I need some help with a dagger.

S

SummerJ

Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
9
Now I found this Maybe a foot and a few inch Dagger, In my aunts green house it has no handle and is in bad shape I want to fix it up. I need some help step by step instructions if possible... I looked all over the net and couldn't find anything that would help me. I plan on making the handle out of bone...
Its more of a toy than anything but I would like to make it look good.
This is a photo of what I am working with.
Sorry for the bad photo quality I will be putting up a better photo as soon as I am out of HoneyDew.

DSCF5750.jpg
 
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Newbes come here frequently and ask the same questions again and again, and the folks who can help have grown fatigued answering the same basic questions again and again. It would take someone a long time to assemble a step by step instruction for you. Fortunately, Dan made a sticky (at the top of the page) that contains links to most all the basic "stuff" you may be wondering about.

You will probably want to touch up the finish, then cut and attach scales. There are lots of links in the sticky that can help you do this. If you have a specific question that you need some help with, please ask. This particular sub forum has some of the worlds best knifemakers, and they're happy to help if you have a specific question and have done some searching on your own first.

Please post a pict when you're done.

Thanks
 
Just to add,
It looks like a souvenir piece,or a letter opener, and is probably not even hardened. That doesn't mean you can't fix it up, though. The blades are often plated, so the silvery finish may sand off. I would carefully re-handle it and leave the blade as is. Tape up the blade to avoid any sanding damage while doing the handle.

Stacy
 
bladsmth said:
Just to add,
It looks like a souvenir piece,or a letter opener, and is probably not even hardened. That doesn't mean you can't fix it up, though. The blades are often plated, so the silvery finish may sand off. I would carefully re-handle it and leave the blade as is. Tape up the blade to avoid any sanding damage while doing the handle.

Stacy
Click to expand...

Ive sanded it down quite a bit to get all the major scratches out of it, could the silvery finish be really thick?
 
Also to add one more thing what would be the point of a foot and a few inch long letter opener..
 
SummerJ said:
...could the silvery finish be really thick?
Click to expand...

I would kind of doubt that. If it's looking nice and bright as you sand out the heavy scratches it's probably steel. Even if it's cheap steel and isn't hardened (which s Stacy said is very likely the case) you could still make it a nice wallhanger/decorative object. Be careful not to "wash out" the engraved parts; it's better they be a little scratched than to sand it all away. Overall, I wouldn't try to make t look brand new, let it keep some of its "character".

Incidentally if you shop around online you should be able to find pre-cut bone slabs for your handle. Probably easier than cutting up what you have in the pic. There are lots of other materials available for that kind of application as well. I agree that bone would look nice on that though.
 
James_Terrio:
Yeah its not plated, as for shopping for bone I am sixteen years old with no form of income' So I am going to take my chance with what I have, I have many bones do you think a diffrent one would make it easier?

And I would like to say thank you for giving me input.
 
Oh I have another question I don't know if they have a forum for this or not, but what would be the best way to display something like this?
 
To get you started make a cardboard templete of the handle and make sure you can cut two handles you want from that bone. The best cardboard is like a cereral box. Then start cutting the bone into two larger pieces, then use your cardboard to mark the outline on the two pieces of the bone.

I am not sure if you realize that the handle for that knife apperars to be a slab on each side, hard to tell if you will have enough bone there for both sides.

Save the pieced you dont use to try some different finishes, as simple finish that can look good (others will laugh) is shoe polish, sand with fine paper, apply the polish (brown turns out pretty nice) let soak in and then buff with a t-shirt. Try it on some piece and see if you like it, usually has a antique brown bone look.
 
Wow. I love it. Before I did anything. I would find someone that has the knowledge of antique knives or weapons have them take a look at it. I have a feeling This is a little more than a letter opener or novelty piece. First off it is made of substantial piece of steel. The rivets holes are larger that you would expect on a cheap knife and the engraving is very nice. My gut feeling looking at the knife, this is a special piece.
 
It looks to be a modern interpretation of a Qaddara, aka Kindjal, the projecting guards are something I've never seen on the antiques, and the engraving looks off.

It looks like a good first project, but it would save you some grief starting with material already processed into flat slabs for this design. An alternative would be to grind the tang down to fit inside the bone.
 
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