New to knife making, need advice.

[Pist0lPete]

I am new to knife making and wanted to ask a question about profiling and sanding handles on a powder coated blade. I have only made five knives so far and the ones I have done have been using purchased blade blanks and purchased handle materials - wood, G10 and micarta. These knives were all made from 440c stainless and I attached the handles with epoxy and stainless steel pins. I then sanded the handles down flush to the tang and contoured them with the belt sander and hand sanding. My brother has given me a blade with a green powder coating on it and would like me to put on some handles that I made from fiberglass resin and burlap. What method is used to best sand and contour the handles without damaging the green powder coating? Should I leave the handles detached and hand sand to final shape? Could I cut out a template from .25 inch plywood and temporarily attach the handles to it to sand and shape? Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[RevDevil]

Welcome to Bladeforums.
The section you are looking for is here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/789-Knife-Maker-s-Discussion-Forums
General knife discussion is discussion about the knives themselves, not so much on the procedures to make them.

 

[Lone Fortress]

Simply wrap the blade up in clean paper towel (several layers) and tape, which should provide suitable protection for the coated blade while the handle is being shaped and finished.

 

[rickmenefee]

Get with Mike Miller Kga president. He will get you local maker