What am I doing wrong?

Well, I probably ruined my knife. First of all the Vana Lay drill press is sort of crummy and doesn't track straight down. Second, if there is any tendency to slew then the spade bit amplifies it. Thirdly, because I had everything taped and because the clamps necessary to secure the blade blocked the light so I couldn't see, the spade bit slewed as it went down and the cut ended up being in the wrong place. I tried to do it over, but the bit still slewed so badly I couldn't get a straight cut, and I probably never will. I don't know how to fix it or even make it passable since I no longer have any confidence in the machinery. There is just too much slop in it to work with any very hard material. It probably works with wood and G10, or perhaps even soft metal, but hard metal was a waste, or worse than a wasted. The only thing I can think of to do is to turn it over and start from the other side and hope it matches up or is at least symmetrical, but working with this material is MUCH harder than I thought it would be.
 
Have you tried the diamond files yet? It might take forever and a day but it sounds like the work is salvageable.
 
Bo T said:
Have you tried the diamond files yet? It might take forever and a day but it sounds like the work is salvageable.
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I'm trying to see if I can drill from the other side, but stopped to sharpen the bit. After I get it through I may use a file or I might just use the small grinder attachment very carefully to even things out. I put a hole in the drill press table so I can drop the thumb stud in it and get the blade flat without hanging it off the edge. That seems to be more stable, but I'm waiting until my housemate leaves before doing any grinding because it makes a lot of noise and she's really nosy. If I can't finish the hole I might try to use the diamond file or something. I should have tried this on a cheaper knife first.
 
use a cut off wheel on your dremel and gouge into where you want and just work at it with the cut off in small increments until you get it close to what you want and use a round file to clean it up once the clean up is done wrap some sand paper on the round file and smooth it to finish.
 
you've been way over thinking it. the wave is pretty easy to accomplish the way i described. there are some youtube videos about doing it like i said to use as a visual. this one is pretty close just visualize a hole being there already since you will make it with a file after you get it cut.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXYYU3se7JI
 
I should have used the cutoff method, but at least I eventually got it evened out. I'd have preferred a smaller notch but had to remove more material after I drilled from the other side, to even it up. But it looks pretty good and opens very nicely. I will also probably replace the deep carry pocket clip since it doesn't make much sense to use with the wave. I gather you can just substitute the XM Hinderer clip. Thanks for the advice!
 
IMG00029-20130702-2028[1].jpgIMG00030-20130702-2032[1].jpg This is how it turned out. Definitely not ruined. The notch ended up being bigger than I originally intended but I think it came out OK and it works quite well. If I ever do this again I'll make a cut and then grind it out rather than drill it.
 
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