Need advice on knife project (big fixed blade)

UnixDork

UnixDork

Joined
Dec 2, 2001
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Earlier this year I bought what looks to be a very old butcher knife off ebay for cheap. It's a big one, about 15" total with a 1/4" thick blade. It sharpens up really well but still isn't too soft. It has some pits in the blade and quite a few on the exposed tang but that just adds to the appeal for me. My plan is to turn this old beast into sort of a mountain man kind of knife. I plan on leaving the blade alone, I like it just the way it is. The current scales look to be walnut and they're just about rotten. It has a distal taper, does that give any indication of age?

This is where you come in. What would you do for a handle material? I thought stag but it's hard to come by. Bolster or not? I figure I'll pin the scales on and epoxy them, what would be a fairly historically correct material for the pins? Any details on knives of that period that I should be aware of? I'll be doing the work myself and this will be the first project like this I've done so keep that in mind. Whatever tips you might have are very welcome. I'm completely open for sheath ideas. I've done a little leatherwork before but it's been a long time.

Also, if any of you know of any custom makers who would tackle something like this, please let me know. Thanks for your input!!

You can see pictures of the knife as it is now here: http://www.harrystone.net/biggun/ - Please excuse my paracord fetish. :)
 
Don't worry about the para cord thing I have it too!! That's a hell of a kitchen/chef knife!! :eek: I want to see that when it is done. Some kind of bone or antler would look outstanding.
 
Why not simply keep the knife 'true to it's maker' and restore the handle using a similar wood? It's kind of hard to tell by the photos ...but it may be walnut. To check, remove a handle slab and sand the back down to new wood, then check the grain pattern/wood color against a wood-type chart.
On the other hand, a material such as cherry or some other 'exotic' wood ...would look beautiful on an old knife such as that one.

1/8" Nickel/silver brazing rods are available at most hardware stores. Just gently scrape off the blue coating, lightly sand with a fine grit sandpaper if needed to remove any marks you might have made, and snip them to the size that you need.
 
I'd stick to some sort of stabilized wood without bolsters unless the balance is such that it needs some weight in the handle.
 
Ripper, that chef's knife looks outstanding. I think I might go that route. Thanks to everyone for the help. What about the sheath? Keep the ideas coming!
 
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