wire inlay

[garrisonknives]

I've been wanting to do wire inlay for awhile, but cutting out the grooves by hand seems really hard. So I came up with this idea. What if you took the scale and cut the pattern using a scroll saw before attaching it to the tang? Then maybe you could push the wire into the cut left by the saw. Then flip over the scale and pour epoxy into the grooves from the back side to hold in the wire.and fill the hole. Does this sound like it would work or am I just being lazy?

 

[Shakudo]

sounds like at least 3 times more work than doing it by hand.maybe you aren't using the right tools and need a little classroom time.

 

[Mace]

For wire inlay you don't really "cut" a groove by removing material. You are just seperating the grain...the wood needs to swell back up around the wire.
Mace

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

There are several reasons that won't work.Shakudo pointed out the best one.The tool you use is a thin push blade,like a very thin screwdriver (one hacksaw blade will provide material for a whole set of them).It separates the wood along the drawn lines.After the wire is tapped in and sanded smooth,the wire is tight,and the "cut" is invisible.Once you learn to "walk" the cutter along the line it goes quite fast.