WIP - charity raffle knife

[cbr900son]

Normally I don't post too many WIP as there are sooo many great makers here that my work can't come close to anything they do but with a lot of new threads about first knives maybe I can do what others have and share so someone might pick up a tip or two! I would love to hear any criticism also since it helps me learn or look at something differently.

First of all this is a knife for the Acadiana Civitan Club who work with and a lot of the members are mentally handicapped tho after meeting a lot of them over the years I just say they are different and amazing in their own way!!! They do a lot with the special olympics and just so much more. They have a trivia/dinner night event with a auction on a lot of items and I thought this would be nice if it brings them more $ and it is something I love doing.

So I started off with 0.26" 1095 from Aldo. the smaller one is also a little edc I was grinding for fun and to try some things out.

Newbie tip leave a little extra on the tip so when your sanding etc you dont round off the end and have a nice pointy tip later on.
Newbie tip Feel free to use a dry erase marker to draw and get a idea how you want the grind lines and handle and pins to be. Can always go back and mark with something more permanent

Bevels rough ground with a 36 grit belt.

Newbie tip A lot of newer makers prefer less agressive belts like a 60 grit instead of a 26 till they are more comfortable. If you make a mistake with a agressive belt it will be a lot deeper/more damaging then going a little slower with a less agressive belt

Im going to taper the tang so I mark the end with blue machinist layout dye and where I want the final grind to be at then grind a "trough" down the blade that deep. Tapering a tang changes the weight and feel of a knife especially this thick in a very good way!

Next I grind the tang flat on the grinder with more pressure toward the end to where I have a flat surface for scales later on and a nice taper going on. It goes from 0.26" to 0.8". I love a thin taper!

I use this jig as a sanding jig and later on for handle fitting. It is machined out of 3/4" thick aluminum on the mill.

 

[cbr900son]

Wood came in a few days later. Stabalized amboyana burl! (PS i found a new fav wood to add to the list!)

1/4" Mosaic pins!

This is anti-scale compound. Cheap when you consider a 25$ container can coat like 100 blades and makes post ht clean up soooo easy.

Newbie tip sand up to at least a CLEAN 220 grit before HT. It will save you work afterwards.

Newbie tip if using this anti scale compound it wants to pool up like water drops when applied so I take a little hand help torch and heat the knife for a couple secs max (hot to touch but not burn yourself hot) and it applies perfectly with a cheap sponge brush

DONT TRY THIS AT HOME!!!! I did this to show a gun forum a warning. At high heat like this any closer literally burns (imagine the heat from your 400 degree oven when you open it!. I couldn't get any closer then this with my cell comfortably. Imagine all fires and forges like that too. Better safe the sorry!!!

After heat treat I started hand sanding. Will sand up to 2000 grit then buff. Also while sanding I didn't like the straight grind line so I blended it in and honestly think it works better. witht he look of the knife!

Thin black liner epoxied to wood scales.

Newbie tip I use a polished granit slab to lay a piece of sandpaper on to make sure my scales are perfectly flat. This will leave no gaps when against the tang.

To drill a tapered tang takes more work. Remeber the sanding jig? Well the main use for it. This block is machined flat on all sides and tapped with holes for these screws.

General idea of how it works.

Newbie tip Tape a blade after sanding to save yourself from scratches. Some people use leather strips etc in vices also.

This might explain a little about the geometry problems with a tapered tang

No pic of this but I drill just undersized of the pin size then use a reamer for a perfect fit.

After I have my holes drilled I take some pin stock the same size as the holes and put the scales togther so I can sand and finish the tops.

Newbie tip Sand and finish the top because once it is epoxied on you will scratch your blade tryign to work on it.

Small dimples will help the epoxy get a better hold on the scales.

This is probably the hardest thing to explain but a lot of new makers struggle with this for a while. HANDLE SHAPING! You don't want blocky handles. Its ok to get thinner in some areas and round is a great shape when thinking about handles! Sharp lines can be uncomfortable and tear up the hand after long use.

Here you can start to see the liner and taper and rough shaping of the handle.

Now i will clean it up with files and start sanding and smoothing things out as I shape it up.

 

[cbr900son]

Started filing the handle down. Will do some mroe shaping and post pics to get some opinions on it.

 

[Hengelo_77]

nice one

 

[cbr900son]

Sanded to about 1000 grit. Will take it to 2000 then wax and a light buff shoudl do the trick. Sorry for bad cell pics.

 

[cbr900son]

Man I love this wood. Pics really don't do it justice. The handle has been sanded buffed and waxed up all nice and pretty. Ignore my oily fingerprints all over the blade lol.

Will work on the sheath this weekend. Leaning toward black leather with a inlay of a piece of the same block of wood. Will draw it up and see how it goes this weekend.

 

[rbaker11]

Good job. Its beautiful