Want To Make a Hunting Knife

B

bower4311

Joined
Jul 1, 2009
Messages
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I got this blade on ebay for about 12 bucks shipped, http://premiumknifesupply.com/Detail.bok?no=89

My dad has many woodworking tools and various woods. I was wondering which wood to choose, he has oak, maple, cherry, walnut, and I'm sure more.

Second, do you need a piece of something to go inbetween the wooden handle and the tang?

Must you epoxy the tang to the wood, or other material or will the brass pins be tight enough? Its my first one, so I really don't want to epoxy it unless I have to.

Anything else I should be aware of?

Thank you for your time, sorry I don't know that much and I find a lot of different information out there.
 
I do both, the epoxy creates a water/weatherproof barrier between the scales and the steel to keep it from rusting. and the pins look good too. Also it's just that much more protection to keep the scales afixed should something tragic happen.

Jason
 
Scales would be a material placed between the tang and the wood? What do you suggest for that?

Also, suggestions on glue, or should I go to glue wars?

What do you mean tragic?
 
bower4311 said:
Scales would be a material placed between the tang and the wood? What do you suggest for that?

Also, suggestions on glue, or should I go to glue wars?

What do you mean tragic?
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Scales are the actual handle. There is a slab of material, be it wood or whatever, on each side of the tang, hence "scales".

Epoxy works well to glue them up, so does Gorilla glue. Basically, the glue holds the scales to the tang and the pins keep them from shearing off if they get hit, which is what is meant by something "tragic".
 
Any of those you mentioned are acceptable. Just pick whichever one you want and go to town. Oak is going to suck up a lot of blood, though.
 
You should look into Corby Bolts for pins, they just make more sense IMO.:thumbup:
 
If my brass pins are protruding will they hurt my belt sander to sand them down, or is brass soft enough?

How do you suggest making them flush?
 
Brass should not hurt your sander. I don't know what sander you have but it would likely be able to sand stainless steel pins or thong tubes as well.
 
Bower,
This knife blade came from the same place. You should fill out your profile so all the good folks here have an idea who you are. For handle shaping and pin finishing a file and a rasp will take you along way. Cutting your pins down (hacksaw) then filing flush with wood then hand sanding with sand paper will get you a very professional end result. The belt sander will work well for grinding down pins however use a coarse sharp belt and very light touches at a time to keep down heat. It is very easy to get the pin hot enough to scorch the wood surrounding the pin leaving you with a dark ring of burnt wood around the pin. A file will cut brass pretty quickly and that is how I do it. Good luck with your project ! Just so you know the knife I made took a VERY sharp edge ! I was pretty happy with it.

-Josh




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Thanks for the help, I'll get around to filling out my profile, once I make my first one I'll get up some pictures.

I'm thinking about drilling my own hole for a lanyard in the tang, should I be able to drill through it pretty easily or will it be difficult?
 
I seriously wouldn't recommend trying to drill hardened 440C. It will just laugh at regular bits. If you insist on drilling it, use solid carbide bits, and start small, say 1/8", and work your way up to the desired size.
 
I think it is good to see some of the relatively new faces here dispensing such good information in this kind of thread. It keeps the old timers (like Stacy) from going nuts repeating themselves. I'm still paying my dues too. So here goes:

Drilling a finished blade is dangerous because it is not uncommon for the bit to bind (especially during the exit) and swing the blade like a helicopter, slicing the hell out of your hands. It can be done safely by properly clamping the blade down on a drill press.

Drilling hardened steel has been gone over numerous times, so I won't go into details, but if you search the forum (use google), there is a lot of information out there. It will require carbide, which may exceed the cost of that blade, a rigid setup, and proper speeds and feeds. Otherwise, carbide is usually not very forgiving and mistakes are pricy.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
I think it is good to see some of the relatively new faces here dispensing such good information in this kind of thread. It keeps the old timers (like Stacy) from going nuts repeating themselves.
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That's what I was thinking. Hope I don't come off as a know-it-all. :foot: Just trying to help, as so many others have helped me. :)

Nathan the Machinist said:
It can be done safely by properly clamping the blade down on a drill press.
Click to expand...

Sorry I forgot to mention that. :o It can be a pain to align and clamp for each hole, but if the bit binds, it's better to break a bit than have a bar of steel (especially a sharp one) whipping around.
 
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