tips for handle making

The 3 C's Contour, Contour, Contour... Make it as round as you can, like you squeezed a hot piece of wax into your hand.
 
I know it seems like I'm being a smart ass but thats about all I can tell you really. Handle shape is very subjective. Some people swear by a big square blocky handle like strider folders have and others want a thin delicate handle like a scalpel. Then there's coffin handled bowies and tapered handles like a carving knife. You just have to start grinding away and see what feels good to you.
One thing is that you should always use handle stock a little oversized so you've got room to work. Sometimes 1/8" thick scales just don't give you the room to put all the curves in that you want. But sometimes 1/4" thick scales are too much being ground off and wasted.
I guess the best thing to do is find a couple knives you like, take note of how thick the handles are, how long etc. And try to put all their best qualities into the knife your making.
The simplified version of all this really is just "grind off whatever hurts and polish it" though :D
 
Take a 6" roll of firm clay and start shaping it to a handle shape.Stick a chop stick through it lengthwise so a couple inches stick out each end.Squeeze it to mold in your finger grooves if you want them (I use them on my large kniges).Smooth out the rough spots and trim the ends until it is like a finished handle.Keep "FEELILN' it until it fits your hand and is smooth all over(NOTE to IG - Don't go there!)..Set it on some sort of a cradle so you don't flatten it (a shoe box is perfect).Let it harden,and use it as a pattern to grind your wood by.It really is best to know what you want to remove before you grind it off the handle(you can trim up the dried clay with sand paper if it needs adjusting).REMEMBER - you can always sand off a little more,start fat and sand towards final shape.DON'T hog off too much wood to start with!
 
Cindy Denning said:
you are using a bandsaw and grinder on it?
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I have a 6 x 36 grinder with a 6 inch disc i believe. I have a 1x 42 and a 2 x 60. soon we will have a wilton square wheel. we also have a bandsaw.
 
I'm new to knife making,... but after using a bandsaw to cut the over-hanging material to the shape of the blade I used a Dremel tool with the little sanding drum to rough out the shape until it felt comfortable in my hand. Then used 220, 600, 1000 sandpaper on a rubber sanding block to smooth things out.
I liked the control I had using the Dremel.

Kraig
www.sedergraphics.com
 
sedergraphics said:
I'm new to knife making,... but after using a bandsaw to cut the over-hanging material to the shape of the blade I used a Dremel tool with the little sanding drum to rough out the shape.................
I liked the control I had using the Dremel.
Click to expand...


You would have better control using rasps, and files of various shapes, then sandpaper.
You would be surprised at how fast that goes. :eek:
 
What Matt said is good advice, the Wilton wheel is a must have. Why doe's this thread sound like a Seinfeild episode! Kramer? George? Jerry? :D
 
Cindy Denning said:
What Matt said is good advice, the Wilton wheel is a must have. Why doe's this thread sound like a Seinfeild episode! Kramer? George? Jerry? :D
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George who??????? :confused: :confused: :confused: :D :D :D
 
Mike Hull wrote:
You would have better control using rasps, and files of various shapes, then sandpaper.
Click to expand...

I agree with Mike's thoughts. I find things go waay better if I just turn all the power tools OFF when doing the handle shaping process. :eek: I wasted a lot of perfectly good wood before coming to this somewhat obvious conclusion. :rolleyes:

Also, welcome to the forums, paintbfreak 1325! :D
 
hey give that fimo clay a try. once you work it its pretty nice and easy to move then you can bake it and it'll firm up. some guys also use it for figureing out patterns in damascus. fold it and lfatten it and manipulate it any way you wnat then you can bake it in the oven and its supposedto grind pretty easy. not sure i havent ground any. but i think that would be nice for making models for handles.
 
What style/length knife are you making? :confused:
Handle shape truly depends on what it's intended use is.
If it's a small utility the handle needs to feel comfortable just about any way you hold it...If it's a big cutter, the handle needs to look into your grip without movement. Antique reproductions need to follow the original design regardless of comforts.

I guess I just dumped out a bag of worms on this one? :rolleyes:


Dale Baxter
www.baxterknives.com
 
For comfort a handle has to have several things.1) It has to flow smoothly from handle to blade.- make sure the handle lines up with the back of the blade.2) It has to be smoothly curved.Don't just round off a square or rectangle.It should be slightly wider in the top than the bottom - sort of an egg shape cross section.3) The butt should drop slightly to avoid it digging into the heel of the hand.4) It needs to fit the knife and its use. - A beautiful elk crown handle would not work on a fillet knife.5) It needs to fit the users hand.Easy to decide if you are the user.Get hand measurements from customers.Make "for sale" knives in a slight variety of handle sizes so people can find one that 'Fits',and don't forget that ladies buy knives,too.6) Surface needs to be smooth enough to hold without abrading the palm,but have enough grip to avoid slipping.Finger grooves and palm shape are a must in big knives and fighters.The handle material has a lot to do with grip.(UHMW is cheap ,easy to work,and would make nearly indestructable handles.Unfortunatly it would be a B!t@h to hold on to!) Choose material according to the use and style.
 
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