Quillon Dagger WIP

[Gary Mulkey]

Steve,

A huge thanks for all of your work on this. Such a detailed WIP isn't easy and we all appreciate an MS like yourself taking the time for it.

I too am very interested in how you will shape the guard. I have made a few from heavy stock but having never been a machinist was only guessing as to how to best do it.

Looking forward to seeing more. See you soon in Little Rock.

 

[sculver]

I am looking forward to seeing how you create the curled ends of the quillion.

Allen & Gary,

Not sure what you envision that I am going to do on the ends of the guard. You may be thinking that it will be more elaborate than it actually will. But, I'll be sure to detail how I shape the piece.

timcsaw,

Glad that I could help you out. Good luck on your next try at filing plunge lines.


The three pieces for the ferrule are milled and slotted for the tang in the same manner as the guard.

The pommel begins as a section of round 1018 steel. Turning the steel down on the lathe, in this photo.

The pommel is drilled and tapped on the lathe.

Some of the shaping of the pommel is done with a cutter that has a rounded cutting face.

More shaping and smoothing is done on the lathe with a file.

Sanding the pommel on the lathe.

I've got a bit more work to do on the pommel. Will continue with it on another post.

 

[sculver]

On to work on the ivory handle.

An ivory tusk section is glued to a steel surface plate, placed in the milling machine vice and the top of the ivory is milled flat. I needed enough area flattened for the washer to set on.

While still in the milling machine, a hole is drilled through the ivory for the blade's tang.

The ivory is glued to a piece of wood and a band saw is used to cut out the block for the handle.

More sawing with the ivory glued to the piece of wood in another position.

Steel washers are turned on the lathe to be used as guides for grinding the handle material.

The two turned steel washers are bolted to the ends of the ivory block. These two washers are the same diameter that the finished handle will be at its largest area.

The ivory is ground to the washers and is now a cylinder of uniform diameter.

A jig is used to mark grind lines on the ivory cylinder. At this time, two smaller diameter washers are bolted to the ends of the ivory cylinder. These smaller washers are the diameter that the finished handle will be on each end.

The ivory is rough ground between the washers and the pencil marked grind lines. The rough grinding is smoothed and blended with a slack belt.

The shaped ivory handle material.

 

[sculver]

Opening the drilled hole in the ivory to fit the tang using a scraper made from a keyway broach.

The scraper tool and a file that was used to shape the tang opening in the ivory handle.

The tang slot in the ivory.

 

[Manuel Quiroga G.]

Great!!
I'm loving this WIP...

 

[grlangr]

Steve, thanks for taking the time to take all the pictures andput everything together! It's like going back to school for me, I'm learning a lot. If you start teaching classes let us know, and I still want to make it out there for a visit sometime.

 

[peterinct]

Great!!
I'm loving this WIP...

+1 :thumbup: Me TOO!

Thanks Steve.

 

[sculver]

If you start teaching classes let us know, and I still want to make it out there for a visit sometime.

grlangr,
If you are interested in learning how to build knives, you might consider joining the Kansas Custom Knifemaker's Association. A link to the KCKA web site is in my signature, below. We get together about every three months for a shop tour and do knifemaking demos. You are always welcome to visit my shop. Too, I am seriously considering doing some knifemaking classes. I've had a bunch of guys from the KCKA say that they would be interested in attending. So maybe some time late next summer, I'll consider scheduling a class at my shop.

The pommel is sawn from the bar of steel and is threaded onto a bolt that has had the head cut off. When you chuck a part by a bolt threaded into it, do not bottom the bolt in the threaded hole in the part. If you do, the force from machining can tighten the bolt against the bottom of the hole and it will be difficult to remove. Leave the bolt about one turn away from bottom and let the part tighten against the face of the chuck jaws.

The end of the pommel is shaped by controlling the slide and cross-feed on the lathe by hand.

The tool marks are smoothed with a file.

The pommel is moved to the drill press where it can be spun at high speed for final sanding. This could be done on the lathe, but is much safer on the drill press. I don't like to do too much filing or sanding on a part that is chucked up short in the lathe. It can be pretty painful to run your knuckles into the spinning chuck jaws. Ask me how I know..............

All of the fittings materials and the ivory for the handle are assembled on the blade and checked for alignment.

 

[Lorien]

oh man, this is heatin up!
Love this part:thumbup:

 

[Kyle Royer]

Looking great Steve!

Will we be able to see the finished dagger at the Little Rock show next weekend? I hope so, however I understand if it won't be done.

Kyle

 

[NickWheeler]

Beautiful progress Steve!!! :thumbup:

 

[sculver]

Will we be able to see the finished dagger at the Little Rock show next weekend? I hope so, however I understand if it won't be done.

Kyle,

I really wanted to have the dagger finished for the AKA Show, but I'm starting to feel that I won't have it completed. I'm not going to rush the project and risk screwing it up. I'll probably bring it in whatever state of completion that it is at that time.

I lost some more time this week dealing with snow removal. Last Tuesday during the height of the blizzard, our mail carrier showed up at our house. He was on foot because his truck was stuck in a drifted in area on our road. He asked me to use my tractor to dig him out. There was about a quarter of a mile of the road that was drifted 1 1/2 to 2 feet deep between our house and his truck. It took me 45 minutes to dug a path through the snow to his truck. Then, I nearly couldn't get the tractor out because the high winds had drifted the snow back in behind me. I couldn't turn the tractor around to get the bucket in front and dig my way out, so I had to keep ramming the snow drifts backwards until I got through. I was out in the cold so long that I wound up getting frostbite on all of my fingers. I lost the entire day Wednesday clearing 3 feet of snow from our driveway. My fingers are doing well today. Still hurt a little, but they look better and I am able to work.

 

[T.A.DAVISON]

Steve, sounds like you live in Kansas?


The knife is looking great.:thumbup:

TA




.

 

[RogerP]

Can't wait to see the fluting and the wire wrap - don't think I've seen those elements in a WIP before. Looking great so far. :thumbup:

Roger

 

[Allen Newberry]

I really wanted to have the dagger finished for the AKA Show, but I'm starting to feel that I won't have it completed. I'm not going to rush the project and risk screwing it up. I'll probably bring it in whatever state of completion that it is at that time.

I will definitely have to drop by your table to check it out!

 

[Phil Dwyer]

Beautiful WIP Steve. I've been spending most of my time in the makers forum. Now that I know where all the grownups hang out, I'll have to check this forum out more often!

If you don't mind a couple more questions....

1. I see you milled the ends of your ivory block. Why did you chose to grind it out from there, rather than turn it?
   .
2. Forgive my misunderstanding, but I thought one of the primary purposes of the MS test dagger was to demonstrate skill as a smith. Outside of the forge welding of your billet, your incredible project seems to more demonstrate those of a superb machinist.

Please don't get me wrong, I deeply admire and humbly behold your talent. Just asking is all.

All the best, Phil

 

[sculver]

sounds like you live in Kansas?

Yeah, I live in Stupidville. That was a pretty dumb stunt to clear the road with the tractor. Should have given him the phone to call a wrecker.

Can't wait to see the fluting and the wire wrap - don't think I've seen those elements in a WIP before.

I don’t remember seeing a WIP on this either. I remember wishing that I could find someone to show me how to do it when I was building my MS test dagger.

I see you milled the ends of your ivory block.

I milled one end of the ivory. I flattened the other end with sandpaper. Milling the one end was just a quick way to get both ends square with each other.

Why did you chose to grind it out from there, rather than turn it?

I just find it quicker for me to grind this shape than it would be to fixture the material in a lathe and turn it.

Forgive my misunderstanding, but I thought one of the primary purposes of the MS test dagger was to demonstrate skill as a smith. Outside of the forge welding of your billet, your incredible project seems to more demonstrate those of a superb machinist.

Interesting perspective, Phil. There are indeed a lot of machinist skills being applied in the construction of this piece. But, your statement reads to me as more of an observation than a question, so I’m not sure how to give you an answer. I’m not clear as to where you feel work crosses the line between smith and machinist. Is it the use of the machinery that you feel is un-smith-like; or do you feel that the parts should be forged instead of cut from bar stock?

 

[Phil Dwyer]

Steve -- I think I've gotten in over my head. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your AMAZING skills!!! -- Humbly, Phil

 

[Burl Source]

A question about shaping the ivory.
After the chunk of ivory was bandsawn, how did you do the rough shaping / grinding to obtain the uniform shape.

PS: I am really enjoying the fact that you are going into detail with the construction of your dagger. Thank You.

 

[NickWheeler]

Steve- I don't want to put words in Phil's mouth, but I THINK what he was curious about--- is something I was wondering a little about myself. So here's what I think Phil was wanting to know- If this particular knife was an actual Ms test dagger, would it be acceptable that the blade itself was done with the stock removal process and not forged to shape? Obviously it takes a lot of forging know-how and dedication to create such a clean and uniform damascus blade--- but would a maker be gigged for not hammering the blade to shape?

And just like Phil, I do not mean that in the slightest negative way, just pondering the idea.

The dagger is going to be absolutely gorgeous and I applaud you for taking on such a difficult piece as a WIP!!!! *we need the little "not worthy" icon right here!!!*

Thank you Steve!!!