I think I might hate light wood (or, my KITH knife blues)

PIndelicato

PIndelicato

Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Messages
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I'm really bummed about my KITH knife this morning, and I just wanted to vent a little. Perhaps there are even some other guys/gals who's KITH knives are giving them troubles and/or are not living up to their expectations, and we can start a little pity party here!

I've been working hard to get this knife done in time and to make it as nice as my current skill level allows. Aside from the plunges being a little uneven, I had high hopes for my KITH knife. I think this is my 7th knife to date and, up until now at least, each one has been better than the last. The bevels (aside from the aforementioned plunge) were my best grinds yet, and the hand-rubbed finish was (is) also the best I've been able to achieve so far. This would have been my first time doing a KITH, and I was quite excited about it. I've given most of my knives away to friends, but never to another maker before and I was really looking forward to the whole thing.

Then I decided to make a last minute change to the handle scales, and that's when things went south. I had these pretty little box elder burl scraps from a friend that were kinda warped and out of shape, but I told myself to clean them up and they would fit this little knife perfectly. So, I went with the change, cleaned them up, and epoxied them on.

As I started grinding the handle to shape, I felt a lump creep up into my throat. I have gaps between the scales and tang in several areas and also between the thong tube and scales, I have some scorching/burning in the wood at the bolster dovetail that is showing, and I also have staining in the light wood from the tang, pins, and/or belts and Si Carbide sandpaper. I think with some effort and fiddling, I could probably fix the staining problem, but the other problems I cannot do anything about. I've never had any of these problems with darker handle materials, so either I haven't had them previously and I just got 'lucky' on this one, or they just haven't been visible until now.

It's very disappointing and depressing to feel like I'm taking a step backwards on this one, but even worse to think I'm going to have to sit out another year until next Christmas season. :(
 
Paul
Waas the boxelder stabilized? I use stabilized box elder burl alot and never had those problems.Most burls if not stabilized will move around alot and discoloras the are usually softer.
Stan
 
Hi Stan,

No, it's natural wood. The consensus amongst knife makers seems to be to stabilize most woods, but these were just little scraps or cutoffs and it wasn't worth the trouble to do so.
 
The little details are always worth the trouble as they are where a project either shines or disappoints. Count this as a learning experience.

You do have time to pay for a set of stabilized scales and epoxy can be removed fron the tang pretty easily.....
 
Yep, just remove them. If you need a couple scales I have plenty and will send you some.
 
Yes, I've learned several lessons from this one. I just wish it had been a different knife and not the KITH knife. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll have time to redo it with all of the other commitments that I have before the holidays, but what is involved in removing the epoxied scales?

I've got other handle materials on hand, I just thought these would fit the knife and would look nice (and I think they do aside from the flaws.) It's more a matter of time at this point. Thanks for the input!
 
Pop the knife in the oven at 250F. Take it out after about 30 minutes, and pop the scales off with a sharp knife. It might smell a bit if it gets too hot or stays too long, but the odor isn't all that bad. Most likely at 250 for 30 min. there won't be any odor at all.
Stacy
 
Thanks Stacy. How does this usually go (thinking about this from a time standpoint), ie, am I looking at throwing away all the pins/tubing and my micarta bolsters? Will I need to refinish the blade and/or tang? Or does everything come off cleanly and easily, and parts (bolsters, pins, etc.) can be reused?
 
I was going to get mine glued up today. On one side of the tapered tang there was a little high spot that I was trying to work down. I was fitting the rough cut scales to the one side and then working the tang little by little. Right when I was really getting close to getting a good fit, I accidentally dropped the scale on the floor and it broke in half.:mad: Buh-bye $45 buckeye burl block. Now I am scrambling to find something else. I have other woods to choose from, but they are all a little short for this project. Not a good day.:(
 
Ouch, Edro! I'm sorry to hear that and I hope you locate something else nice to use. I guess the good news is that the problem occurred before you got them glued on.

Good luck getting your blade finished, and I hope you don't have any more problems along the way.
 
The tubing and pins shold be fine unless you peined them. After removing them - soak in acetone to clean them. I am not sure what temerature Micarta can take but if it can take the heat it too should clean up. I put knives I need to take apart directly under one of my shop light that are on the spring loaded arms and that gets a knife hot enough to take off the scales. I put the 75 watt reflector bulb directly touching the scale.
 
Thanks Redrummd. If the pins and bolsters could be saved, that would certainly help with the time issue. Will the blade need to be re-finished afterwards?

I'm still doubtful I will be able to re-do this one in time, but the more I could potentially save and not have to do over, the better the chances are.

Thanks again for the help.
 
Here's a couple of shots of the offending areas. I think I managed to clean up a lot of the stained areas with steel wool, although it's not 100% perfect. I think I will Danish oil it, maybe post some more pics for input, then make a decision about what to do (ie, do I have time to re-do it, should I just keep it and be better prepared for next year's KITH, etc., etc.)

P1010437.jpg

P1010438.jpg

P1010443.jpg

P1010450-1.jpg

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I'd take it.Put about 6 coats of Danish oil on it,let it sit for about 4 days then buff it with a terry towel.\
What do you use to flatten your scales.use a granite plate or a thick piece of glass and sand gently to get them to fit up.
Stan
 
Thanks guys. It's had 3 coats of Danish oil so far today, and the figure in the wood is coming out better but so (unfortunately) is some of the staining and dark areas.

I usually sand scales by hand with 60x or so on a marble cutting board (my poorman's granite surface plate.) My test for flatness is I hold them against the tang up to the sunlight, and if I can't see any light come through I consider them done. I did the same with these, but since they were warped and more rough than what I usually start with, I first worked on them on a 60x belt on my platen, then did the hand sanding thing. These passed the sunlight test, but it seems I need a new criteria for determining flatness. I've never had noticeable gaps before now, but I've also never worked with light handle material before and perhaps it's just much more evident with light woods.

The scorching at the bolster came from my disc sander that I used to make the dovetail. I saw that the wood was scorched, but I convinced myself that since it was just the bolster mating surface, it would not be visible. I won't be making that mistake again.
 
Check your cutting board with a straight edge,it may not be real flat,may have small dips and valley's in it.If it does go to a glass shop and get a piece of thick glass,usually they will give you a piece of scrap.Also check out some place that makes granite counter tops,they too will often just give you scraps and they are usually pretty flat.
Stan
 
Good idea, Stan, I'll check that out right away. As far as checking flatness of the scale itself goes, it seems like my sunlight test ought to work, but it appears to have failed me this time. How do others verify scale flatness before glue up? Straight edge again? Also, what to what grit do you sand them? I usually leave them at only 60x or so, but could that be part of the problem too (ie, too coarse)?
 
Myself, I sand to 220. I think 60 is a bit rough. I get them pretty flat on my 4X36 sander and check them the same way you do.
I have a piece of Marble Tile I got from the tile store for free.
 
I guess the only place it really counts is where the scales meet the very edge of the tang. It might be when you push the scale on the sandpaper the leading edge is getting a little rounded and this is where it would meet the edge of the tang. Just because no daylight is showing through does not mean the edge of the scale is flat onto the tang. Cheers Ron.
 
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