How To puukko question

Bumple said:
fair, was concerned mostly with how it would have been annoying to scrape it off the front bolster after it was already polished
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prolly should not have polished the horn and brass up 100% yet anyways. seems the sanding between tru oil coats scuffed more than i thought it would. final thin top coat went on last night after a few more days of drying ill try my hand at sheath making and then give the handle its last polish before it becomes my main fire making user for camps and the fire pit when im not feeling lazy.
 
Bumple said:
fair, was concerned mostly with how it would have been annoying to scrape it off the front bolster after it was already polished
Click to expand...

When gluing a knife together, always use a paper towel to wipe off excess epoxy from the shoulder scales/bolster area, using a single layer of paper towels and really digging your fingernail in to get it all out. I picked that trick up from a Jack Lore Knives video and haven't looked back! Also if a thin later of dried epoxy persists on your knife after it's finished, I like to dip a Q-tip in acetone and gently scrub it off or weaken it enough to scrape it off with my fingernail. :)
 
Wipe of uncured epoxy and clean with alcohol. It wipes away easily with alcohol. It can be any type. I use the standard "Denatured Alcohol" that comes in a galloon can at the hardware store.

To remove cured epoxy, the solvent is acetone. It will take some rubbing to dissolve it, but it will come off.
 
I use a strip of paper towel with some denatured alcohol on it, and fold it over a razor blade and then use that to clean up the scale/bolster/tang/blade junction epoxy wise. Gives a nice, clean line at the handle/blade junction!
 
I agree with Taz with one exception. Use a piece of thin brass flat stock instead of a razor blade. It you use something made of of steel, you run the risk of putting a permanent scratch on the blade right at the handle.

A must-have tool to make is a brass graver. Take a 6" piece of 1/4X1/2 brass. Grind both ends at about 45°(to the 1/4" side). File or sand to a sharp edge. You now have a double end 1/4" flat engraver made in brass.
These will cut hardened squeeze-out epoxy away perfectly. When one edge gets dull, turn it around and use the other end until you get time to resharpen it. The brass will not scratch the blade. I also use one on the alcohol wet paper towel like Taz suggested.
 
The big common mistake I always see on stacked handles is a small gap where the spine meets the bolster.

Something to do with clamping before glue up.
 
I find that the gap is caused by peening before glue-up. and/or the blade not clamped in a padded vise or proper clamping jig.
There ae several things that can be the cause.

1) Clamping the handle and not the whole knife. The clamp should go from tip to the end cap. That way the handle parts are pulled tightly down on the shoulders. When peening, lock the blade in a padded vise. This will also push the bolster tight to the shoulders.

2) Peening while the epoxy is not fully cured. If you hold the glued up handle and peen the tang because it all seems solid a few hours after you take it out of the clamp, the hammer blows may drive the blade slightly forward. If you allow the resin a full 24 hours to cure, the chances are much better that the blade will not move forward during peening. Locking the blade in a padded vise eliminates all worry.

3) If doing a traditional stacked and unglued bark handle, you need to make sure that everything is TIGHT before peening. A strong handle clamp and giving the bark squares time to settle into each other is required, or there will be looseness sooner or later. Again, peen with the blade tightly clamped in a padded vise. Allow a long time for the handle oil to soak deep into the pieces and make it swell tight. It also will require a long time to cure once it is done soaking. Don't cut off and finish the tang stub you peened yet. Leave it for the very last step. It may require more peening after the oil dries.

4) If soaking the bark in water/alcohol/acetone to make it softer and more pliable, let the handle/knife assembly dry in a strong clamp for a good week or two before peening. It will likely shrink as it dries.

I have copper jaws on my vise to allow firm clamping of blades that get peened tangs.
I also have a handle jig that has a 1/4" thick steel crosspiece bar on the tang end with a 5/8" round hole in the center. The blade tip rests in on a solid oak crosspiece. This allows peening the tang while tightly clamped. As I peen, I snug the wing nuts down to make sure everything stays compressed.


A fun aside on shrinkage (No, not the thirty-year-old Seinfeld episode):
Saturday, I had a good friend come to town. He called and asked what I was doing and I said I was going to throw axes and work on the target, despite the heat wave. He said he would come and join me. We went to breakfast and then got out the axes. The blocks have been shrinking, and every few throws, you have to knock the upper blocks back in because they start walking forward. Sometimes, when you pull the axe, the block it is in comes partway out with it.
I built the target last fall, and it measures 4X8 feet and is made from 300+ endgrain 4X4X5.5" blocks (which are really 3.5X3.5") in a 4X4X6" frame. I built it with pressure treated wood straight from the lumber yard. I cut and stacked the blocks and they were tight as could be when I made it. Down one side and across the top are multiple 3/4" bolts that press against pressure boards to clamp the blocks tightly in place. The bolts have about 2" of travel to allow snugging the blocks up over time, or loosening to change out the chopped up center blocks.
During the past year two things have happened - the center 9 blocks have been eaten up by my axes (I throw pretty centered), and all the blocks have dried to where the pressure boards are maxed out and not touching anymore. Even with the bolts run fully tight, the gap had become such that the clamp boards were not even touching the blocks. With the bolts backed out to the start point, the gap was a bit over 1.5" at the top and 3/4" along the side. We cut a piece of 2X6 and a piece of 1X6 and the gap was perfectly filled. As we were torqueing down the bolts evenly, my friend commented that it was odd that the blocks shrank more on the vertical than the horizontal. I looked at him with a silly grin and said, "No, the blocks shrank the same on the top and the sides." He looked at me like I didn't know that one board we just cut was twice as thick as the other. I just pointed at the target and said, "It is 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Shrinkage would make the side move half the distance the top does." He looked at the target for a second or two and said, "Damn, I'm a dumb ass!".

We all know that handle wood we think of as dry may shrink to some degree with time, but probably don't think of things like pressure treated lumber shrinking. It is soaking wet inside when we buy it usually. A few days or a week later it looks dry, but it is still soaked inside. I have worked on rebuilding decks where the ends of the joists have pulled out from the headers a good 1/2". Just three rusty 16-penny nails in each end of the boards were all that was holding the deck up.
When building a shed or deck, use joist hangers to mount the joists and rafters.

A couple shots of the target when first built ... and yes, it is mounted on a trailer and folds down flat if needed.

1753699404758.png1753699419242.png
 
just finished my first sheath and wondered if there were any 3d printable leather stamps floating around, worked out pretty good i think. try searching for stamps made for clay on stl hosting sites if you cant find leather specific ones,
doesnt look half bad, better than my stitching anyways lol. the rolling patterned discs work especially well
Ny37yIL.jpeg
 
well not finished but you know what i mean shaped and stitched. waiting on an edge beveler from amazon and a cheapo rivet set to do any more
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I find that the gap is caused by peening before glue-up. and/or the blade not clamped in a padded vise or proper clamping jig.
There ae several things that can be the cause.

1) Clamping the handle and not the whole knife. The clamp should go from tip to the end cap. That way the handle parts are pulled tightly down on the shoulders. When peening, lock the blade in a padded vise. This will also push the bolster tight to the shoulders.

2) Peening while the epoxy is not fully cured. If you hold the glued up handle and peen the tang because it all seems solid a few hours after you take it out of the clamp, the hammer blows may drive the blade slightly forward. If you allow the resin a full 24 hours to cure, the chances are much better that the blade will not move forward during peening. Locking the blade in a padded vise eliminates all worry.

3) If doing a traditional stacked and unglued bark handle, you need to make sure that everything is TIGHT before peening. A strong handle clamp and giving the bark squares time to settle into each other is required, or there will be looseness sooner or later. Again, peen with the blade tightly clamped in a padded vise. Allow a long time for the handle oil to soak deep into the pieces and make it swell tight. It also will require a long time to cure once it is done soaking. Don't cut off and finish the tang stub you peened yet. Leave it for the very last step. It may require more peening after the oil dries.

4) If soaking the bark in water/alcohol/acetone to make it softer and more pliable, let the handle/knife assembly dry in a strong clamp for a good week or two before peening. It will likely shrink as it dries.

I have copper jaws on my vise to allow firm clamping of blades that get peened tangs.
I also have a handle jig that has a 1/4" thick steel crosspiece bar on the tang end with a 5/8" round hole in the center. The blade tip rests in on a solid oak crosspiece. This allows peening the tang while tightly clamped. As I peen, I snug the wing nuts down to make sure everything stays compressed.


A fun aside on shrinkage (No, not the thirty-year-old Seinfeld episode):
Saturday, I had a good friend come to town. He called and asked what I was doing and I said I was going to throw axes and work on the target, despite the heat wave. He said he would come and join me. We went to breakfast and then got out the axes. The blocks have been shrinking, and every few throws, you have to knock the upper blocks back in because they start walking forward. Sometimes, when you pull the axe, the block it is in comes partway out with it.
I built the target last fall, and it measures 4X8 feet and is made from 300+ endgrain 4X4X5.5" blocks (which are really 3.5X3.5") in a 4X4X6" frame. I built it with pressure treated wood straight from the lumber yard. I cut and stacked the blocks and they were tight as could be when I made it. Down one side and across the top are multiple 3/4" bolts that press against pressure boards to clamp the blocks tightly in place. The bolts have about 2" of travel to allow snugging the blocks up over time, or loosening to change out the chopped up center blocks.
During the past year two things have happened - the center 9 blocks have been eaten up by my axes (I throw pretty centered), and all the blocks have dried to where the pressure boards are maxed out and not touching anymore. Even with the bolts run fully tight, the gap had become such that the clamp boards were not even touching the blocks. With the bolts backed out to the start point, the gap was a bit over 1.5" at the top and 3/4" along the side. We cut a piece of 2X6 and a piece of 1X6 and the gap was perfectly filled. As we were torqueing down the bolts evenly, my friend commented that it was odd that the blocks shrank more on the vertical than the horizontal. I looked at him with a silly grin and said, "No, the blocks shrank the same on the top and the sides." He looked at me like I didn't know that one board we just cut was twice as thick as the other. I just pointed at the target and said, "It is 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Shrinkage would make the side move half the distance the top does." He looked at the target for a second or two and said, "Damn, I'm a dumb ass!".

We all know that handle wood we think of as dry may shrink to some degree with time, but probably don't think of things like pressure treated lumber shrinking. It is soaking wet inside when we buy it usually. A few days or a week later it looks dry, but it is still soaked inside. I have worked on rebuilding decks where the ends of the joists have pulled out from the headers a good 1/2". Just three rusty 16-penny nails in each end of the boards were all that was holding the deck up.
When building a shed or deck, use joist hangers to mount the joists and rafters.

A couple shots of the target when first built ... and yes, it is mounted on a trailer and folds down flat if needed.

View attachment 2936948View attachment 2936949
Click to expand...

That's solid advice about avoiding that dreaded gap Stacy, thanks for taking the time to break that down :)
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I find that the gap is caused by peening before glue-up. and/or the blade not clamped in a padded vise or proper clamping jig.
There ae several things that can be the cause.

1) Clamping the handle and not the whole knife. The clamp should go from tip to the end cap. That way the handle parts are pulled tightly down on the shoulders. When peening, lock the blade in a padded vise. This will also push the bolster tight to the shoulders.

2) Peening while the epoxy is not fully cured. If you hold the glued up handle and peen the tang because it all seems solid a few hours after you take it out of the clamp, the hammer blows may drive the blade slightly forward. If you allow the resin a full 24 hours to cure, the chances are much better that the blade will not move forward during peening. Locking the blade in a padded vise eliminates all worry.

3) If doing a traditional stacked and unglued bark handle, you need to make sure that everything is TIGHT before peening. A strong handle clamp and giving the bark squares time to settle into each other is required, or there will be looseness sooner or later. Again, peen with the blade tightly clamped in a padded vise. Allow a long time for the handle oil to soak deep into the pieces and make it swell tight. It also will require a long time to cure once it is done soaking. Don't cut off and finish the tang stub you peened yet. Leave it for the very last step. It may require more peening after the oil dries.

4) If soaking the bark in water/alcohol/acetone to make it softer and more pliable, let the handle/knife assembly dry in a strong clamp for a good week or two before peening. It will likely shrink as it dries.

I have copper jaws on my vise to allow firm clamping of blades that get peened tangs.
I also have a handle jig that has a 1/4" thick steel crosspiece bar on the tang end with a 5/8" round hole in the center. The blade tip rests in on a solid oak crosspiece. This allows peening the tang while tightly clamped. As I peen, I snug the wing nuts down to make sure everything stays compressed.


A fun aside on shrinkage (No, not the thirty-year-old Seinfeld episode):
Saturday, I had a good friend come to town. He called and asked what I was doing and I said I was going to throw axes and work on the target, despite the heat wave. He said he would come and join me. We went to breakfast and then got out the axes. The blocks have been shrinking, and every few throws, you have to knock the upper blocks back in because they start walking forward. Sometimes, when you pull the axe, the block it is in comes partway out with it.
I built the target last fall, and it measures 4X8 feet and is made from 300+ endgrain 4X4X5.5" blocks (which are really 3.5X3.5") in a 4X4X6" frame. I built it with pressure treated wood straight from the lumber yard. I cut and stacked the blocks and they were tight as could be when I made it. Down one side and across the top are multiple 3/4" bolts that press against pressure boards to clamp the blocks tightly in place. The bolts have about 2" of travel to allow snugging the blocks up over time, or loosening to change out the chopped up center blocks.
During the past year two things have happened - the center 9 blocks have been eaten up by my axes (I throw pretty centered), and all the blocks have dried to where the pressure boards are maxed out and not touching anymore. Even with the bolts run fully tight, the gap had become such that the clamp boards were not even touching the blocks. With the bolts backed out to the start point, the gap was a bit over 1.5" at the top and 3/4" along the side. We cut a piece of 2X6 and a piece of 1X6 and the gap was perfectly filled. As we were torqueing down the bolts evenly, my friend commented that it was odd that the blocks shrank more on the vertical than the horizontal. I looked at him with a silly grin and said, "No, the blocks shrank the same on the top and the sides." He looked at me like I didn't know that one board we just cut was twice as thick as the other. I just pointed at the target and said, "It is 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Shrinkage would make the side move half the distance the top does." He looked at the target for a second or two and said, "Damn, I'm a dumb ass!".

We all know that handle wood we think of as dry may shrink to some degree with time, but probably don't think of things like pressure treated lumber shrinking. It is soaking wet inside when we buy it usually. A few days or a week later it looks dry, but it is still soaked inside. I have worked on rebuilding decks where the ends of the joists have pulled out from the headers a good 1/2". Just three rusty 16-penny nails in each end of the boards were all that was holding the deck up.
When building a shed or deck, use joist hangers to mount the joists and rafters.

A couple shots of the target when first built ... and yes, it is mounted on a trailer and folds down flat if needed.

View attachment 2936948View attachment 2936949
Click to expand...
great build btw. i would love something like this for the crossbow
 
You can use carpet strips compressed with boards/all thread for a crossbow target. Or any compound bow. Not sure how thick you would need to stop a bolt from crossbow versus a compound bow though!
 
i tried the carpet thing was a lot worse than a suitably thick wood stop. just an issue with short bolts having vanes really easy to strip with only a little penetration
 
final drying session after getting the sheath fitted to the knife without all the painters tape and cling wrap. think ill dye later tn. im happy with it though next time im using a much thinner leather. this stuff (3.4mm) was really a nightmare to get even awl holes/stitch up and stretch around the wood insert.
 
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