So all the discussion of late about what to make a handle out of finally got the better of me. I came across a slab of purpleheart with excellent grain yesterday at a not exorbitant price (If I can get three handles out of it I'll break even with buying three from the hardware store) and went out in the shed and made a new handle for an old Collins HB I had. For anyone else who wants to play with purpleheart, wear gloves and at least a dust mask if not a respirator when sanding as the dust is not so good for you (it's mildly toxic but nothing to panic over unless you're allergic) it also tends to give you lots of little splinters until you get to the final sanding so.... gloves. One of these days I'll get a bandsaw and a vise but until then improvisation is key.
Doing curves on a table saw...
Some chisel work.
An ungodly amount of planing, rasping, and sanding later....
Cutting the kerf. (did I mention I need a vise)
Hung, oiled, and waiting to cure.
Next step is to take it out and abuse the hell out of it and see how the handle holds up. If it works out I'll try making a full size handle out of the rest of the slab.
Doing curves on a table saw...
Some chisel work.
An ungodly amount of planing, rasping, and sanding later....
Cutting the kerf. (did I mention I need a vise)
Hung, oiled, and waiting to cure.
Next step is to take it out and abuse the hell out of it and see how the handle holds up. If it works out I'll try making a full size handle out of the rest of the slab.
Last edited:
