Project dilemma . Out of my league?

[Bfusmc03117]

So at work I was approached by a co worker who asked me to build him a knife. He supplied me with materials and said it's very important to him and sentimental . It's a knife for his father he came to the US from Poland years ago. He gave me a Russian SKS bayonet and a piece of caribou antler from Alaska. He wants to combine them and make a knife to give to his father for Christmas. I said yes but now I'm wondering if this is out of my league. Not sure how to go about attaching the bayonet to the piece of antler .

I had an idea of making a copper or brass guard to mate against the blade and between the antler. Then drilling a hole for the "tang" and inserting it with some epoxy.

Any help would be appreciated i have also never worked with bone before and I'm not sure if it needs to be stabilized or what not. I don't want to ruin these pieces on him but at the same time I would hate to give these pieces back to him and say sorry I can't do it I'm not good enough.
So I'm trying to stay simple . And make it look really nice. He said it will be used just as display piece.

Thanks again guys .here's some pictures of what I was given. The handle has a rough drawing if a handle idea

 

[Grayzer86]

I guess the important question is how many knives have you made and at what quality did they turn out. If you are already having second thoughts that may answer your question. The second issue I see is with the handle shape. First I am not a fan of finger grooves ever, in any fashion, but some people are. Second and most important is that with that handle shape it's highly likely that you will end up grinding into the porous marrow type area of the horn, which would not be good for looks, strength, durability or comfort.

 

[Bfusmc03117]

I have only made about a dozen or so far that are of decent quality each one getting better .

That handle design was just something I thought of off the top of my head but I think it's to wide for the blade. Also I would have to drill into the marrow potion of the bone to insert the blade.not sure how sturdy that will be over time.

 

[gredpe3]

When people ask you to do or if you can do something,No is a answer.Sometimes it would be polite to explain why.But isn't always expected,you could say that won't work but we could do this.
Eddie

 

[Bob Katilus]

That stag is simply tooooo large for that blade. If you grind off material to match the width of the blade, as Grayzer said, you'll run into the pith portion and it'll look rough. Keep it that wide, and it'll look rough as the proportions will be off. I would turn down the request, if it was me. My 2cents.

 

[HallHandmade]

I think you'd have better luck cutting that stag into scales and doing a frame handle.

 

[Bfusmc03117]

I think you'd have better luck cutting that stag into scales and doing a frame handle.

That was another idea. I had an idea of creating a female piece of steel and weld it to the existing tang of the bayonet. Then cut the stag into two pieces and create scales. But if I do that what type of steel should I use? And what would that mean for heat treating. I have no idea what steel is used for this bayonet. It might be tough but I think if i take my time and create a good plan and take it slow I can do it with the help of all of you savvy smart knifemakers!

 

[Salolan]

I guess I'm just not seeing the correlation between a Russian bayonet and an Alaskan caribou antler. Did the father single handed, kill the caribou with the bayonet to feed his immigrant family while crossing the Bering Straight?

I feel the 2 just aren't meant for each other. Like Ian said you could make scales, but I fear that may be beyond your ability level and/or time constraints. You would likely be better off trying to use a smaller deer antler and just go with the set up you had originally planned.

On the other hand, if the person is dead set on these materials, maybe you can convince him it would be a much better Father's Day present, buying yourself 6 extra months!

Good luck,
Chris

 

[Bfusmc03117]

I guess I'm just not seeing the correlation between a Russian bayonet and an Alaskan caribou antler. Did the father single handed, kill the caribou with the bayonet to feed his immigrant family while crossing the Bering Straight?

I feel the 2 just aren't meant for each other. Like Ian said you could make scales, but I fear that may be beyond your ability level and/or time constraints. You would likely be better off trying to use a smaller deer antler and just go with the set up you had originally planned.

On the other hand, if the person is dead set on these materials, maybe you can convince him it would be a much better Father's Day present, buying yourself 6 extra months!

Good luck,
Chris

I have no idea why he is choosing these two random materials haha. But that's what he asked. I feel like a smaller deer antler would be perfect and match this knife a lot better for what he wants to do.
Here's another ideA. What's your opinion on extending the tang and then making a puko style knife and cut the antler up into sections and layer it on. If that makes any sense . Or use a smaller deer antler and incorporate parts of the antler with the smaller deer antler. Just thinking out loud. And I spoke with him and he said not to rush it for Christmas to take my time so Father's Day or Easter is a good date to shoot for

 

[Bo T]

What about splitting the antler, then inletting the tang into one of the pieces. You don't need to worry about stress risers as it is a display piece so you can square off tang to ricasso area to fit the scales flush. I think you could get an almost seamless joint between the scales.

 

[Bfusmc03117]

What about splitting the antler, then inletting the tang into one of the pieces. You don't need to worry about stress risers as it is a display piece so you can square off tang to ricasso area to fit the scales flush. I think you could get an almost seamless joint between the scales.

I am kinda confused at your suggestion. Are you saying split the antler . Then grind down the stepped up area on the blade to be even with the tang and ricasso ? Then make a recess cut in one side of the antler and then sandwich them together ?
If that's correct that sounds like it would work.

The only thing I'm worried about is I think the handle wil end up being very thin . And from what I understand the marrow portion of the antler is not very strong . I would hate to finish the blade and it be so weak from being set in the marrow if that makes any sense. But your right if it's just a display piece and if it looks nice it should work. I just feel that if my name is going to be on it it should function as well as look good

 

[Bo T]

I envisioned keeping the stepped up portion in front of the tang, but fileing the step to make sure it was square (at right angles) to the tang. The scales would butt against it and the fit should be flush. Or you could fit a full guard against the step and the scales against that. I'd keep the ?bolster? as I think it adds character to the blade. You could cut the antler lengthwise dead center and inlet both to the tang. You could epoxy coat the inside of the antler scales to add a little strength before attaching them to the tang. You will end up with a hidden tang in either case. You can stain the antler if you like. You might be able to send the scales out to be stabilized. The Pukko style is a good idea. You could fit a hardwood guard in front and a shaped hardwood pommel in back. Alternate thin layers of wood with the antler. I am a novice cutler and I don't think this would be too difficult for me, so I think you are well within your abilities. If you have the time. keep us posted.

 

[Bfusmc03117]

I envisioned keeping the stepped up portion in front of the tang, but fileing the step to make sure it was square (at right angles) to the tang. The scales would butt against it and the fit should be flush. Or you could fit a full guard against the step and the scales against that. I'd keep the ?bolster? as I think it adds character to the blade. You could cut the antler lengthwise dead center and inlet both to the tang. You could epoxy coat the inside of the antler scales to add a little strength before attaching them to the tang. You will end up with a hidden tang in either case. You can stain the antler if you like. You might be able to send the scales out to be stabilized. The Pukko style is a good idea. You could fit a hardwood guard in front and a shaped hardwood pommel in back. Alternate thin layers of wood with the antler. I am a novice cutler and I don't think this would be too difficult for me, so I think you are well within your abilities. If you have the time. keep us posted.

That's a really good idea. Thank you very much for the input. I like both of those ideas. I think I will present him with both ideas and then see which one he likes best. As long as I take my time I should be fine. Once I get a solid plan of action together and understand my order of operations I will be all set. Again thanks so much for your suggestions . Made me feel a lot better about my decision to take it on.

 

[A Justice]

You could always machine out the marrow and fill the bone with resin if you're worried about strength. You need to be careful about cracking the shell though, and consider how you plan on attaching the handle, to make sure you plan to hide the resin somehow.