That one little spot....

SVanderkolff

SVanderkolff

Joined
Oct 31, 2002
Messages
979
Does anyone else have that one little spot when making a knife that just about drives them nuts? You know that 1/2" that takes up more of your time than any other 4 inches combined. Mine is right behind the guard on the handle side where the tang meets the guard on a full tang knife. The rest of the handle I can do with a 6 or 8" wheel and get a really nice smooth finish that simply needs some hand sanding to blend perfectly with the rest of the handle, but that last half inch requires a really tiny wheel which changes the look of the finish and usually leaves a very very tiny depression right at the junction. This ends up taking hours of hand sanding to remove. SO I guess the next question is, does anyone have any suggestions as to how to make this work better. And of course what is your "One Spot"

Thanks
Steve
 
When I am finishing the transitions on handles I use a trick garnered from Nick Wheeler. I have a group of belts of various widths from 1/4" wide up to 1 1/4" in several grits. These belts have not been used on steel or any metal (causes stains in the wood/horn). This helps me with blending when used slack belting. Care must be taken because narrow belts do not track well, pressure on them will move them around on the wheels. But the light touch required is really what I need when blending anyway. YMMV Jess
 
I use a black and decker power file. It's great for tight areas.
 
I have trouble with the spot between the tip and the buttcap.:D Seriously though I have trouble with plunges but not at the edge. I can line them up at the edge perfectly but sometimes they are a tad off at the shoulder/spine area. I just bought a carbide guide from Bruce and I'm hoping that will clear things up. So far it definitely has.
 
For me, its that little spot between the left and right ears.

While I'm still new at this game, I've ground a bunch of blades - at least enough to understand some of the benefits of free-hand grinding over jig-assisted. That free-hand grinding is faster, way more versatile, and(for some parts of the process) more accurate, and so on. Yet, I have a mental block on giving it a serious go. I grind with a jig, and I'm getting pretty good with it. But, I use one mostly because I've had long time issues with my left arm, and I've convinced myself that I am unable to physically "get it" when it comes to free-hand. I've tried a few times to do a free-hand hollow grind and merely succeeded in adding to the "drawer of shame"..... a needless waste of good steel.

So, that's my spot....the fear of failure and regression, and getting over a mental hurdle.

-Peter
 
Plunges, for sure. Slipjoints, particularly getting the snap closed to be equal to the snap open and half stop, and also getting the darn tip to lay centered when the knife is closed. Your little PITA spot under the guard is tricky sometimes as well. I've changed almost all my designs so that I can catch that spot with a small wheel.
 
The entire process. =(

I'm just now getting semi decent at freehanding in that my edges are now slightly sharper then some factorymades-but I always mess up the tip ruining the point, the termination points are nowhere as even as I'd like (I'm trying to teach myself how to get a large radius on them for better aethestics and less chance of stress during HT) and there are nearly always gaps at the front and end of the handles.

I still haven't determined what is causing the later problem as I'm careful to not slide the knife/material off the sanding surface and I also check for flatness after HT to make sure there's no warps.
 
Lone
Can you explain what you mean by "gaps at the front and end of the handles" maybe someone else will have a solution for you.
Steve
 
Lone Fortress said:
The entire process. =(

I'm just now getting semi decent at freehanding in that my edges are now slightly sharper then some factorymades-but I always mess up the tip ruining the point, the termination points are nowhere as even as I'd like (I'm trying to teach myself how to get a large radius on them for better aethestics and less chance of stress during HT) and there are nearly always gaps at the front and end of the handles.

I still haven't determined what is causing the later problem as I'm careful to not slide the knife/material off the sanding surface and I also check for flatness after HT to make sure there's no warps.
Click to expand...


Are you using the flat platen to true up the scales and are getting gaps on the narrow dimension of the scales?
 
I'm having to rely on drawfiling and handsanding as I don't have a belt grinder or disc sander. The most siginificant gap starts at the upper corner near the ricasso and runs about the lenght of the entire handle (the gap itself is visible for about a inch then a unsightly glue line the rest of the way), the bottom, back and the other scale is fine. A gap on another knife is at the upper corner at the back-although this one is much less severe as I had to actually look for it.
 
For me, "that one little spot" tends to move around constantly, typically uncovering itself right as I cover its previous location. :D
 
LOne
From what you have said I would guess that either your steel or your handle material or both have a bit of rounding near the edges. Your pieces may be very flat and not warped but depending on how you are doing your sanding a bit of rounding near the edge is common. Have you tried glueing a piece of glass to a board, then taping a piece of sandpaper to the glass. This should get you true flats to work with. As for the glue line it may be the same issue or else you need to clamp the piece a bit tighter. I tend to use old vise grips for clamps. Not too tight or you squeeze all the glue out but with enough pressure that the glue line disappears.
Hope that helps.
Steve
 
I've been using a plastic clamp which I figure has enough pressure, but I only use one so that's probably part of the problem. I'll probably get more of them and try using glass as a surface instead of the barstock next time.
 
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