Inletting

[boykinlp]

I am not sure that is even a word, but I would love to see how knife manufacturers make the slot or groove that the different shields fit in on the scales. They all seem to fit perfectly. Some shields are plain (bar, triangle, circle, etc.), but many look pretty complicated (fish, sea shell, old man, etc.). I would guess in the big companies that it is done by one of those fancy CNC machines, but how do the one man knife makers do it? Thanks.
Larry

 

[ISKRA]

Check out this video at 2:07 min. I don't know if it's done this way with other materials as well, but it's something.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Very cool to see, thanks for posting that video.

 

[kfalk]

That’s cool. I’d have turned that into about 10 pieces.

 

[abbydaddy]

What a great video, and that tool for cutting out the shield was really cool. I have never seen a tool like that.

 

[WhittlinAway]

For more info on that tool, see http://www.watchman.dsl.pipex.com/two-legged parser/parser.html. I think I originally found this link through the forum, but couldn’t find the post when I searched.

 

[oldmanwilly]

How in the heck does that two-pronged-waist-belt-bow-drill-thing cut the perfect silhouette of that shield?

 

[Ernie1980]

That is amazing! I like seeing how they do the filework as well

 

[meako]

In LAYING
Because they are inlaid?
That's my guess.

 

[meako]

It's almost like a router.
He puts the cut out shape plate bizzo on the knife and it guides the bow drill thing for shape and the "teeth" are set to depth....?

 

[Jsega51]

It's almost like a router.
He puts the cut out shape plate bizzo on the knife and it guides the bow drill thing for shape and the "teeth" are set to depth....?

Right. At the ends are the “teeth” so to speak and the step down created acts as a depth stop. As the teeth wear away the material, eventually that step starts riding on the parser plate and the teeth will stop digging.

Not all makers use this system though. Some will use that parser plate and a dremel tool, or they scribe around a shield glued to the scale, then remove the material by hand with small chisel type tools.

 

[waverave]

Check out this video at 2:07 min. I don't know if it's done this way with other materials as well, but it's something.

I watched every minute of that...very cool.

 

[Elgatodeacero]

Thank you for the video. I would not have guessed thats how they cut the perfect hole for a shield in a million years.