Testing the Waters...

KB1SYV said:
Hi Justin,

The idea hawks are still circling in my head as to what I will use as a viable bench. Space is extremely limited. I do plan on finding a used/new 120v heat treating furnace. I don't have anyone I can send it to to heat treat, so I just might start with kit's until I come up with a grand to spend on a furnace.

Thanks for your response,

Jeff
Click to expand...

I am looking at buying or building a 110v HT oven myself, I am not sure yet whether it is something I am comfortabe doing myself. There are threads here of folks building their own, which have links for most of the necessary electrical parts. I have heard they can be built for around 300$. I have a cheap PID and thermocouple I am playing with, if I can experiment with that and make sense of it I think I will give the oven build a try.
For the interim there are a number of outfits that will HT your blades for you if you are using a known alloy. I don't know what the prices are, some others may be able to give you an idea. Kit knives are also an option but not the only one if you are bent on making your own from scratch.
 
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=603203

This thread has previews to some good books.
"Step-by-Step" is good

There are several videos and books in the public domain that you can download with torrents.
You can find the GreenPete video here.
It is a good way to go for a first knife, all by hand.

http://thepiratebay.org/user/KnifemakerC/


A jig made by one of the members here
KPicB007.jpg


If you use a stainless steel (154cm, ats-34 440C...)
, you can send out your knives for heat treating at a reasonable cost
 
Justin King said:
Some specifics I would want in your shoes:
24 tpi hacksaw blades are probably going to be the most useful-18 tpi blades are good for thicker stock but will dull fast on thinner stuff. Decent quality blades are usually worth the extra money, I like Lennox brand but have not tried a lot of others so I could just be a sucker here.
Files have already been mentioned, I would get the biggest Nicholson double-cut mill bastard you can (10" is the biggest I can seem to find locally, I would rather have 12"s) and the same size single cut. Buy handles for them or make some, you will know why soon if you don't. I make mine out of softwood lumber, drill a hole the size of the end of the file tang, wobble the bit side to side a little to enlarge the end of the hole, and tap the file into it with a hammer gently until it is seated firmly. Super glue if needed.
You will probably want 3/16" and 1/4" drill bits for sure, add in other sizes as needed. High speed steel bits (standard metal bits) will work fine for most annealed blade steels.
Click to expand...

Hey Justin,

I found a 12" flat bastard double cut file, if your still looking for one. Toolbarn.com is selling it for $12.50 if you are interested. Here is the URL:

http://www.toolbarn.com/nicholson-03762.html

Thanks for your help.

Jeff
 
I have searched around, but I am not finding any info on this jig. Does a description on how it was built or who built it exist, I'd be interested in procuring something like this for hand grinding and filing.

Thanks,

Jeff
 
Making them by hand is the way to go for you .Yes it's slower but the learning opportunity is there .Welcome to knifemaking and radio ! AC2RC
 
I can't help you concerning that particular jig, it probably works very well but looks a bit complicated to me. This video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIvyPxyVKQc&feature=related -shows a very simple setup that should work fine, at least for starters. Someone else already mentioned Greenpete's videos, they are instructive on how to produce a useable knife with minimal tooling and equipment.
A tidbit that I recall from hand-filing-if you are filing on a blade that is sticking out of the vise with the tip unsupported, the pressure you are putting on the blade while filing will cause it to flex. This can cause your flats to come out not-so-flat, and can also cause the tip of the blade to spring up when the file passes off the end. Maybe it's just my luck, but I have more than once had a blade fling a metal filing right into my eye when this happens. Even with hand tools, eye protection can be important.
 
I was wondering if there was a jig available to assist grinding manually that basically did what the bubble jig does for those grinding with a machine. I'm already going into this as a perfectionist, I want to at least have a decent chance of convincing myself that it's a decent job:D

Thanks everyone!!!

Jeff
 
Check with Fred, it's probably possible to somehow utilize the jig to keep the file at the correct angle. Keeping the angle on the file may be a bit of a challenge freehand.
 
In my opinion, once you get a good feel for it, hand-filing gives the ultimate control. When I am done grinding a blade on my machine, I use a wooden block with abrasive paper to go over the flats and get them truly flat, which I can never seem to do on the grinder. The principle of this technique is the same as using a file, it basically equates to draw filing. The "jig" that Greenpete is using in the video I linked should allow you to get your bevels pretty flat, the critical part in his setup is the height and angle the blade is clamped at, it needs to be repeatable for both sides.
After filing, you can switch to hard-backed abrasive paper to finish your flats out and I think once you get the hang of it you will see that the need for lots of jigs is more preference than necessity. You can use any hard, ridgid, flat item for backing, and duct tape can be used to hold the paper down if you don't want to mess with adhesive.
If you plan on making large blades you might want to get a draw file, they are desgned for this particular technique and work somewhat better than a regular file. Brownell's sells them for around 30$, or they used to at least. Probably not an immediate need since draw filing is of very limited use on smaller blades, and you probably don't want to start on 12" bowies.
 
Jeff,
First, This is a long message. It would be easiest to copy it to your word program and then print it out.I will have to post it in three pieces.


There is a lot to learn, and I strongly recommend getting a few books on knifemaking and reading them.
Go online and order the catalogs from Texas Knife Supply, Jantz, and K&G . There is a lot of info, supplies,books, and videos available from those suppliers.

An online search for " Knife Making Tutorials" will yield a ton of stuff,too.

I will give you some basic instructions that I used for starter projects I did with others. The details might be differ from one project to another, but the basics are the same.

The tools are simple, and any good hardware store has most things you need. A 12" double cut bastard, a single cut, and a fairly smooth (finishing) file are a good starter set. A half-round is also useful. A far as drilling holes and such, an 18V hand drill will work. Get good grade bits from a machine supply, or Fastenal. The first thing you need to fabricate is a work station. It can be as simple as a piece of plywood clamped to the kitchen table, or a small wooden bench. With your small apartment, try and be creative and find a place ( probably the kitchen) where you can clamp a board to something rock solid. Maybe removing the drawer on the kitchen counter, and clamping A sturdy board (2X6) to the countertop with a big C-clamp or two? When done for the day you can slip the drawer back in place. You will need a couple of smaller C-clamps to clamp the steel to the board for filing. If you have a friend with some wood working tools, he can cut a 2 foot long piece of 2X10 into a shape sort of like a pizza spatula - with the smaller projection to clamp the knife to, and the wider area to clamp the board to the table. You file the knife while clamped down, and turn it over to work the other side.

The next part of this message is the two segments on making a first knife. Feel free to email me and ask for any clarification needed. It is probably easiest to directly email me at sapelt@cox.net .

These are instructions I use for other folks I sent a starter box to, so if there are any statements that don't quite fit, that is because there were different materials.

Matt,
The box should be there today if not yesterday. In it you will find the knife, a pile of sanding papers, and some files. This is about $100 in supplies and materials. Taken care of, the files and paper will make many knives.

The knife:
The blade is stainless steel - ATS-34. I have preformed the knife shape to your template.The handle scales will be rough shaped and drilled to accept the Corby bolts ( this will ship after HT). When you get the knife, unscrew the bolts and remove the handles. Take a look at how things fit for reassembly later.

Let's get the names of all the parts clear.
The end of the handle is called the BUTT.
The two pieces of wood are called the SCALES.
The attachments for the scales are called RIVETS.
The area directly in front of the handle is called the RICASSO, and is the space between the end of the cutting edge and the handle.
Any inward curve or indentation at the ricasso area or ricasso end of the handle is called a CHOIL.
The top of the blade is the SPINE.
the cutting part is the EDGE.
The end of the cutting edge is the PLUNGE LINE.
The taper from spine to edge is the BEVEL.
The taper from the ricasso to the tip ( looking down on the spine) is called DISTAL TAPER.
The point is the TIP.

Work area and procedures:
Find a place where you can safely work on the knife and have room to move. A picnic table outside will work, or any small work surface in the garage. Don't use the kitchen table or the resident cook may become upset with you.
If possible, screw or clamp a strong piece of wood so about 10 inches sticks out from the corner of the work table. This is the sanding arm. A piece of 2X4 will work. The knife is clamped/screwed to the board, with the edge just off the wood, to allow sanding and filing.
File with smooth strokes in one direction only. Never file in a back and forth motion - it will ruin the file. The files I sent are new and from medium to fine. They should be fine for working on this knife. When sanding, cut the paper into strips, or fold it, and use a six inch long block of hardwood as a backing block.I cut 8X2" strips and use a heavy rubber band to hold the ends on the block. Get a small plastic tub or something that will hold about a quart of water for when you do the wet sanding. You will dip the block and paper in the water. Sand in one direction strokes. Most sanding should start at the ricasso and progress toward the tip. The initial sanding can be perpendicular to the blade ( spine to edge) but the finer sanding should always be parallel to the blade ( ricasso to tip). When changing grits in the coarse to fine range ( 50 to 400 grit) change the angle of each grit so you can tell the old sanding lines from the new ones. Don't move to a finer grit until all the scratch lines from the last one are gone. It is very hard to get them out later. They have a nasty habit of showing up again as you get to the fine grits. If you see a deeper scratch.....stop....and go back at least one grit until the scratch is gone....then proceed back up the sanding steps. Skipping grit sizes is not going to speed things up. Progress from the coarse grit to 400-800 for the pre-HT sanding. In final finish, the finer the grit, the better the blade looks. The rule of thumb is to double the grit size ( more or less) each grit change. That would roughly be 100,200,400,800,1000,1500,2000,4000,8000. When doing the final sanding many people sand dry to 800, then wet sand to 8000. With the 3M polishing papers ( the colored pack) wet sanding is not as necessary, but works very well if you go that route. wet sanding will give you a brighter and shinier final finish. Save the 3M papers for final finishing after the HT. They are super for getting the handle sanded and polished. When wet sanding, clean off the blade, the block, and change the water in the tub at each grit change. BTW, putting a 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap in the qquart of water makes it sand better.

Getting Started:
Mark the blade tang with a marker where the handle ends at the ricasso. When working on a blade, don't sand or file any of the metal that will be under the handle scales, or the wood may not sit flush with the tang when reassembled. This is a common error, and often shows as a little space where the handle comes down to the ricasso. Avoiding it now is how to keep from having to deal with it when you start to assemble the knife and discover that the ricasso is curved up under the handle a bit. By marking the handle area, and not doing any sanding/filing there, you will assure that the area is still flat when you finish the knife after heat treatment. Some folks actually tape this area with masking tape ( the blue painters tape is what I use), to make it clear that there is to be no work done there. That is a good procedure to learn. I often tape any part of a knife that I am not currently working on ( the handle area when doing the bevels, the blade when working on the handle, etc.)

Decide how you want the blade to be beveled ,and where the plunge line should be. For this blade, I suggest a full bevel - from edge to spine - and the plunge line about 3/8" to 1/2" in front of the handle. ( I pre-cut the plunge line)

Screw or clamp the blade to the board. File the bevels in slowly. take a little off at a time, easing up on the final shape. Flip the blade and work the other side regularly, allowing the shape to form from both sides. Don't try to do one side and then the other. That takes a lot of experience, and gives many old smiths trouble.

Stop each step before it is fully to the point you want. Look it over carefully before taking the final strokes of the file. It is easy to take a little more metal off later, or to go back and change the shape, but impossible to put any metal back on once it is filed away. Also, don't file the bevels to a sharp edge. This is one of the most common errors. Leave the edge a fairly wide flat surface. About the thickness of a nickel in the filing stage (.050-.060), and the thickness of a dime after sanding before HT (.030-.040). Always remember that the next step will take off some more metal. I suggest filing to 80% shape, sanding to 90-95% shape, HT, then final sanding to shape, and the last step after the handle is assembled is sharpening the edge secondary bevel and sharpening.

OK, get filing:
When the bevel looks good, and you are happy with the plunge lines, it is time to start sanding. Sanding is where the blade shape takes on the final look. It goes fast in the coarse stages, and slower in the fine ones. Use even firm pressure on the sanding block. Avoid using a piece of folded up sandpaper and your fingers. You can easily make dips and waves in the blade that will show up after the final grits like a fun house mirror. Grits below 400 should be done on a backing block and applied just like they were a file. Finer grits don't gouge the metal as much and can be worked without a block if needed, but the block is your friend if you want straight and flat bevels.
Once the filing is done, you can remove the tape from the tang area, but be careful that any sanding done at the ricasso still leaves the tang flat.The tang does not need to be sanded smooth, and bonds better with a rougher surface. Initially,a few strokes of the file to assure it is flat is all that is needed.The best way to avoid the ricasso dips is to flat sand the tang and ricasso area together with the paper laying down on a smooth and flat surface, and moving the knife over it in smooth strokes. Sand the tang/ricasso to 200 grit, then gently sand the ricasso area to 400. Now, you can proceed to the blade bevels without much risk of rounding the ricasso up under the handle. When the entire blade is sanded to 400-800 ( except the tang) and all surfaces are scratch free, the blade is ready for HT.

Heat Treatment:
When the blade is sanded to 400 and all is well, it is time for the heat treatment. This is where the soft (relatively) pearlitic steel is going to be changed into hard martensite. This steel is ATS-34. The blade needs more than just getting it hot and quickly cooling it off if you want a superior blade. It will be heated to 1900F and held there for 30 minutes, then plate quenched to cool and remain straight. After that it will recieve two temper cycles at 400F
I will send you a new email with all the HT information and a short metallurgy class later. When it is ready for HT I will do it, or you can have someone else do it . You won't be able to do it yourself.

Please feel free to ask me any questions while working on the blade.If you can take photos of the progress, do so by all means. They will help me see what you are doing, and will be useful to you when you post the "My new knife" thread.
Take your time. Spending a few more hours/days/weeks on the blade will result in a far better finished product than trying to rush it out in a single day/weekend.
Work a while, take a break, and when you come back ,examine the progress before you start back up. You may see some area that needs attention that you would have gone right past.

More later,
Stacy
 
Last edited:
Post HT finishing

Once you receive your blade back from the heat treater it may look dark, spotty, and unattractive. It was shiny and smooth when you sent it off, you may think they must have ruined it! Don’t despair. The changes are normal.

The first step is to remove the layer of discolored and de-carb metal on the surface. Start with 220 grit. paper. Clamp the blade on the work board , and using the sanding block, re-sand the blade completely ,exactly as before. Once the surfaces are cleaned and bright, start going up the grits. At 400 grit switch to making all strokes longwise ,and use an even but firm pressure. Try to avoid any strokes that don’t follow the blade length. When the 400 grit is done ,the blade should have a bevel that comes to almost an edge. Don’t let it get sharp yet. You really don’t want to be sanding on a blade with a sharp place on it. If the edge gets sharp, dull it with a few strokes of 220 grit paper along the edge. Look the blade over real well. If the surfaces are smooth and defect free, continue. If they are not, keep on working the 400 grit. At 800 grit you can switch to wet sanding. Put a quart of water and a 1/2tsp of dish soap in a plastic tub. Dip the sanding block in this and sand, re-wetting regularly. Wipe off the blade often, too. Other ways of wet sanding include using a spray bottle of water/soap, or using Windex. When you think you are ready to move to the next grit, wash the blade, change the water, and clean up any water and sludge from the previous coarser grit. These things have a bad habit of coming back to make scratches later. Examine the clean dry blade in a strong side light ( using an Optivisor or other magnifier is a good idea). Look for any scratches from the last grit that are still showing. If there are scratched, dips and ripples, blurry places, etc. go back to the grit you were doing and work some more. If the scratches are bad, go back one grit. The point is, don’t move on until the current grit is completely done.

A note here - if the blade is carbon steel, add a 1/2tsp of washing soda to the water. This will change the ph and slow down rusting ( which can happen as you watch during polishing). On stainless blades, this is not an issue. In all cases, wipe down the blade well and completely dry it when done for the day. A light coat of oil is always a good idea when setting a project blade away for the day.


At 2000/2500 grit, the blade should be smooth, shiny and scratch and ripple free. If it isn’t ,that means you did not completely finish a previous step before going on. The temptation is to say, “Heck, it is my first knife…that is good enough.” Don’t do it! You owe it to yourself to do a good job. Go back and take the time to re-sand as needed. I have often found a small place I missed, and gone back to 220 grit and completely re-done ten or twenty hours of work. It is worth it in self pride alone.





Now, open the package of 3M polishing papers. Notice that each has an abrasive side and a “cloth” side. Each is a different color to designate its grit equivalency. The package has the grit size and colors on it. These papers can be used until they are shredded, so keep them after use for other sanding projects, especially handle work. Also, keep them in a plastic bag when not in use. You don’t want them contaminated with sandpaper grit and making scratches. I go back to the green sheet - which is about 400 grit. Since you have gone way past this point already, progress up the grits will be fast, but you will notice that the surface gets smoother and shinier than it did with the sandpaper. The papers can be used wet or dry. Try it both ways, but I usually go dry, as they polish so well. You should use the sanding block up until the blue sheet, and then can switch to folding the paper, or continue to use the block. I have a 2X1X4” felt block that I back the papers with . Going all the way to the white sheet is a polish up to about 8000 grit. The blade should be mirror shiny at that point. If you want a more matte finish, just stop at a lower grit, or go back down the grits until you get the desired look.

OK, now your blade is polished. Keep it that way by wrapping tape to protect the smooth shiny bevels. The blue painters tape is the best. Another trick is to wrap the blade with a layer of paper toweling, and then tape over that with the tape. This is easier to remove, and requires less clean-up of the tape’s adhesive. In any case, the blade should be well protected from sanding grit, tools and other hazards during the handle work.

Take the handle scales and look them over. Are they a good match? Is there a certain orientation that looks best ( grain direction, burl pattern , etc.)? Are they the right material for the knife ? Again ,just as in the sanding, don’t accept OK as good enough. If they are right, fine. If not, change them or modify them to be right.

Mark the inside of each scale and put an arrow towards the front and top. This sounds silly, but you would not believe how often one is put on backwards. Place the scales together, and tape them tightly. The front end, where the ricasso will be, needs to be shaped and sanded before assembly. Saw/file it to any curve needed, sand it smooth, rounding up to the flat sides. Sand the ends to 800 grit, or finer. They should be smooth and scratch free. This area will be impossible to sand and polish without ruining the blade finish once the handle is on the knife, so make sure it is right. If you are applying a finish to the scales, apply it to the ends and sand/buff/polish it now . The scales only need their front ends done right now, the rest can be a rectangle, you don’t want to shape anything else yet.

I hope you remembered to drill the holes in the tang before HT, because that will be a lot harder to do now. Also, the reason you want to drill the holes a bit large is to allow for any miss alignment in drilling. I make the holes at least 1/8” larger than the rivet.





Lay the blade over the still taped together scales, and position it where the scales should be. Use a small clamp to hold it there, and take a look at arms length to check the positioning. Once it looks good, mark the exact center of each rivet/bolt/thong hole. Set the blade aside for the moment. While the scales are still taped together, drill the front hole through both scales, using a drill press if available. Drill as straight and accurately as possible. Use a drill bit that is a little smaller than the pin/rivet that will go through that hole. Re-drill it the correct size. The correct size is a few thousandths over the pin size, so a 1/8” pin gets a .130” hole, or there about. Now, take a piece of the rivet stock you will be using and check the fit.( It is best to determine the correct drill sizes on a piece of scarp wood before drilling the handle. Also, sand the ends of each rivet to a slight taper to aid with insertion.). Re-drill as necessary until the rivet goes through with little or no pressure needed. Leave the rivet in place. If using Corby bolts, drill both sides for the shoulder, and screw in a bolt. This step you just complete now has the two scales firmly locked together to make sure the rest of the holes will all align. Now it is time to drill the back rivet. Drill it the same way, inserting a rivet in the hole when ready. Continue to drill the rest of the holes as needed, fitting the rivet/tube/etc. as you go. If you cut the rivets ¼” longer than the scales thickness the rivets will be ready to install during assembly. When all is done, remove the rivets/bolts/tubes and take the scales apart. Place on the blade and dry fit again, going in the same order as before ( front, rear, etc.). If there is any trouble, re-drill that hole to make it allow the rivet to pass through. If a rivet is hitting the tang, and moving the blade a tad doesn’t solve the problem, you will need to enlarge the tang hole a bit. A carbide or diamond burr in a Dremel tool will enlarge it quickly. Unless you have carbide bits, and know what you are doing, don’t try to drill out a too small hole. This is one place bad accidents can happen . Once all is fitted with the blade in place, remove the pins again. Lay the tang on the inside of one scale, aligning the holes carefully, and gently clamp it in place. Trace around the tang with a pencil ( avoid markers, as they can absorb into the wood and make stains that show later). Do the same for the other scale. Cut the excess off with a coping saw, or a band saw if available. You don’t want to get any closer to the tang than 1/8”. The rest will be filed/sanded away. If desired, do any pre-shaping needed. Check all fits again and if it is good, you are ready to assemble the handle. Tape the blade ricasso to keep the epoxy from running down the blade, leaving about ¼” of the ricasso exposed.
 
This is a good time to talk about adhesives. The best way to assemble a handle is to glue and bolt it together. That way it is never coming loose. This is not always the way it is done, so the glue should be able to do the job by itself. With the exception of bolts, rivets are really just to prevent lateral blows from shearing the glue joint. Top grade structural epoxy is what you want for the job. Forget all the advertisement hype about super glues and Gorilla glues, etc.. They all have things they do best…..but for handles, epoxy is king. There are many types available, but the slowest curing time and maximum strength make for the best joint. Don’t use 5 minute epoxy ever. Acraglass is a resin made for gun work, and is really good, but the 24 hour cure epoxies from any wood working shop will be just as good, and much cheaper. I prefer System Three T-88. If you can’t swing the $18 for the two bottles kit ( enough to do a couple dozen knives or more), then at least use the slowest curing syringe tube that the hardware store sells. Get it from a place that moves a lot of glue, too. It goes bad with age, and a small hardware store may have had it on the shelf for a year or two. Mix the resin in a small disposable plastic cup ( I use the 12oz. party cups). The ratio of hardener to resin is critical, so get it perfect. Using a medicine cup or a scale is a good way to assure things are equal. (Note that the part A is usually a tad heavier than part B per volume.)
Spread newspaper covering the entire work area, put on work clothes, and put on a pair of nitrile gloves. Lay out about five or six pieces of paper toweling (I tear them into ¼ sheets), and unscrew the lid on the acetone can. Check that everything is ready, and all materials and tools are there. Hit the bathroom, kiss the wife, do anything that needs doing for the next hour. Once you mix the epoxy the clock is ticking. You don’t want to get epoxy all over your gloved hands and suddenly realize you don’t have something you need.
Stir the two parts of the epoxy well with a popsicle stick for one minute….I mean a whole minute! The epoxy can be cleaned up easily with acetone while uncured. Acetone will remove cured epoxy with some elbow grease, but the solution is to clean up any excess and drips while it is uncured or half cured.


Take the pins and tubes and lightly roughen them by rolling them across a sheet of 120 grit paper. Don’t sand them or they will get smaller. Corby bolts need no preparation.

Apply the resin to the rivet holes on the scales first, getting it down in them with a bamboo skewer if needed. Now put some resin on the rivets and slip them through one scale. Apply epoxy to the inside of that scale, place the tang over the scale, apply resin to the exposed tang, place the other scale on. Snug this sandwich up with your fingers until the rivets are evenly sticking out both sides, and the scales are positioned on the blade in the correct alignment. If all is good, clamp it.

Now, lets talk clamps…and gluing. The purpose of a clamp is to hold something in place…in this case while the glue cures for a day. If you clamp the scales to the tang so hard the glue all gets squeezed out, you have defeated the entire purpose of all the work you just did. All you need is a couple of light tension spring clamps ( $2-3 at the hardware store) . If you can’t easily open it with one hand, it is too powerful. All it needs to do is hold the scales down against the blade with a layer of glue between the two. There are several ways of preventing a glue starved joint, and thus not having to worry about the clamp strength. The simplest is to drill a lot of 1/8 to ¼” holes all over the tang. This allows the epoxy to pool between the scales, effectively making epoxy rivets, and assuring a strong joint. When using structural epoxies, like T-88, this is an excellent choice. The other way is to grind out ( hollow grind) the tang center, leaving only about 1/8” of surface around the perimeter of the scale area. This makes a shallow reservoir of resin between the scale and the tang, which can’t be squeezed out by the clamp. One of these procedures should be used on any glued up handle.
Back to the clamps. Two clamps are far better than one. They don’t need to be as strong, and you can position them to make sure the scales are in contact with the tang evenly. Place one in the front at the ricasso to get a seamless seal, and one in the back to make sure the butt does not rise up. One strong clamp in the center can actually make the ends curl up, causing a gap at the ricasso and butt.


Take a piece of paper towel and wipe any large amount of excess epoxy off the handle sides( no need to do much more than avoid dripping). Take another clean piece and wipe the excess at the ricasso, making sure you get any off the finished ends of the scales. Put some acetone on a new piece, and wipe the ricasso area again. Don’t overdo it with the acetone at this point, you only want to remove any puddles. Too much acetone, and you can affect the epoxy strength. Set the clamped knife down flat ( not edgewise) and let it sit until the epoxy in the mixing cup is starting to set up. This can be from 10 minutes to 6 hours, but for T-88 ,and most other 24 hour resins, about one hour is normal. While you are waiting for the epoxy to gel, clean off all tools and things that have epoxy on them….and put them away. Use acetone as needed. Wash your hands well with soap and water to avoid any contact dermatitis caused by the chemicals in the epoxy. Throw away any paper towels you used, and tidy up the work area. There should be nothing but the clamped knife, the acetone can, and some paper towels left out.
Check the clamps and handle after 10 minutes to make sure nothing has moved, then set it back down. Another quick wipe at the ricasso may be necessary if there has been more squeeze out.
Once the epoxy is gelled ( about an hour), clean the ricasso area again with an acetone dampened ( not soaked) paper towel. Clean any off the blade and other places that will not be getting sanded down in finishing the handle ( Now you know why we taped up the blade so well).
Set the knife down and go to bed. Leave it undisturbed for at least 12 hours. Remove the clamps, clean up any spots that need it with acetone. And set it aside to cure for another day. If you follow this procedure you will have a very strong handle .

Once the epoxy is cured, tape up the ricasso right up to the scales. Put several layers of tape here, as it will get abraded when sanding the handle, and you don’t want to mess up the nice sanding job you did earlier.
Clip/saw/file off any excess rivet material, and start shaping the handle. Go slow, removing a little here and a little there. The first step is to take it down to the point where the tang metal shows all around the sides. Then, round the corners to make the handle a roughly oval or egg shaped cross section. All this can be done with files, rasps, and coarse sandpaper. Look it over and make any adjustments in the profile as needed. While a belt sander makes this an easier job, it can be done by hand. Most inexpensive 1” belt sanders ( harbor freight, etc.) do a fairly good job on handle work. A Dremel tool can be used ,too.
After the rough shape is done, continue to refine it and smooth it, starting with 120 or 220 paper and going up the grits to at least 1000 grit. At some point you will have to un-tape the blade and make sure the handle and spine are a smooth transition. Just be careful not to scratch the blade. While fairing in the spine, tape the sides of the blade to protect them.


The 3M polishing papers are the absolute champ at handle finishing and can make your handle shine like glass with no finish at all if the material is suitable ( many stabilized woods and some exotics are great for this). If you are using a finish on the handle, apply it in very light coats, and rub it into the wood ( not painted on the wood) . Allow to dry and sand off until the surface is just down to the wood. Repeat until it will take no more into the wood. Allow to dry for several days, then finish out with the 3M papers for a prize winning shine.

Un-tape the blade, and clean everything well.. Check for any small rubs and scratches and fix them now with the 3M papers ( hopefully there will be few or none). The tendency for things to show up at this stage….and the words that it makes you say…..are why very few ministers make knives. Buff up everything with the last two grits of 3M papers and your knife is done.

Make or purchase a sheath if it us a user, but never store the knife in the sheath.

Sharpen the knife carefully.

Congratulations, you have make a knife that you and your grand children will be proud of. On that note, never sell or give away your first knife. It may be tempting, but don’t do it. Someday you will regret it. Ever wonder where the first knives made by Moran, Loveless, Scagel, Randall, etc. are……and what they are worth? You never know, your first knife may be one of those some day????

Stacy
 
Stacy,

I haven't begun to read it yet, because I want to absorb every word. I just wanted to say before anyone else...Your freakin' amazing!!!! Is that the word kids use? I don't know, but hell, you've written a thesis or dissertation. I'm sure I'll have more expressions of awe and gratitude when I'm done.

Many thanks Again.

Respectfully,

Jeff
 
Lots of info there, half a book's worth or more!
Have you given any thought to what type of knives you want to make? Materials? Stainless or carbon/tool steels, synthetic or natural grip materials?
 
Well Justin,

I thought I would start with stainless, because I will be working inside for the most part and quenching would be a real hassle and a mess. Eventually I'd like to try my hand at a high carbon knife. As far as the handle is concerned, I would like to say that I would use what struck me as the way to go as the knife progresses. Now the type of knife will probably be something of the military and/or utility order, and as my knife making prowess progresses, I will go for the classier knives with damascus and nice wood handles. I'll be smart enough to know my limitations...I think...

Jeff
 
If you want, I will scrounge around my shop and see if I can put together a few things to send your way that might make it a little easier for you to get going. I have a lot of related stuff that I will probably never use, and am running out of places to stash it. I have a piece of ATS-34 stainless that must be 17 years old, left over from my earliest knifemaking days. I would be glad to send that to you since I don't use stainless anymore, but I need to check first to see if it is soft enough to file, seems like I have a tickling memory of blunted hacksaw blades and having to use cutoff wheels to take a piece off the bar. I have enough exotic wood grip material to become a dealer...

My wife and I send care packages to deployed troops pretty regularly, so this would be easy for me to do, just another package going out.
 
I'm pretty sure I've got a couple of old kit knife blades in the shop from years ago. If you want them let me know and you can start practicing on something as far as your handle shaping and finish lines go.
Kevin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top