Seeking Opinions: The First Knife

[Bongo Boy]

I've selected a Helle Harmoni blade which is your laminated stainless blade with hidden tang. Blade length is about 3 1/2". I simply wanted a general purpose around-the-camp knife, and a couple of knives of the 'bushcraft' genre caught my eye. One of them is the Helle Eggen, but the blade was unavailable.

Rather than just buy a knife (which I should have done), I got fussy and decided I didn't want a wooden handle, for starters, and wanted something just a little more contemporary, leaning a bit more toward 'tactical' and bit less toward primitive.

Two handle ideas, neither very original.

The rough sketches both show a tracing of the actual blade. Sketch #1 is nearly a copy of the Helle Harmoni Plus, so it's closer to traditional in profile. Sketch #2 is your run-of-the-mill action adventure wannabe sort of thing. Both are about 4 1/2" to 4 5/8" overall length handles.

I've tried to depict perfectly flat sides to both handles, with a uniform, large radius all around on both. In #2 I'm trying to show a pommel style that would be your standard full-tang style...this would be a stainless insert held in with epoxy and a pin, I guess.

Both handles would be black micarta.

I like them both, but would like to get opinions--you know, are they too boring (I'm after boring, actually), impossible to make, completely and obviously out-of-character for the blade, etc. I'm not going to build my handle based on a vote, but I'd also prefer the concept not be too laughable and would like opinions.

I'm just a little concerned either could end up suggesting 'supermarket kitchenware aisle', so if there are ideas to possibly reduce that, I'm all 'ears'.

Oh. My idea for the guard is 1/16" or 3/32" stainless steel--whatever I can find--and I would like to silver solder it. I've only silver soldered/brazed at high temperature (~ 1200F), and didn't care about ruining the material. Any tips on how to keep the blade cool without putting a major, sharp gradient in work temperature right at the tang would be appreciated. I have no idea how dangerous soldering at 400F will be with laminated ss. I assume it's bad juju. Should I simply not do it at all?

 

[AcridSaint]

With a short blade like that, I don't suggest adding the width at the front of the handle. That cap will get in the way of cutting since there is no choil. Looking at the pics, I would follow the contour of the tang.

 

[Bongo Boy]

Thank you very much. I was thinking more of style than of utility, but only due to ignorance. The knife should say 'practical' (for whatever purpose) and this helps, if I understand what you're saying:

Is that what you meant? I've also taken some of the swell out of the butt so it's not so disproportionately fat there, shortened the handle a mm or two, and reduced the swell of the hand belly area.

This also needs to go into a synthetic sheath and not look retarded--my good god why didn't I just buy a knife?

 

[TJ Smith]

Hi
Good looking handles.
I have done a couple Norweigian style knives for family reunions.
Keep the guard narrow so it doesn't interfere with the cutting angle.
Take the pommel into the end of the tang and silver braze it together.
Take a can and put a lump of modeling clay in the bottom. Stick your knife blank point first into the clay. Fill the can up with water to the riccasso.
solder away this protects the temper in your blade. Having the right size can helps.

Thats the way I'd do it.
Take Care
TJ

 

[Bongo Boy]

Keep the guard narrow so it doesn't interfere with the cutting angle.

Okay, thanks. The cross section of the handle in your photo looks to be exactly what I'm planning--is that about 5/8" wide or even thinner?

Fill up with water to the riccasso.

Keeping any heat away from the blade will be a challenge--I've got only about .100" of ricasso. So, IF I chicken out and decide not to ruin this blade, is the following idea acceptable, or repulsive?

Idea here is to grind the portion of the tang where the radius is, moving the radius up toward ricasso until dimension 'h' is maybe .015-0.020" greater than guard thickness--OR, select a guard material that's just the right thickness. Then, install the finished guard and stake the thing as shown (both sides, of course) using a center punch...or attempt to pien it over. This assumes my guard fits perfectly snug (!) I think it's fairly soft in this area.

Is that disgusting? Am I worried too much about low-temp brazing?

Hey, you guys said it was okay for beginners to come in here!

 

[James_Terrio]

my good god why didn't I just buy a knife?

Bwah-ha-haa!! Yer screwed, friend It only gets worse as you go along.

 

[Byork]

Bongo Boy I spend a lot of time in another forum that's dedicated to just scandi knives. By no means do I wish to discount the tremendous amount of knowledge in this forum. I've learned more here in a short time than just about anywhere else. All the advice given in this thread is sound. It's just a place where they live and breath scandi style through tang knives.

All 3 of your designs look good. Almost none of the guys there solder the bolster/guards. It's file to fit and held in place by the handle. Either clamped tight and epoxy, or by peening the tang at the end of the handle.

I hate to, and will not link to another forum here, but a quick google of "scandinavian forum" and my user name Byork should point the way.

Forgive me if I've broken any rules.

Walter

 

[Steven Penner]

Staking is a valid way of attachment.

Silver solder or epoxy...are both good.
They are both ways of sealing water and debris out of the joint.
Epoxy is becoming more popular, solder is more traditional.

re the drawing in post 5
The point I want to emphasize is that the step reductions from your ricasso to the tang should have round radiused transitions.
Sharp 90 degree corners will have a much greater potential to be the starting point of a crack at that corner.

 

[scottickes]

You could grind just a little of the cutting edge away as in the knife photo attached to make the cutting edge more useful and give you more guard options. You wouldn't have to take as much off as would be done to make it look like the knife in the photo, but a little bit off to create a ricasso area would be helpful. It would, however, take away from the Scandi look somewhat, but would give you better use of the remaining cutting edge and a larger guard. Just an option for you to ponder.

 

[hellgap]

bongo TJ smiths knife is proportional with the size of the handle the knife you have drawn is real good but the blade is to short just my opinion

 

[Bongo Boy]

Great advice all 'round...thanks again guys. Good point on the stress cracking feature, too. When the blade arrived, the manufacturer had apparently used a wheel to relieve the areas in question...so they had left a very tight radius, but radius nonetheless. The problem (as I saw it) was that there were no co-planar surfaces anywhere--the guard wouldn't butt up against anything. Hard to explain. I could have fixed that yet still left a radius--but wasn't thinking.

It's not too late to provide some relief, and prevent "propagation of an artificially-induced flaw"...better known as a crack. Thanks for that heads-up.

Just as an aside, I found a real nice sheet of 0.080" stainless down at the scrap yard so I snatched it up. Turned out to be about the hardest stuff I've ever run into, short of the AR500 plate I brought home last summer. I thought making the guard would be fairly easy work...wrong. So, one day I "want a little knife", the next day I'm trying to anneal stainless steel to make a guard so I can make a handle so I can have a little knife.

Ratholes at every turn!