Kirinite Handle Material

[Bar99]

Not sure if this is the place to post this but here goes. I decided to put a handle on my Spyderdco Mule Team 22 RWL-34 knife blade. I used 304 stainless for the bolster and the butt portion secured with Corby rivets. I also decided to try a new material called Kirinite. Just a heads up....this material is soft. Trying to shape the kirinite was difficult in that chunks would pull out if I was too aggressive. I ended up doing alot of shaping by hand. It is a pretty material but I just thought I would pass along my experience with it. Another thing. Trying to shape the handle where the kirinite and the stainless met was difficult. I had to do the stainless separate from the kirinite. Wondering if others have had this problem and what I might be doing wrong. Thanks

 

[bdmicarta]

Shaping a soft material next to a hard material can be difficult. What I've experienced is that sanding by hand will sand away the wood faster than the metal, leaving the metal higher. You have to use a hard backing on the sandpaper for that purpose. I assume it works the same way with a belt sander. You didn't say how you were shaping but I think another approach might be to shape the metal first, then put on the softer material and cut it down to the surface of the harder material.