After working down to 400 grit on the rotary platen and a 1" slackbelt, it looks like this.

Untitled by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr

Time was really running out on the day so I didn't take any more pictures of the process. All that was left was a little hand work with some 400 grit to get rid of any tiny ridges or bumps. After that was the buffers; fine Scotch-Brite wheel first followed by a loose wheel and then a buff wheel. A quick wipe down with WD-40 and it was finished.

Untitled by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr

Untitled by Ranger_Bob, on Flickr

A big thank you to Johnny! I had a great time and learned so much.

Bob
 
Great wip,
Johnny has been the best thing that ever happed to me as far as knife making.
He is a true master of knife making and a great person to know.
He usually has two hammer in's a year that are jamed packed with information from several well qualified instructors.
 
Fantastic all the way around Ranger Bob!!! :) :) :)

This is the kind of thing that shaves years off of your learning curve.

Johnny is uber talented and super nice... very wise move on your part to take a class with him. You lucked out getting it as a one-on-one. :)

And talk about grinder envy... damn! :eek: :D
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Bob, you were a great student and I know you'll go far in your knifemaking endeavors. I give you a grade of A+, and confirm that you passed the course with flying colors!!

Johnny
 
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