scale thickness?

S

SR_matt

Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
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ok, so basicaly it seems to me that handle scales that are sold are almsot always 3/8 thick but using it with out cutting it almost in half seems like you need to have monster hands to make a grip that thick confortable.

maybe its just that i am trying to get a size idea from the full scales i have with having them cut to shape of the tang.

what is the thickness most people around here have once the knife is finished, what is the easiest way you found to get the material to that thickness if it came much thicker, and is it feasiable to cut dymond wood down the center to thin it out?

thanks
-matt
 
Matt

Normally you buy Diamondwood or one of the other brands of stabalized laminated Birch in thiscknesses you want, i.e. 1/4, 5/16 etc. If the slabs are not more than a 1/16 inch thicker than what you want they can fairly easily be sanded down using a belt sander. If you had a block you could cut it on a band saw and sand the surfaces flat to fit against the tang (full tang).

I normally use 1/4 inch slabs.

Jim A.
 
Hi Matt,
A lot depends on the use of the knife.
But for general speaking 1/2" is thin 5/8" normal 3/4" heavy. [Total thickness]
Height and contour come into play also. I have smaller hands so I have to get somebody with big hands to try out certain knives.
I have never used dymond wood but I will split a extra set of scales out of a block if it is really good looking. But be ready to eat it if you band saw blade drifts!!!
Good Luck!!!
 
ya the problem i have is from TKS the dymond wood is 3/8 per scale so with out grinding/cutting them down ill have a knife thats 7/8 thick. i sanded off probably 1/8ish off each one so that might do want i need but the amount of dust im getting is insane. i guess ill end up using up the stuff i ordered and just grind it down and then try to get the maker to give me some thiner stuff.

maybe its really just the fact i havent cut them to the size of the tang. ill have to play around with them more this weekend maybe (the dust is a pain and i dont have my respirator i ordered yet so the best i can do is dustmask+ cloth over that )

hmm meh, ill post back up in a few days once i see if im just thinking its thicker than it really will be or if i just have a knife for the worlds bigest hands.

thanks
-matt
 
I used a belt sander with a respirator, and just sanded it down until it was a comfortable thickness. The thinnest dymondwood offered won't be that big of a hassle to sand down, I wouldn't risk sawing a thick scale of it in half.
 
I don't recommend splitting it in half. I just sand the scales down to the thickness that I want after I've put them on the blade. If you have a belt sander it's pretty quick. That's how I do it.
 
SR_matt said:
maybe its really just the fact i havent cut them to the size of the tang. ill have to play around with them more this weekend maybe (the dust is a pain and i dont have my respirator i ordered yet so the best i can do is dustmask+ cloth over that )
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Not to sidertack this too much, but I'd just find things that aren't making formaldehyde laden dust to keep myself busy until the respirator showed up. Did you order one with cartridges rated for organic vapor? You should get some proper cartridges if you plan to grind on laminates/phenolic/etc.

-d
 
1/4" works well for me.

3/8" works well for the classic "coke" bottle shape (viewed from the top).
 
I use my table saw to get them down to the thickness that I desire. I used to use my band saw, but I don't get the accuracy and straightness with it, that I do with my table saw. I use a push stick to push the wood through the blade. I also use a feathered board to keep it against the fence. I set the fence to my desired scale thickness and cut two pieces, which I then flip inside out so that I have book matched pieces. I sand them flat on the surface that will be against the blade tang. I have bolster material (brass, nicklesilver, mokume and damascus) in many different thickness and widths. This way I can set the scale thickness to what I desire. I cut my scales about a 1/16" to an 1/8" thicker than the bolster material. I don't usually have much sanding on the flats of the scales. Keeping the wide variety of bolster material allows me to get the most out of a piece of wood. I don't like to waste exotic wood, via sanding a lot of it down.
 
You would need 3/8 scales to do a morticed tang knife
 
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