Planning a little vacation project....

Andrew Colglazier

Andrew Colglazier

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Sep 14, 2006
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I got one of the HI bowies, and plan this vacation to try a rehandling in Osage Orange.

I went down to the local woodworking shop today, bought a plank of Osage. It should be more than enough to do several handles!!

I grew up around this hard wood, it has a really beautiful color and the proprieter told me it is so dense it doesn't need to be stabilized, just waxed.

I'll borrow my wife's camera and take some pics.

Wish me luck!

Andy
 
GREAT!! I love it. I am planning to rehandle mine too. I already drilled out the pins. Maybe we'll do them at the same time.

Pics, pics pics. Ask any questions you want.

Are you going to reshape the tang. I am, but haven't decided how yet.
 
Andy, I probably will. I noticed that the tang is tapered from up by the blade to the rear of the handle. This may make the whole deal a little more complicated, but we'll see. I might take the new slabs all the way out to the handle hook, or I might try to put something in the pommel to make it a little more decorative.

I had a dream last night that I made a new scabbard for the thing, also of Osage Orange. I remember struggling with how to attach a frog, whether to put in pins along the edge, etc.

Is this stuff getting into my head, or what?!

;-)

Andy C.
 
At least you have a bandsaw. Its the one piece of equipment that I haven't gotten yet, and I constantly need one. I've got a couple of scroll saws, but they just don't cut it sometimes.

I am worried about the flatness of the tang. The taper won't be a problem if its flat. If its not then it'll have to be ground flat. I'd like to do as little grinding as I can because grinding is addictive. You're constantly saying, "Just a little more over here." Etc.

An osage orange scabbard huh? Isn't that wood hard as a rock? Maple was as hard as I care to carve out, and it wasn't easy. Does that shop of yours have a toe-board, or bench saddle? You'll need one. To serve as a frog stop, you make a swell in the wood at the lip of the scabbard.

I like pinning the edges for two reasons. Safety and strength.

Goto Walmart and get at least a couple of tubes of Devcon 2-ton epoxy. Its 2 dollars, and awesome stuff.
 
Oh yea, knife projects affect my sleep too. Especially if I'm working on them late at night.
 
aproy1101 said:
At least you have a bandsaw. Its the one piece of equipment that I haven't gotten yet, and I constantly need one. I've got a couple of scroll saws, but they just don't cut it sometimes.

I am worried about the flatness of the tang. The taper won't be a problem if its flat. If its not then it'll have to be ground flat. I'd like to do as little grinding as I can because grinding is addictive. You're constantly saying, "Just a little more over here." Etc.

An osage orange scabbard huh? Isn't that wood hard as a rock? Maple was as hard as I care to carve out, and it wasn't easy. Does that shop of yours have a toe-board, or bench saddle? You'll need one. To serve as a frog stop, you make a swell in the wood at the lip of the scabbard.

I like pinning the edges for two reasons. Safety and strength.

Goto Walmart and get at least a couple of tubes of Devcon 2-ton epoxy. Its 2 dollars, and awesome stuff.
Click to expand...

Good ideas, Andy. Toe-board? Bench saddle? What's them? :o

I just dreamed about the scabbard. Not only hard, that stuff is heavy! :eek:

I dreamt that I put a series of small brass hollow pins around the outer edges of the scabbard. The lip for the frog is a good idea. Would it be glued on?

Fun stuff!

Andy
 
The lip on my maple one is carved in, but it could be glued on and pinned, or even inlaid with a different kinda wood.

A bench saddle is a very simple safety jig. Start with 3/4 plywood, and cut a piece 12"x14". Now cut two one inch wide strips off the narrow side making two pieces ~1"x12". Glue and brad a strip to each end of the board on opposite sides. When using your chisels you lay your saddle over the edge of your bench and put your material against the rear strip and push AWAY from your body. Sharp chisels are a must here.

Get your pin/tube stock at McMaster Carr, and beg them till they send you one of their catalogs. They cary... EVERYTHING!
 
Andy,

That looks like a bench hook. Very useful for cutting small pieces of wood on top of a traditional bench w/o marring the surface. Also makes it easy to hold the piece still.
:thumbup:
 
Bench hook huh? Yep thats it. May be one of my most frequently used jigs. That and my cross cut sled. Another fun project to do.
 
Same thing. I've heard it called all three. My grandaddy called it a bench saddle.
 
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