- Joined
- Apr 26, 2007
- Messages
- 957
It all started with a fanciful idea. I wondered if it would be possible to make a stacked washer knife handle out of some sort of heavy-duty rubber instead of a traditional material like leather or birch bark. Not only should synthetic rubber be longer-lasting and less prone to environmental effects than natural materials, but it seemed obvious that it would also be tackier and more shock-absorbing. While my initial thought was to do a Mora or puukko handle, the shock-absorbing prospect effortlessly sashayed with my raging case of HI Fever.
I was inspired by the success of TWBryan's leather handle build and decided to get cracking, and as soon as a Bura-made Ang Khola (AK being one of the only flavors of Himalayan Imports khukuris I didn't yet own) came up as a handyman special, I knew it was the time! "Handyman" significantly oversells my handiness, but I figured I was up for the challenge...if only to prove my manliness! This is the blade.
Next came the design process. Since I have very few metalworking tools and even fewer metalworking skills, I decided to build the bolster and pommel out of Micarta using a process nearly identical to the washer assembly. After sketching my idea on the computer, I placed an order with McMaster-Carr for a 12" square of 5mm, 50A durometer Neoprene; a 12" square of 0.25", paper-based black "Garolite"; a 6" square of 0.125" tan G-10 Garolite**; and a bunch of coarse sanding belts for my 1x30" benchtop grinder. Now, I know, I probably shouldn't have used paper Micarta for a working knife, but please accept one of the following lame excuses: A, I accidentally picked the wrong grade of Garolite; B, I wanted to pay an homage to the Kamis' use of buffalo horn with a similar-looking material; or C, my dog ate my homework.
Anyway, I started by polishing the blade. I worked through coarse, medium, and fine emery cloth lubricated with mineral oil before moving up to very fine and ultra fine Scotch-Brite handpads. I tried to always rub in the same direction to prevent fish hooks. I coated the blade heavily with paste wax to prevent corrosion while I worked on the handle.
The plastic cut fairly easily on my bandsaw. I cut three 1.75x1.5" 'biscuits' from the black Garolite and one from the tan Garolite for the bolster. I also cut two 2.25x2" biscuits from the black and another one from the tan for the pommel. For the bolster, I cut the hole for the tang using a drill press followed by a cutout tool. I sliced the Neoprene into a bunch of 1.75" strips with a utility knife, bound them with masking tape, and cut them into about 24 biscuits on the bandsaw. The holes were also cut with the utility knife.
To start fitting, I made sure the shoulders were even by clamping tight by 1-2-3 blocks and filing them even (Bura's very good, by the way, the difference was less than a milimeter!). Next, I filed the interior of the front bolster biscuit to a fairly close fit with the tang while leaving the other biscuit interiors were a bit oversized. I filled the vacancies with JB Stik let it cure off the tang.
The bolster biscuits were glued together and to the tang with a two-part epoxy (I made the mistake of using 1 minute epoxy...yikes!) and allowed to dry overnight. Next, I started brushing Devcon rubber adhesive onto the Neoprene biscuits and, with the blade clamped tang-up in a vise, weighted the stack with an old dumbbell weight. Finally, I epoxied the pommel biscuits and clamped it down. I screwed up the epoxy on the pommel, and you can see the gap between the tan and black layers, and I should mention that I :
Donning my respirator, goggles, and hearing protectors, I loaded my sander with a 36 grit belt and got grinding. Starting with rounding the corners on a slack belt, I moved on to using the sander's exposed wheel like a contact wheel to cut the curve on between the pommel and the Neoprene section. The beveled portions of the pommel were really the only part I used a platten for. When I got it to "good enough", I finished polishing the Garolite with maroon, gray, and white Scotch-Brite. Finally, I stuck on a #6 stainless finishing washer filled with JB Stik (love that stuff!), filed down the end of the tang until its length approximating its diameter, and peened it into a rivet.
Here it is with its future chakmak and karda. A bit of 3/8" O1 drill rod and a Frosts laminated wharncliffe-style Mora blade!
Thanks to Bura for the great blade! Thanks to Yangdu for the awesome deal! And thanks to you handymen out there for the inspiration!
I was inspired by the success of TWBryan's leather handle build and decided to get cracking, and as soon as a Bura-made Ang Khola (AK being one of the only flavors of Himalayan Imports khukuris I didn't yet own) came up as a handyman special, I knew it was the time! "Handyman" significantly oversells my handiness, but I figured I was up for the challenge...if only to prove my manliness! This is the blade.
Next came the design process. Since I have very few metalworking tools and even fewer metalworking skills, I decided to build the bolster and pommel out of Micarta using a process nearly identical to the washer assembly. After sketching my idea on the computer, I placed an order with McMaster-Carr for a 12" square of 5mm, 50A durometer Neoprene; a 12" square of 0.25", paper-based black "Garolite"; a 6" square of 0.125" tan G-10 Garolite**; and a bunch of coarse sanding belts for my 1x30" benchtop grinder. Now, I know, I probably shouldn't have used paper Micarta for a working knife, but please accept one of the following lame excuses: A, I accidentally picked the wrong grade of Garolite; B, I wanted to pay an homage to the Kamis' use of buffalo horn with a similar-looking material; or C, my dog ate my homework.
Anyway, I started by polishing the blade. I worked through coarse, medium, and fine emery cloth lubricated with mineral oil before moving up to very fine and ultra fine Scotch-Brite handpads. I tried to always rub in the same direction to prevent fish hooks. I coated the blade heavily with paste wax to prevent corrosion while I worked on the handle.
The plastic cut fairly easily on my bandsaw. I cut three 1.75x1.5" 'biscuits' from the black Garolite and one from the tan Garolite for the bolster. I also cut two 2.25x2" biscuits from the black and another one from the tan for the pommel. For the bolster, I cut the hole for the tang using a drill press followed by a cutout tool. I sliced the Neoprene into a bunch of 1.75" strips with a utility knife, bound them with masking tape, and cut them into about 24 biscuits on the bandsaw. The holes were also cut with the utility knife.
To start fitting, I made sure the shoulders were even by clamping tight by 1-2-3 blocks and filing them even (Bura's very good, by the way, the difference was less than a milimeter!). Next, I filed the interior of the front bolster biscuit to a fairly close fit with the tang while leaving the other biscuit interiors were a bit oversized. I filled the vacancies with JB Stik let it cure off the tang.
The bolster biscuits were glued together and to the tang with a two-part epoxy (I made the mistake of using 1 minute epoxy...yikes!) and allowed to dry overnight. Next, I started brushing Devcon rubber adhesive onto the Neoprene biscuits and, with the blade clamped tang-up in a vise, weighted the stack with an old dumbbell weight. Finally, I epoxied the pommel biscuits and clamped it down. I screwed up the epoxy on the pommel, and you can see the gap between the tan and black layers, and I should mention that I :
Donning my respirator, goggles, and hearing protectors, I loaded my sander with a 36 grit belt and got grinding. Starting with rounding the corners on a slack belt, I moved on to using the sander's exposed wheel like a contact wheel to cut the curve on between the pommel and the Neoprene section. The beveled portions of the pommel were really the only part I used a platten for. When I got it to "good enough", I finished polishing the Garolite with maroon, gray, and white Scotch-Brite. Finally, I stuck on a #6 stainless finishing washer filled with JB Stik (love that stuff!), filed down the end of the tang until its length approximating its diameter, and peened it into a rivet.
Here it is with its future chakmak and karda. A bit of 3/8" O1 drill rod and a Frosts laminated wharncliffe-style Mora blade!
Thanks to Bura for the great blade! Thanks to Yangdu for the awesome deal! And thanks to you handymen out there for the inspiration!
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