Mis-matched blade grinds and bark handles

D

Darteres

Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Messages
380
I just recently bought a semi-mid range (appx $100) scandi knife. I have two questions for those more knowledgeable than me. The first is that the grinds are not even. One side is taller up the blade than the other side, by about 3 mm. Can't even really notice it unless you look close. Should I fix this? I only have hand stones and I don't want to grind away too much of the blade. I believe this was done on purpose, as the side with the shorter/steeper grind is signed.

The other question involves the birch bark handle. What is the best way to maintain this? Right now it is completely uncoated/unfinished. Would a few coats of oil followed by a wax rubdown be the best idea? I'd like to bring out the beauty of the handle while giving it a decent lifetime, so to speak.

I suppose a third question would be, if I used this knife a good bit for mostly camping/hunting/fishing, what could I expect as the life of the handle material? I'm a bit of a traditionalist. I know there are better handle materials, but I like this one.
 
Dont worry about the grind, its just the way some end up when being ground by hand. The handle should last most of the knifes life with no care, and most any knife will work for your intended purposes.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about the grind either. You will eventually get them even through sharpening. A good soak in boiled linseed oil would be my guess for the wood. I have used this method for all my wood handles and have had good results.
 
Darteres, birch bark is actually one of the most durable and comfortable handles available.
Ragnar has this to say bout one of the birch bark handled knives he carries:
When the Aito was first introduced it had a handle of compressed birch bark. The handle was not varnished as is usually done with bark handles. This gave a slightly soft, velvety feel that I liked very much. Shortly the factory changed to the compressed leather handle shown above. I really liked the bark handle, so I asked for some to be done this way. I sometimes apply a light coat of orange scented furnature wax to bring out the color and help seal out moisture. If you would like me to do this, let me know when you order.
Click to expand...
So there's some expert advice on what you could do if you like. :)
 
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