Starting my first "fancy" knife. Advice?

A.McPherson

A.McPherson

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Jan 27, 2012
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Hey guys, I'm staying my first "fancy" knife tomorrow. It's going to be a Damascus Scottish Dirk, with a African blackwood and holly handle and scabbard, with buffalo horn and silver accents.

I'm planning on making the scabbard and handle plain to begin, then carving them with knotwork when I am more capable. My wood carving skills are... meager, to say it charitably.

I got the Damascus billet last year from JT, and this is the first time I'm going to be forging it. Any advise?

JTknives JTknives , I think this was some of the stuff you got from Salem, maybe? Any advice on how it should be forged?
 
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Go slow.
Draw everything out full size first.
Forge to shape, grind to finish.
Don't try and make a scabbard that you can carve later. Make one that fits properly now and make a carved one at some future point.
Plan the handle well before starting, The handle is what people will see. There are some great carving tutorials for doing a dirk handle.

Post your sketches so the chaps here can look them over.
 
https://imgur.com/hyt0IOu

Here's my initial plan for the sheath and handle. I asked my girl about it, she says that I should just do it with a white stripe down the side, or just straight black.

I think the black and white is cool, but will now to those who have better taste than I...
What do you think?
 
A.McPherson said:
I got the Damascus billet last year from JT, and this is the first time I'm going to be forging it. Any advise?
Click to expand...
IIRC Salem and JT were using 1080/15N20, and what I try to do is forge it hot in a reducing atmosphere to minimize scale and be diligent about brushing off scale (get a 'butcher block' type brush with a good handle if you don't already have one). If there's a pattern you want to try to preserve, this is more important than if a random billet.
 
I think you will have trouble keeping the Holly white. The grit and sanding dust will stain it.
 
First, I disagree with Lorien. I prefer wearing a Utilikilt in the shop. I feel the blades get harder than when I wear Elliot tartan.

I have a forging kilt with a leather front panel that I wear when doing demos and sometimes in the shop. It is a cheap tactical kilt with the front fly panel replaces with kudu hide. It has snaps on the waist section for the bib to attach when doing full forge work. It is the one I wear when doing forge welds at demos.
A lace-up day shirt, tam, and a sgian dubh in the sock will be sufficient to lend an air of authenticity to any forging session. The only reason I am wearing tartan in the photos below is I was forging at a Highland Festival. It is my "field" kilt, not my formal Elliot kilt. When the fly gets singed and worn enough, I will replace it with leather.

Andy, I know the stripe or checkerboard will look cool to you, but traditionally the dirk handle and sheath are plain black. Your plan will have many more places where something can go wrong or a gap can show. Remember - KISS.

Final suggestion - The scabbard in wood will have to be sanded very thin to look good and wear well. If it is too thick it will look like the dirk is stuck inside a Billy club. You need to make the inside channel an almost snug fit and then sand the outside THIN. a wall thickness of .10 is about as thick as you can get away with. A trick is to tap on the sides with a round piece of steel as you sand the sides down. You can tell by the sound how thin it is. Also, don't make/attach the throat cap until the scabbard is sanded just about all the way. This allows you to see the thickness as you go. Then slide it on the blade and glue it to the scabbard with the blade in place. Pull the blade when the glue is setting and clean off any glue.
View attachment 1667072Stacy demo Williamsburg 001.jpg
 
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I stand corrected
 
My dress sgian dubh. White and black mammoth and silver fittings:
sgian-dubh-ivory-jpg.924782


Doing the throat and tip in sterling silver (or nickel silver) takes some effort, but the increase in the look is worth it.

Remember to file the scabbard ends down the thickness of the metal to make recessed shoulder to makes perfect transition. Making the metal proud of the scabbard is what many of the cheap imports do, which looks cheap to me.

The throat assembly is pretty basic. Wrap the scabbard with a piece of blue tape and slit it to remove. This is the length of the piece of 22-24 gauge metal needed. Cut it a tad bigger and trim as you fit it to the scabbard. The old rule is "A tad too tight is usually just right". Once shaped to fit the scabbard, make the throat plate oversize and put it all together with the blade in place. Mark the position of the throat plate/throat cap with a sharp scribe. Remove and solder together. Check the fit and carefully file the throat hole as m[=needed to get the blade to enter with no rub. Once it is right, glue the throat assembly on and trim the excess throat plate flush.
The handle bolster is made the same way. They are easiest to do with flat ends. The curved ends on mine are pretty complex to do.

The end cap is done the same way, starting with a wrap of tape. Once slit and removed you have a basic pattern for the tip. Make it as a cone and then gently shape to fit the scabbard. The tip end can be plain or a small ball of silver ( which looks best). The metal can be engraved, brush finished, or polished.
 
Sorry, no pics of me in the kilt today... But here's a couple little progress pics!!

4HzgVZw.jpeg


SSqVGM9.jpeg


Decided to make a sgian dubh out of the cut off chunk. Kinda big for a black knife, but hey, who says I have to follow the rules!?

On to the grinder? On to the grinder!!!
 
A.McPherson said:
Sorry, no pics of me in the kilt today... But here's a couple little progress pics!!

4HzgVZw.jpeg


SSqVGM9.jpeg


Decided to make a sgian dubh out of the cut off chunk. Kinda big for a black knife, but hey, who says I have to follow the rules!?

On to the grinder? On to the grinder!!!
Click to expand...
Ya could call it a dirkette.
 
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