Knife Modification Questions!

BladeChick777

BladeChick777

Joined
Jun 20, 2011
Messages
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Hey Guys, I've Yet To Get Into Knife Making But I Do Modify Them. I've Done a Few Mods And Think I've Done Pretty Well.

Anyways, Some Examples Of What I've Done Are:
Lots Of Filework
Removing Blade Coating
Brushing Stainless Steel For That Brushed Look I Happen To Love
Adding A Bright Satin Finish
Hand Sharpening And Reprofiling
Turning a Combo Edge Into A Plain Edge
Getting Rid Of Scratches
And So On And So Forth.

Anyways, I'm Wanting To Do My Very First Set Of Custom Scales.

Where Would A Good Place To Get Some G-10 Be?
What Kind Of Tools Will I Need To Shape The G-10?
How Do You Do The Really Pretty, Really Detailed, Fancy Filework?

I Mean, I've Done Filework, But Nothing Really Really Detailed Yet. :o

I Really Love To Work On Knives, And Would Like To Know Of Some Good Tools And Materials To Get To Step It Up A Bit. :D

If You Have Any Recommendations They Would Be Really Appreciated, Thanks.
 
cool handle materials here: http://www.masecraftsupply.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
shaping G10 can be done with hand tools or power tools - if power tools it needs to in a well-ventilated area, preferably outside, & you should still wear a mask. Basic files are fine for final shaping. getting a nice high even polish takes a belt grinder though.
filework I haven't tried myself, but I would imagine one would use small & high-quality hand files.
 
A dremel isn't expensive and comes in very handy.
You can get a lot of cutting discs, sanding drums etc from ebay cheaply.

But hand tools alone will also work. (modefied)Paint stirring sticks with sandpaper wrapped around them if you realy want to go low budget.
Don't save on a good resperater with the correct filters. Wrecking your health to save money isn't worth it.
(and pics or it didn't happen)
 
I do most of my handles by whittling (if wood) and then a half round (bastard) file to get the shape. I then go through the grits from 80 - 4000. They start as ceramic and end as micromesh. I usually use a 1" wide strip, mount the blade in a knife vise (which can set to any angle) and then use the old "shoe shine technique". Once smooth I usually sand lengthwise down the handle with the same grit (to orient the scratches) and then switch to the next grit using shoe shine technique again. You know you're there and got it smooth enough when the lengthwise scratches have disappeared.
With G10 and Micarta, rough shape with file and then sand blast (for grippy finish) or follow the aforementioned technique for highly polished.
 
g 10 is some nasty stuff to work with. i have some that i'm getting laser cut into 1/4" and 1/2" slabs so i dont have to mess with sawing it.

hengelo_77 mentioned something very important. use a respirator when working with g 10. i work outside with a powerful fan blowing across me to keep me from breathing the dust when i sand anything. inside i have a vacuum set up to get rid of the dust as well as a big fan and ductwork sucking dust outside.

if you want to come over and use my belt sander you are more than welcome to since you're only a half hour away.
 
richard j said:
g 10 is some nasty stuff to work with. i have some that i'm getting laser cut into 1/4" and 1/2" slabs so i dont have to mess with sawing it.

hengelo_77 mentioned something very important. use a respirator when working with g 10. i work outside with a powerful fan blowing across me to keep me from breathing the dust when i sand anything. inside i have a vacuum set up to get rid of the dust as well as a big fan and ductwork sucking dust outside.

if you want to come over and use my belt sander you are more than welcome to since you're only a half hour away.
Click to expand...

Good point, but I should really say that dust, any dust from any material, is not good for you to breathe and you should be protecting your lungs whenever doing anything that will create it. Some materials are worse than others, but it still takes years to get rid of the dust you breathe.
Always use a respirator and vacuum up afterward.
 
BladeChick777 said:
Thanks, But What Would I Use Since I Don't Have a Belt Grinder Or The Money To Get One?
Click to expand...

When you don't have money you have to rely more on creativity. I think in most cases the answer is "lots of elbow grease and time". Before I got my "mighty" Sears 2X42 grinder all my work was done with files, rasps (for handles), and sandpaper. Some people do amazing things with an angle grinder.

What sort of knife are you going to put the scales on? Do you have any pictures of the mods you've done that you could share with us?

It sounds like you're building up to a full blown knife making addiction. That's what we like.

- Paul Meske
 
I get most of my G10 from USAknifemaker.com. Great stuff at great prices.

I got some red/black g10 from Jantz once, and I wasn't impressed with it at all. Not sure how the the rest of it is, or if that was just a fluke.

As for shaping, you shouldn't have a problem with rasps/files, or even a sanding drum on a drill press for the rough sanding.
Just try not to breath the dust.
 
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