Tanto Remastered...

[stabman]

Well, I've had my Cold Steel Master Tanto for almost 2 decades now.
It was my go-to knife for outdoors stuff till I got the Junglas, Clax and others...and the Kraton grip on the tanto turned to goo.
So, it's been out of rotation for a couple of years.

Now it is back, and I have to thank Cold Steel for their horrible customer service in ignoring many e-mails over an extended period of time; if they had actually answered, I wouldn't have the awesome new handle I made for it.

Disassembled:

Handle with JB Weld:

Epoxy is drying:

Contours:

I went for a nature hike today, so I brought it along.
Obligatory "Knife in stump" pic:

I saw a garter snake (it's in there):

Had to grab a snack; the tanto makes skewers in a hurry:

A deer went bounding across the trail before I could get a pic...but this one posed for it :

And just another shot of the area:

So there you have it.
The handle turned out great; it is comfy in the hand, has good grip, and looks way better than the icky rubber thing Cold Steel puts on there.
And as far as nature hikes go, today was quite nice. :thumbup:

I wouldn't count on getting customer service from Cold Steel though; if you need it serviced, just do it yourself.

 

[asdf12345]

I have to agree that Kraton, even in inlay form, doesn't hold up extremely well under hard use. A handle made fully of Kraton definitely wouldn't be my choice for outdoors use.

The handle looks very comfortable - I like the squared off choil and the rounded back as these afford better contact with the hands.

Sometimes, a manufacturer or makers' email settings are such that they do not receive emails coming from your address. This could be due to any number of settings or software that for some reason blocks or redirects to spam the emails you're sending. I had this problem with a couple of knife companies and makers with my old free email address.

I have never failed to get a response from any maker or manufacturer when I use a paid ISP email account.

 

[stabman]

I have to agree that Kraton, even in inlay form, doesn't hold up extremely well under hard use. A handle made fully of Kraton definitely wouldn't be my choice for outdoors use.

The handle looks very comfortable - I like the squared off choil and the rounded back as these afford better contact with the hands.

Sometimes, a manufacturer or makers' email settings are such that they do not receive emails coming from your address. This could be due to any number of settings or software that for some reason blocks or redirects to spam the emails you're sending. I had this problem with a couple of knife companies and makers with my old free email address.

I have never failed to get a response from any maker or manufacturer when I use a paid ISP email account.

It sure seems comfortable thus far.

In this instance, it's a positive that my e-mails went unanswered for whatever reason...it was a lot of work to make the handle with my limited selection of tools (my left hand was the vice for drilling and sawing ), and I most likely would have just put another stock Kraton handle on there if it were readily available.

If it were a folder with issues, then I'd have had to find a way to get an answer.

 

[helobite]

I love the burl. What's the wood?

Is that a Carbon V blade? The brass guard puts it back in that era. I really like my Carbon V blades, they take and hold an excellent edge.

 

[stabman]

I love the burl. What's the wood?

Is that a Carbon V blade? The brass guard puts it back in that era. I really like my Carbon V blades, they take and hold an excellent edge.

Some kind of stabilized wood I got in a Christmas exchange a few years back; I'll try and find out if there's a record of what type of wood it is somewhere.

The steel is actually San Mai; I think they used an AUS-8 core back then. It's held up really well to quite a bit of use.

 

[Lycosa]

Nice but you need a Busse.
rolf

 

[AntDog]

^^^Lol! Good one Rolf.
Nice job Stabman! :thumbup:

 

[Lycosa]

Danks. ^
Stabby knows it.

 

[Czechmate]

Looks good mang. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Does the pommel thread on/off; it sure appears that way...

 

[stabman]

Nice but you need a Busse.
rolf

One of these days.

Nice job Stabman! :thumbup:

Thanks.

Looks good mang. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Does the pommel thread on/off; it sure appears that way...

It sure does.
Or at least it did...with the threads slathered in JB Weld and the handle filled till it oozed out both ends, that handle is staying on forever now. :thumbup:

 

[stabman]

I love the burl. What's the wood?

Just found out that it's Manitoba Maple burl, also called Box Elder.

Some Manitoba Maple info:

http://www.isaontario.com/content/manitoba-maple-acer-negundo