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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
WWIII Handles now in production
- Thread starter old_engineer
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 22, 1999
- Messages
- 67
Hello all,
I was going to wait until Monday to post, but I can see you're getting anxious. Here's the status of the 1st 6, which will be bead blasted with bead blasted handles in black and green:
All 6 (3 black, 3 green) are ready to begin the handle shaping process. This means that all are cut out in rough form, "scribed" to the approximate cross section of the individual tangs, drilled for the pins and thong tube, and pinned in place temporarily with wood dowels.
The process will involve paring the handle's edge contours down to the contour of the individual tangs, and grinding the forward finger recess in the tangs. At this point, the fit around the edge of the individual handle slabs will be "refined" somewhat. The handle slabs will then be shaped while mounted on the tang. 320 grit belts will be as fine as the bead blasted knives have to go. We'll see how fine we can go on the polished batch that I'll do next.
There is an awful lot of yellow brazing stuff on these blades (there wasn't on the prototype). Any that extends out beyond the handles has to be gently sanded off, otherwise the area won't take the blueing. Some of the blades have brazing stuff in the groove at the top of the blade. This will have to be removed. The sanded areas have to be blended in with the rest of the blade. The polished blades will take a fair amount of effort. This is something that I didn't see coming. I'm glad that after the 1st 40, we won't have to deal with the ferrules.
I'm hoping to get this done in the next 2 days, but it will be tight. If I finish early enough on Friday, I will take the first 6 to the finisher. If not Friday, I hope Monday.
When the blades come back, I will fasten the handles with pins and color matched epoxy.
I've mentioned some of the problems which had to be solved. There are other concerns, but we'll solve them as they pop up. One thing worth mentioning is that it is nearly impossible to scribe anything like a perfect fit between the handles and the tang. Many of you have other examples of these knives, so you can appreciate the "INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER" of each forging. The color matching of the epoxy will be critical to the appearence of the final product. I will be using ground up artist's pastels to color the epoxy. Keep your fingers crossed.
I'll post photos when I have them.
Thanks,
Bob Couture
I was going to wait until Monday to post, but I can see you're getting anxious. Here's the status of the 1st 6, which will be bead blasted with bead blasted handles in black and green:
All 6 (3 black, 3 green) are ready to begin the handle shaping process. This means that all are cut out in rough form, "scribed" to the approximate cross section of the individual tangs, drilled for the pins and thong tube, and pinned in place temporarily with wood dowels.
The process will involve paring the handle's edge contours down to the contour of the individual tangs, and grinding the forward finger recess in the tangs. At this point, the fit around the edge of the individual handle slabs will be "refined" somewhat. The handle slabs will then be shaped while mounted on the tang. 320 grit belts will be as fine as the bead blasted knives have to go. We'll see how fine we can go on the polished batch that I'll do next.
There is an awful lot of yellow brazing stuff on these blades (there wasn't on the prototype). Any that extends out beyond the handles has to be gently sanded off, otherwise the area won't take the blueing. Some of the blades have brazing stuff in the groove at the top of the blade. This will have to be removed. The sanded areas have to be blended in with the rest of the blade. The polished blades will take a fair amount of effort. This is something that I didn't see coming. I'm glad that after the 1st 40, we won't have to deal with the ferrules.
I'm hoping to get this done in the next 2 days, but it will be tight. If I finish early enough on Friday, I will take the first 6 to the finisher. If not Friday, I hope Monday.
When the blades come back, I will fasten the handles with pins and color matched epoxy.
I've mentioned some of the problems which had to be solved. There are other concerns, but we'll solve them as they pop up. One thing worth mentioning is that it is nearly impossible to scribe anything like a perfect fit between the handles and the tang. Many of you have other examples of these knives, so you can appreciate the "INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER" of each forging. The color matching of the epoxy will be critical to the appearence of the final product. I will be using ground up artist's pastels to color the epoxy. Keep your fingers crossed.
I'll post photos when I have them.
Thanks,
Bob Couture
- Joined
- Jul 7, 1999
- Messages
- 645
Thanks much for the update, was just wondering how the project is going. WIth your update I'll be able to last another week or two without a update
I'm in no big rush for our WWIII, take all the time you need. I'd rather wait for quality than rush through and have a lower standard of quality.
I'm in no big rush for our WWIII, take all the time you need. I'd rather wait for quality than rush through and have a lower standard of quality.
Bob it sounds like you are putting maximum effort into these handles. That is why you are the meister. We all appreciate the effort that you are throughing into these. I think that these blades will be as much a tribute to you and Craig as the Kamis. Thanks Brian
- Joined
- Mar 8, 1999
- Messages
- 1,760
Yikes: We're gonna have some kick a-- blades, that's for sure - thanks to Robert. You know, I "hired" him on a hunch. Sounded like the right guy for the job when we first spoke on Halloween (yes, I was wearing the Bee costume when we first spoke).
------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
- Joined
- Jun 22, 1999
- Messages
- 67
Greetings Marcus and others,
Bone incoming.
The first 6 have been at the finisher since last Wednesday. They won't be blued until late this week. The folks at Doug Turnbull Restorations were at the SHOT show last week, so this will be a week of catch-up for them.
I have removed the ferrules from the next 6, and laid out the handles. I should be cutting and scibing these to the individual tang shapes late today or tomorrow. There is much more variation in tang size and shape than I expected. I don't think this will lead to any problems in use, but I've given up on the idea of cutting handles out in bulk due to the variations in size. Some of the tangs are twisted relative to the blade and must be staightened. I do this cold, so as not to effect the temper. So far, no big deal. This next 6 will also be bead blasted. I will follow with a (hopefully larger) group of polished blades. At that point, the rest of the order will be defined (blasted or polished blades, matte or shiney handles, color), and I can maybe finish it in two more groups (one blasted, one polished).
I purchased some 9 micron belts to refine the finish on the polished blades in the area where the ferrules are removed. hopefully, this will allow me to match the polish on the rest of the blade.
I'll look in from time to time and answer any questions I might have generated.
Thanks,
Bob Couture
Bone incoming.
The first 6 have been at the finisher since last Wednesday. They won't be blued until late this week. The folks at Doug Turnbull Restorations were at the SHOT show last week, so this will be a week of catch-up for them.
I have removed the ferrules from the next 6, and laid out the handles. I should be cutting and scibing these to the individual tang shapes late today or tomorrow. There is much more variation in tang size and shape than I expected. I don't think this will lead to any problems in use, but I've given up on the idea of cutting handles out in bulk due to the variations in size. Some of the tangs are twisted relative to the blade and must be staightened. I do this cold, so as not to effect the temper. So far, no big deal. This next 6 will also be bead blasted. I will follow with a (hopefully larger) group of polished blades. At that point, the rest of the order will be defined (blasted or polished blades, matte or shiney handles, color), and I can maybe finish it in two more groups (one blasted, one polished).
I purchased some 9 micron belts to refine the finish on the polished blades in the area where the ferrules are removed. hopefully, this will allow me to match the polish on the rest of the blade.
I'll look in from time to time and answer any questions I might have generated.
Thanks,
Bob Couture
- Joined
- Jul 7, 1999
- Messages
- 645
Hummmmm, are you doing the WWIII's by style (color) of handle, finish on the blade, serial # or just radomly picking and choosing???
Not that I'm anxious as to where #13 stands (Ya right), but the wife would like to have a general idea as to when it will get started. This way we can budget for it and not break the bank on short notice.
Not that I'm anxious as to where #13 stands (Ya right), but the wife would like to have a general idea as to when it will get started. This way we can budget for it and not break the bank on short notice.
- Joined
- Jun 22, 1999
- Messages
- 67
Shrike9 (and everyone else of course),
#13 is in the first batch. Craig wanted me to hold them all and give them to the sheath maker all at once (sheat maker's request I think). I'm afraid it'll be a while yet.
As to the order of march, it has been roughly random, but by blade finish. When I started the first batch, my intent was to gather all of the blades that were to be bead blasted. Unfortunately, I didn't have half of the blades yet, and many blades had no configuration information. I did the ones I had. The second batch is the rest of the bead blasted blades (at least the ones that have been identified). The 3rd batch will be polished. This way, the finisher only has one finish to deal with at a time. It's less likely that he can mistakenly bead blast a blade that was to stay polished, or blue a blade intended for bead blasting without having it go through that step.
So far, half of the handles are rough finished, black canvas. Half are rough finished, green canvas. Most of the polished blades will have polished handles (but not all). These will all have to be hand sanded for all grades finer than 320 grit. I usually go up to 600 grit before buffing. The white handles will be buffed with a new buff using white compound only. I look forward to seeing those.
Hang in there guys.
Thanks,
Bob Couture
#13 is in the first batch. Craig wanted me to hold them all and give them to the sheath maker all at once (sheat maker's request I think). I'm afraid it'll be a while yet.
As to the order of march, it has been roughly random, but by blade finish. When I started the first batch, my intent was to gather all of the blades that were to be bead blasted. Unfortunately, I didn't have half of the blades yet, and many blades had no configuration information. I did the ones I had. The second batch is the rest of the bead blasted blades (at least the ones that have been identified). The 3rd batch will be polished. This way, the finisher only has one finish to deal with at a time. It's less likely that he can mistakenly bead blast a blade that was to stay polished, or blue a blade intended for bead blasting without having it go through that step.
So far, half of the handles are rough finished, black canvas. Half are rough finished, green canvas. Most of the polished blades will have polished handles (but not all). These will all have to be hand sanded for all grades finer than 320 grit. I usually go up to 600 grit before buffing. The white handles will be buffed with a new buff using white compound only. I look forward to seeing those.
Hang in there guys.
Thanks,
Bob Couture
- Joined
- Jun 22, 1999
- Messages
- 67
X-Head and everyone,
You should feel involved, the input has definitely produced a better product. This is the way all products should be made, particularly custom products. As I gear up my knife making, I hope to maintain this level of customer interaction.
The blades for the first batch are blued. I'll pick them up as soon as the second batch of blades is ready for blueing. That should be by Tuesday or so. The handles for the second batch are drilled and mounted temporarily with wooden dowels. I will grind the edges of handle and tang to final shape and remove the scratches from the tangs.
The handles for the first batch are ready to be pinned and glued. I'm running experiments now to determine how much filler of what shade to use in filling the gaps. The less filler the better for reasons of epoxy strength.
I will wait to post pictures until all six are finished.
Have a good weekend.
Thanks,
Bob Couture
You should feel involved, the input has definitely produced a better product. This is the way all products should be made, particularly custom products. As I gear up my knife making, I hope to maintain this level of customer interaction.
The blades for the first batch are blued. I'll pick them up as soon as the second batch of blades is ready for blueing. That should be by Tuesday or so. The handles for the second batch are drilled and mounted temporarily with wooden dowels. I will grind the edges of handle and tang to final shape and remove the scratches from the tangs.
The handles for the first batch are ready to be pinned and glued. I'm running experiments now to determine how much filler of what shade to use in filling the gaps. The less filler the better for reasons of epoxy strength.
I will wait to post pictures until all six are finished.
Have a good weekend.
Thanks,
Bob Couture
- Joined
- Jul 7, 1999
- Messages
- 645
Bob, thanks much for the update and where #13 sits in the mix of things!! I'm in no hurry to recieve the WWIII as good things come to those who wait
However, I really enjoy reading your updates and also feel somewhat involved with your work even if it's just bugging you for more updates!!
Thanks for keeping us updated.
Thanks for keeping us updated.
- Joined
- Mar 8, 1999
- Messages
- 1,760
If it's any consolation, I'm number 40 (or some number near the end). . . Had to take a break there to help Marya get her car out of the snow. We got back from California (sniff, sniff) to find our house buried in snow. I know I'm complaining, but what do you expect from a Miami boy?
------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor