question about making handles

[BLADECARVER]

what is the proper way do make a handle lets say you are using stag horn with multiple spacers my question is on the finished handle how do you accomplish that the horn and the spaces are all shaped together and nice and smooth? do you rough cut the spacers then assemle the handle and sand till everything being the spacers and horn are all uniform and smooth? or do you have to sand or file everthing seperately and keep refitting till everything fits together nice?

 

[JB Knives]

Personally, I rough cut the spacers and assemble the handle. Afterward, I hand sand down until everything is smooth and level. The trick is keeping as much of the stag horn surface as possible, and only sanding what you need to.

 

[BLADECARVER]

thats mainly what i was concerned with is being able to sand the spacers without taking off too much horn like if the spacers were metal and the metal would be harder to sand then the horn

 

[JB Knives]

It can be tricky- I've only made a few knives with horn handles. I rough shape the spacers as close as I can, and when I get to final shaping I wrap the sandpaper around a file and try to keep the pressure on the spacers so I don't cut any deeper than I need to. Finally, I lightly hand sand to the desired finish and buff the handle with white rouge.