Is this any better? Making handles

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Burl Source

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I tried something different today.
I cut a block diagonally to make a 45 degree wedge. Then I put the knife handle against it as a guide to shape the edges of the scales on my spindle sander. Took about 2 minutes and I got a lot better shaping than what I have tried so far. For perspective, the whole knife, handle and blade is under 5 inches. Total thickness of the handle is just under 5/8". This is one of the blanks Adam Michael ground for me. Thank you Michael.

Are these looking any better?
1-10.jpg

5-3.jpg

4-2.jpg

3-4.jpg


I saw the scratches after I took the photos. Guess I should work with better light.

Any tips or critiques are welcome......within reason. Don't want you to hurt my feelings. So don't call me a r-tard.
 
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drdoc said:
Maybe I'm the tard... ;)

"Better than what?"
Click to expand...

Better than the previous 2 he posted a little while ago.

Yes, it does look better that the other 2. It flows a little more.

If you keep this up you might want to save all the premium pieces of wood for yourself :p
 
A while back a couple makers sent me some blanks so I could work on making the handles before I moved on to the other aspects of knife making. What I had done so far didn't look very good. Some of the guys here gave me a few hints about what to do. This is the last one before this. I'm kind of a slow learner. But I don't have to ride the short bus......anymore.
iwk21006.jpg


Wloch248 said:
If you keep this up you might want to save all the premium pieces of wood for yourself :p
Click to expand...

I already want to keep it all but it doesn't take long before I cut something else I like better. I think I have enough cut right now to keep all you guys busy for a few years. Should probably get busy sanding and taking photos instead of messing around. I have a good boss. He puts up with me and lets me get all kinds of cool wood. I will ask him in the morning if I can order another shipment of the Australian wood. I really liked that stuff and didn't stash any for myself.
 
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Definite improvement this time Mark. The wood layout works beautifully and the
handle flows better.
 
Burl Source said:
A while back a couple makers sent me some blanks so I could work on making the handles before I moved on to the other aspects of knife making. What I had done so far didn't look very good. Some of the guys here gave me a few hints about what to do. This is the last one before this. I'm kind of a slow learner. But I don't have to ride the short bus......anymore.
Click to expand...

Heck, yeah, the new one looks a lot better. Looks like it would sit much better in the hand too.
 
If you let your eye design the grip it will always be lacking something, IMO. Let your hand do most of the talking. The trick with the clay is a good starting point but the result does not always translate directly to a good grip. If it did then designing a grip would be as simple as shaking hands with a turd. My best advice is to do some experiments on pieces of scrap wood, you can go a long ways with this when you are not worried about screwing up an actual knife during the process. I am surprised sometimes at how a small amount of material here or there can have a big effect on the feel of a grip.
There is always a new discovery around the corner when it comes to grips, the perfect design is a journey, not a destination.
 
I agree with Justin. The best single bit of advice on handle making I got was to close my eyes and feel the handle frequently while making it. Your touch tells you a lot about both shape and finish that your eyes will miss.
 
It looks way better than the first one. I use the small wheel attachment and longitudinal movements to get as close to 'ready for the file' as I can get. IMO, you can't beat files for an organic feel. But that looks great, and sounds fast.
 
Yes an improvement ! One way of looking at it is that you're starting with a rectangle and trying to make an oval. A very common thing to see with knives and gunstocks is that the beginner just rounds the corners as the second photo shows. As you get better you get more to the true oval shape which looks better and works better.
 
Lookin' ok, but be more careful with the short jokes.....:-)
 
The comments were directed toward myself. I think it is called self depreciating humor.
To call someone else names is a different story. Not the case here. If the r-tard or short bus comments were offensive to anybody else. My apologies. The comments were self directed and not meant in a prejudicial way toward anyone else.

Now back to the purpose of this thread. Learning how to make better handles.
Murdok72605 sent me an email link to a thread on knifedogs showing how to shape a handle in a way I want to try by John Barker. It looks simple enough that I might be able to make it work. I will post photos of the results when I try this method out.

Thank you to those of you who are offering your input helping me to get better at knife handles.
 
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