The "Gunflint" Bowie

GREAT WIP Karl. I'm looking forward to seeing the result.

Thanks for taking the time to post everything.

Peter
 
NickWheeler said:
Looks like we do a lot of things quite similar Karl!
Thanks for putting this together. :)
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(Think it's because it makes sense?)
Most of everything I do was showed to me by Jerry Rados. I can only take credit for the WAY I do it.

Heck, as far as the threaded tang assembly method goes, swords have been being built that way for, well, a long time.
I have a WW II Bayonet that looks almost exactly like one of my knives taken apart.
Do you think our military would give our GIs equipment that was doomed for failure?

Anyway, Yes - that was two winters ago over at Butch Sheely's house. Dan Cassidy, Pete Crowl, Brian Thie and myself were there when Kevin showed us how to get everything aligned.
Soon as I got home I bought a bigger granite plate -at the time, I only had one large enough for a sheet of sandpaper - and a height gauge and started scribing and marking centers on everything.
Makes a huge difference.
Seems like everything I do these days is practice for "The Dagger".
 
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Mike Quesenberry said:
So what's the brand of belt? I burn through mine like crazy. Thanks for doing this, Karl.
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Mike, I don't know. There's no print on it anymore.
Point is, I do very little belt work on any of my handles - it's almost all done with the correct files.
Any belt would work - it's a 36 grit.

Gary Mulkey had me do a handle shaping demo at his first Branson hammer-in three (4?) years ago, and even by then, I had had that Cabinet maker's rasp for a few years. Even though they cost over 50 bucks, I think it's paid for itself quite well when you consider the $$ I've saved on belts - not to mention shop dust, etc.
 
I love these threads. This, in particular, is filled with good info and visuals.

Karl, you write very clearly. Another skill.

Coop
 
NickWheeler said:
......I came up with it a few years ago based on how I mark my blade centers with a height gauge and thought I'd really come up with something.
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Nick, I take it back - I must have got that idea from you. I looked over my notes from the Dagger weekend with Kevin and I had note on the center line around the blade with the height gauge, but there was no mention of the block-holder-thing to center the handle.
Did you show that somewhere?
If so, your giz-wiz status remains.
It works great no matter where I got it.
 
Haha, I wasn't trying to take credit for it. I just figured it was one more thing that somebody else came up with long before I fumbled into it. :foot: :D Especially since Kevin is light years ahead of me with everything else! :eek: :)
 
A couple more pictures of how nice it is to work with files. After the Cabinet rasp, I switch to finer 1/2 round/flat files of two different teeth configurations and things are so easily controlled it's almost fun to do it.

I just keep gradually working toward the guard, and letting that predetermined shape guide me.
I built that vise station out in the middle of the room so I could attack my handles from all sides. I built that knife vise so it sits on my sanding bench, and I can quickly remove it to the vise station as well. It's really easy to see the knife from all directions when it can move infinitely.

CGa-1.jpg


CGb-1.jpg


CGc-1.jpg


CGf-1.jpg


Notice the pile of Blackwood on the floor at my feet - it's not dust! It's chunks of wood.
That file digs it off in a hurry.

CGd-1.jpg


CGe-1.jpg
 
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Now I can focus a little bit on that guard.

CGh-1.jpg


CGg-1.jpg


It's nice to be able to work on parts independent of the whole:

CGn-1.jpg


I wanted to clean up the butt some and thought it looked cool polished in contrast to the remainder:

CGk-1.jpg


I took the handle to a 2000 grit and a quick buff - this really accentuates any latent filing/sanding marks:

CGl-1.jpg


CGm-1.jpg
 
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The knife is actually done at this point in time - not in these photos - but as I post these photos.
I'll do the final photos sometime tomorrow.
Here's how she looked when all shaping was done:

CGi-1.jpg


CGj-1.jpg
 
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Tomorrow I will go through a quick run-through of the creation of the finial and finalizing the guard, but until then, here's a little preview:

CHa-1.jpg
 
Brilliant work, appreciate the time taken to get some pics and explain the work going into this knife.
 
Great post Karl. I have loved you take downs for a long time. This is very informative thanks so much for taking the time to do it. Great job. Looks like you are well on the way to finishing THE "DAGGER". Maybe another WIP eh.
 
THANKS soooooooo much for all this Karl! I have slowly been getting more and more of an understanding of how you do your take downs from your various threads over the years. I guess part of the reason I'm so slow in getting it is that I haven't the shop experience as a solid base line to understand some of the moves. For instance...

Karl B. Andersen said:
I then give the guard a better shape:

CFe-1.jpg


And have pinned it to the handle with .625" stainless dowel pins:

CFf-1.jpg
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I have difficulty imagining how to drill for the pins to line everything up spot on. It seems like it would be easy to drill the guard as it is flat with two opposing parallel surface for the front and back sides so drilling would be exactly perpendicular, but how do you line up the handle and drill it? It is already not just a square rectangular block so clamping it up so the drilled holes would be exactly square and exactly in the same lines as the drilled holes on the guard would be hit and miss for me. Also, what size drill bit do you use for what size rod stock?

Thanks again!!!!
 
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