Recommendation? Which files for spiral flutes?

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SLC_Blades

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Aug 20, 2018
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Hey everyone, I’ll be attempting to do a spiral fluted dagger handle relatively soon and am looking for some advice. I’ve done a lot of research up to this point and everything I’ve found discusses doing a proper layout and not the actual filing. Before I take this on, I’d like some recommendations for types of files that work well for this style of flutes (making the initial cut, widening the flutes, creating a smooth transition to the end of the handle).

Additionally, are there any things I should be aware of when filing that may not be immediately apparent? I.e. easy mistakes to make that would result in the handle being ruined Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
whatever you do i will suggest trying it on a piece of wood before trying the actual handle material :)
 
Good timing, I just started one myself.
Did you look at the three part Steve Culver tutorial?
He covers it pretty well. Google spiral fluting dagger.
I did a pair in African blackwood a couple years ago. I didn't really run into any trouble with the filing. I started with a small triangular file to get the lines going and then switched to round chainsaw files.
I'm doing interior mammoth tusk right now.
 
Richard338 said:
Good timing, I just started one myself.
Did you look at the three part Steve Culver tutorial?
He covers it pretty well. Google spiral fluting dagger.
I did a pair in African blackwood a couple years ago. I didn't really run into any trouble with the filing. I started with a small triangular file to get the lines going and then switched to round chainsaw files.
I'm doing interior mammoth tusk right now.
Click to expand...
Ow, reading that hurt me right in the wallet. I’ll check that out right now, thank you.
 
Couple more comments.
You can buy gold filled wire from Rio grande that looks the same and is much cheaper than pure gold wire. It's a bit stronger too.
The most difficult part for me following the Culver tutorial was getting the wire laid down tight and well secured. If you look through Coops gallery you will see many variations of the wire attachments. I suggest finding one you like and doing a trial run. It is stressful to start running into problems after you have put the time into filing the flutes...
 
Richard338 said:
Couple more comments.
You can buy gold filled wire from Rio grande that looks the same and is much cheaper than pure gold wire. It's a bit stronger too.
The most difficult part for me following the Culver tutorial was getting the wire laid down tight and well secured. If you look through Coops gallery you will see many variations of the wire attachments. I suggest finding one you like and doing a trial run. It is stressful to start running into problems after you have put the time into filing the flutes...
Click to expand...
I can only imagine. I’ve watched Kyle Royer’s tutorial on YouTube in which he details how to secure the twisted wires— I feel like I understand about 85% of it. From what I’ve gathered, he files in shallow grooves in the top and bottom of the handle material that connect to the grooves filed on the sides. These shallow grooves have small holes drilled at the end of them— these holes actually break through into the pocket for the tang. I’m a little fuzzy after that point because Royer then mentions physically “hooking” the ends of the wires onto something. I don’t know what it is that he’s hooking them onto, and I’m not quite sure why the small holes need to break through into the tang pocket.

My plan was to follow this method (for the most part) with some slight variation. Instead of drilling through into the tang pocket, I’ll drill straight down, stick the end of the wire in, then put some superglue on the end of a toothpick and hammer it into the hole to keep the wire down (the top of the toothpick will obviously be trimmed flush). This sounds like it would work to me, especially with the additional compression of the pommel and spacer. But hey, what do I know, I’ve never done it.
 
What you are describing is a lot like the Culver tutorial. It looks straightforward but is the step where I had a little trouble.
Please post some pics if you get it to work.
 
Richard338 said:
What you are describing is a lot like the Culver tutorial. It looks straightforward but is the step where I had a little trouble.
Please post some pics if you get it to work.
Click to expand...
I will! Very big “if”, though. I’m taking on this project to truly challenge myself and hopefully learn a lot along the way, but it’s definitely an overly ambitious build for where I’m currently at (been making knives for just under a year). I’m fully expecting many of the components to take a couple tries, but I’ll keep at it until I get it.
 
I did mine a couple years ago when I was very new also. Definitely a bit ambitious at the time.
I think I have improved enough now to try it again. This time it will be with mammoth tusk and a nice piece of Devin Thomas damascus.
I found an old image of the pair in a display box.
H8RSXPg.jpg
 
Thanks. Although the handles do swell slightly in the middle, the appearance is pretty straight. This time I will make it more dramatic.
 
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