WIP - Loveless Style Hunter by Erik Boese

NickWheeler said:
This is great! Looks like it's coming along very well! :D

FWIW- It's MUCH easier to fit the guard and THEN shape it. If you fit the guard, then you can use your ricasso as a foundation to lay-out your guard... to ensure it's symmetrical off each side and such. It's also much easier to fixture a rectangular piece of material for drilling / milling / filing... than a rounded one.

I used to do it this way as well, but looking back, it's akin to building a house and then trying to set it on a foundation. It's easier to start from the ground up. IMHO :)

Just some free advice, and we know what that's worth :D ;)
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First of all, which are you having printed, "I'm a jerk a$$" or "I'm a know-it-all knife god"? I'd buy the former, the latter would just be a lie about both of us...I think...or maybe I really am. Maybe I should take a poll.... :D

Secondly, yes, that is usually how I do it to, but since the blade was at HT for so long and I was bored, I just wanted to do something. HOWEVER, not sure how it'll work out. I have plenty of excess to shape out but I'm very conscious of the difficulty of keeping the symmetry. We'll see. Worst case I do up another stack but I don't want to think about that right now :barf:
 
NickWheeler said:
I'll have you know Mr. Burgess, I'm having that printed up on a T-shirt!!!! :D :p
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"Just being good is not enough....... when you're a jerk a$$ knife god. Nick Wheeler Custom Knives" That'd be freaking AWESOME on a tee shirt. I take paypal for royalties so the wife doesn't see the money :D

Erik, I haven't posted because I'm just waiting.... and waiting and waiting. It looks great and I'm enjoying a great looking knife come together.
 
Yea, yea, I know. Dang part time makers take forever to complete anything. :D I have Monday and Tuesday off so I may actually get this thing close to finish by then. I'm as anxious as you! Been in training the last week and a half and haven't had any decent shop time. :grumpy:
 
I wanna be a jerk-a$$ knife god when I grow up! :D

Will Leavitt said:
"Just being good is not enough....... when you're a jerk a$$ knife god. Nick Wheeler Custom Knives" That'd be freaking AWESOME on a tee shirt.
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Will, I agree 100%, I'd sport one. Funniest dialog I've read in a long time :)

Back to work TekSec! Like everyone else, I'm really looking forward to seeing this project completed. You're doing a fantastic job on the WIP, thank you very kindly for all the extra work you put in.
 
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Alright, finally got some real shop time today! :D

Here's how the knife came back from Peters'. Pretty darn nasty but at least not black like the O-1 I usually use.
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I started out by elongating the guard slot a little using the 3/32" mill bit.
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I set the guard into the 1-2-3 blocks just as a guide to keep the side even. I chose the first side to start filing because it was chewed up a little more than the other.
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I tapered the tang slightly to get the initial start for the guard to slip over when I do the press (hammer it home) fit.
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After filing a little, I tested the tang. Slipped in about a 1/2" so we're getting there.
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I finished one side and cleaned up the other just enough so it was smoothed out. This is where I stop.
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I set up the 1-2-3 blocks again in the vise with the tang in between. I tighten up the vise just enough so the tang is still loose but not going to flop around.
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I take some scrap wood and set it on the tip of the blade. Then give it a couple of solid whacks with a 4 lb. dead blow hammer.
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I then change the blade orientation like this and give it some more whacks.
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As you can see, the blade is pretty solid.
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Here is the fit when I'm done. Not perfect, but I'll fine tune it as I progress.
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I test the fit with the frame and guard and ground the frame maybe 1/8" off where it butts up to the guard just to get a nice tight fit.
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I then rough out the guard shape with a Sharpie.
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And just rough it out a little on the grinder using a 60 grit.
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I shaped down the guard just a little and gave the lip a little curve.
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I just got some new Norton Black Ice paper. Bought 220, 400, 600 and 800 so I thought I'd try it out. From what I can tell it lasts a long time however it does seem a bit more fragile than the Klingspor I usually use.
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Here's my new hand sanding setup I made last week. Just a quick clamp and some angle aluminum but it seems to work pretty darn good :D
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Here's the blade at 400 grit.
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I won't bore you with a bunch of hand sanding pics but here's it is at 800 grit with the Black Ice. Mind you, this is just wiped off with my t-shirt and not buffed. Pretty nice paper and gives a nice finish.
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Had a slight incident involving the blow torch and solder...needless to say, at least for this one, the guard will be attached via JB Weld. Apparently being as I laminated the guard pieces with solder, re-heating it to solder it to the blade was not a wise choice. Silly me. I fixed the guard though so I'll be back on track tomorrow. :D
 
Cool thread Erik!
This is going to be a really well made knife with your methods. I cant wait to see the finished piece.
 
Damn, Erik! Did you throw that blade into the salt water bucket, drizzle acid on it, and then toss it in the humidor since you last posted? ;) Upon closer inspection, is that just oxidation from tempering and shop lighting?

Looking good! Great hand finish there.

--nathan
 
silver_pilate said:
Damn, Erik! Did you throw that blade into the salt water bucket, drizzle acid on it, and then toss it in the humidor since you last posted? ;) Upon closer inspection, is that just oxidation from tempering and shop lighting?
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I think it may have been caused by soaking it at 1950° for 30 min then quenched with N2 down to room temperature and then cryo'ed at -300° for 4 hours. If that didn't do it, then the 2 or 3 cycles of 980-1020° tempering may have done it. :confused::rolleyes:
At least that's what Peters' told me they did. Hope they didn't follow your method :D
 
I really appreciate these kinds of threads, thanks for posting it.

I'm getting ready to start my first guard, and I've been trying to figure out how to shape it. Do you happen to have any pics of how you do this on the grinder (post #69 above?)
 
Unfortunately the wife wasn't around to snap any shots, but I just do it free hand. to get the inside "choil" lip, I run the belt off the platen about a 1/4" and lightly press the piece into it just taking off a little bit at a time. I check after each time to see if I need to roll it one way or the other. The upper blade side I set the flat of the guard on the platen lightly and roll it down towards the lower lip to get that curve. Apply more pressure as you roll to take off more than you do on the flat. After 400 grit, the rest is by hand just sanding with your fingers. Stay off the flat with your finger sanding because you have the possibility of indenting it unevenly. Use a flat service with the paper laying on it to do the flats. Most of it is just by eye. Grind, check for evenness, grind some more.
 
Thanks Erik, and I'm wondering if you would mind clarifying a couple of things:

-By inside 'choil' lip, do you mean the bottom end of the guard, side towards the handle?

-By upper blade side, do you still refer to the bottom end of the guard, but the side facing the edge?

-These both I assume are done with the guard off the knife, and if so, just held carefully by your fingers?

Thanks much!
 
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