Ring Guard Bowie Progression

[xaman]

Awesome WIP Kyle, thanks for the pics!

 

[Kyle Royer]

I am sorry that I didn't make it clear about the two different guards. As soon as I finish this classic clam shell guard I'll finish working on the ring guard.

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

I guess I better get back out to the shop.

 

[Kevin Jones]

When I did the thread (link below) asking for design help and/or ideas prior to Kyle starting the knife it seemed that most either really liked or just didn't like the ring guard concept at all.
Since we had already decided the Bowie would be constructed in the take-down fashion, then why not just make a classic clamshell guard as well. In addition, I think it adds to the cool factor. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=666657

 

[D lisch]

This has been a very cool thread to follow thank you Kyle for the doing the extra work it takes to do a WIP.

 

[RogerP]

The clamshell is looking great and the takedown tool is just too cool.

Roger

 

[TekSec]

the takedown tool is just too cool

To be honest, that's my favorite piece so far

 

[Sam Salvati]

Hi Sam,

The guards have to be able to be taken off or you could not take the ring guard off and put on the clam shell guard. They fit into place and won't get wobbly and even if they did become a little wobbly over time the line-up pins would not allow the guard to move. I hope this helps with your question.

Very good question by the way.

Thanks very much for clarifying Kyle this is awesome.

 

[KEmSAT-Survival]

::making the grabby hands::

WAAAANNNNNTSSSSS IIIIIIIIT!!

That is gorgeous and it isn't even finished yet!

 

[bbarnettAUS]

Brilliant thread Kyle, so much information, really appreciate the time and effort you put into posting it all.

Why does the handle frame end up in 2 pieces?? I noticed Tim Hancock's starts as one and also ends up as 2.

Cheers Bruce

 

[stabber]

Awesome Kyle!! i love the idea about having two different guards:thumbup:

 

[jdm61]

Very nice, Kyle. What kind of Dremel stones did you use to cup the clamshells?

 

[Bruce Bump]

I think if you stopped right now it would be a nice knife. I cant wait to see what the finishing touches will do. Fantastic work Kyle.

 

[Kyle Royer]

Brilliant thread Kyle, so much information, really appreciate the time and effort you put into posting it all.

Why does the handle frame end up in 2 pieces?? I noticed Tim Hancock's starts as one and also ends up as 2.
Cheers Bruce

It ends up as two pieces because the tang bolt goes through the end and is the same size as the frame. If you wanted to keep the frame one piece you would have to make it thicker or make the tang bolt thinner. I'll take a picture and post it with the next instalment on here showing the tang bolt going in between the two frame pieces.



What kind of Dremel stones did you use to cup the clamshells?


I used two regular cut off stones put together to make it like one thick stone to do the roughing out and I used a gray polishing stone to refine it. I also hand sanded it with a little 320 and 600 grit paper.

Very good questions.

Thanks for the comments everyone!

 

[bbarnettAUS]

Thanks Kyle, can understand that. So why couldnt the tang thread & bolt be made that little bit thinner so the frame could stay 1 peice. I would have thourght the frame being 1 peice would be a lot easier to keep everything aligned while constructing and when in use. I have not done this type of frame handle yet(with a tang bolt) and am curious as to why its done in 2 piecesn not just by you. I figured there may have been another reason????

Cheers Bruce

 

[peterinct]

I had also gotten confused from the ring guard to the clamshell. VERY cool idea having both.

Another advantage of the takedown style

Peter

 

[Kyle Royer]

Hi Everyone!

I've been very busy with this one. I have gone about two weeks over the time I thought I would have it finished, because of all the first time things so please have patience.

Here is the guard hand sanded to 600 grit.

Now I've made the first cuts with a triangular file for the clam shell.

Here I have rounded the first cuts out.

This is another shot of the rounded cuts. It is now ready for sanding.

Now I've sanded everything on the guard to 1200 grit and am ready to etch. I also went over it with the buffer quickly to shine it up a bit.

I have etched the guard and gone over it with a little 2000 grit paper and the buffer.

Here's a shot of the other side. It came out great. IMHO

Now I'll put the clam shell theme on the pommel nut starting with the triangular cuts.

Here I've rounded the initial cuts and am ready for sanding.

I have sanded the nut to 1200 grit and buffed lightly. It's ready for the etch.

 

[Kyle Royer]

Here's a side shot of the pommel nut after etching.

This is a top view of the nut. The pictures didn't come out very good on the nut so I'll try to get some better ones for the next instalment of pictures.

Well I can't put it off any longer so I guess I'll just jump right in on the ring guard. I have sanded the surface that the spacer will touch to 320 grit. I have also shaped the top of the guard a little.

Here is a picture of the guard on the knife. Looking a little more refined???

Here I've relieved the ring so it looks like the guard is hugging up against it. I used the Dremel tool for that.

Now I have refined the ring with a polishing stone on the Dremel and have rounded the part of the guard that will have the clam shell on it.

I have rounded the top part of the guard where the arrow is pointing in this picture.

Now I've sanded the guard to 220 grit with a slack belt and have rounded the edges off with the needle files in this picture.

And now I've made the initial triangular cuts on the clam shell.

I'm just about ready to finish the hard part of this project and then all I'll have to do is a little hand sanding on the handle, the file work on the liners, hand sanding on the blade, etching all the damascus and salt blackening everything to make the damascus stand out better.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Lorien]

WOW Kyle!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Bigfattyt]

so danged cool.

This thread gets a check every time I log on for updates.

 

[John White]

Hey, Kyle,

This one's there, overall design, proportional integration, detail design, and finish.

I'll really look forward to seeing what you bring to Ark.

John