Making my own scales?

[jaseman]

i've been thinking about trying my hand at making my own scales, just for fun, and was wondering how to go about it.

Just for some background....
I'm an artist/industrial designer by trade, and while professionally my work is done on a computer, I learned to do it all the old fashioned way - sketch, draw, cut, sand, paint, etc.

I am also a bit of a 'hobbiest' craftsman - meaning I'm no stranger to working with my hands in an creative fashion, and am a bit of a perfectionist about it (see "artist" above...lol)


With that said,
How would I go about making my own scales? Especially with minimal equipment (I have very little in the way of proper woodworking tools).
Where can I source materials? Micarta, stabilized woods, G10, or such.
Can I source them locally, vs. online (generally speaking - I know you can't tell me about my specific location)
I can trace old scales for shape, but how do I get them to the correct thickness? (I don't have a band saw or such)
What is a good, cheap material to start with?

Any help would be appreciated. I'm not looking to make anything to sell, just wanna have a little fun tinkering in the garage, and maybe make a set or two for some old folders. If they turn out nice, I may make a set as a gift for my father. Maybe eventually make some 1911 grips for a few range toys.


Mods, feel free to move this if it's in the wrong place - didn't want to go into the knife makers section, as I didn't want to dive in waters I don't belong in.

 

[bucketstove]

Hi,
folder or fixed blade?

Get some dimensional lumber
- 1"x2"x8' furring strip board (~$1)
- 6in hacksaw (many TPI) (~$1)
- sharp knife to take small whittles off the wood until its the right shape
- basic sandpaper, coarse/medium/fine to smooth it (~$1 pack)
- pack of bandaids

so measure your hand , then cut off double the length from the furring strip,
as you need something to hold onto while whittling the handle

after you have the shape, do some painting / engraving / burning ...
attach scales to blade with twine and hot glue as pine pitch ... screws or pins ... glue ... epoxy ...

thats about as basic hand tools as you can get

more advanced might be
a vice or clamps attached to a table, along with some rasps (wood files)
gluing your own sandwich of wood

A Check-List for Handle Design

 

[Danketch]

Do it. Fun and not that big a deal if you screw up, can just drill out and start again. I like using corby bolts for fasteners, but you can use nails, brass tubing, whatever. Can find some good deals on the big auction site for exotic woods, as well as some of our forum sponsors here. Finishing to size is easy assuming basic tools. I use my belt sander to rough to shape, and finish with a rasp and sand paper. I like using a 24 hr "slow-set" epoxy. Mine is designed for golf grips I believe. Key for me is to finish scales on the end closest to blade BEFORE epoxying scales down (ask me how I found this out). Good luck.

 

[killgar]

Knifekits.com and usaknifemaker.com sell a wide variety of handle materials (including the ones you mentioned). And they sell a wide variety of different sized pieces and in different thicknesses.

Before I bought a disc sander I made handle scales using a hacksaw, files, sandpaper, and a drill press.

Here are some examples of my pre-disc sander scales. The top knife has canvas micarta scales and the bottom knife g10.