I am working on a small hunter, 8" O.A.L. with some interesting scales. These are African Blackwood, Yellow Birch and a strip of 0.020" aluminum. Never done this before but I think the effect will be cool when it's all shaped down and polished. (BTW, these little vise-grips were an awesome Christmas present.) I scuffed the aluminum with 60 grit and drilled some 1/16" holes in the ends of the wood pieces. Have to keep the holes right in the middle so they won't be exposed when shaping the handle. I made a simple wooden clamping jig to hold things close when gluing the scale pieces. It kind of needs to be held in 3 dimensions and not crush everything so there's no epoxy left. I am sure there is a better way to do this. If you know jump right in! The real trick is to get the alum strips to line up. After tracing and cutting on the band saw, I clamped and drilled one scale, then pinned with 1/8" wooden dowel. I use these pins to hold the scale on the tang while aligning the second scale. Paying close attention to where the aluminum strips line up. Now I clamped again, this time with both scales in place. Remove the wooden pins and drill right through the first scale, the tang and through the second scale Once it's all drilled, I used the wooden pins to hold the two scales together and shape them as one block. I didn't want to get too close to the tang line, but I focused on the fronts. They are shaped and finally polished on the buffer with a dash of black compound. Cut the real pins and dry fit. It's sitting in my office at work now. All gooped up with Acraglas. I should be able to shape it down and polish it tomorrow. Hope this one works out! Dan
Lookin good Dan . I've been making a slingshot but haven't worked on it for a while now that is the same idea. I have 3 different types of wood with brass separating them. I also used 1/16 pins to help keep it together like you did.
OK, here we go. I have some pics of how I did the knife and how it came out. I'll apologise in advance as I missed some of the detail sanding photos, but I was busy mixing drinks and getting beers at that stage. Ya right! That's the Acraglas. It's good to see it filling in around the pins I have a chewy old 60 belt that works fine for woodwork. Don't tell the investors I reuse old belts. LOL What I am really trying to do is bring the wood pieces back to the steel. Matching the tang so to speak. Once the wood is pretty close to the tang, I start to "curve" the handle. Ya, just getting the curve in there to make it feel like a handle. I usually switch belts here to a 120 and keep fashioning the handle shape. It's back and forth, check, back and forth. Then I go over to the bench and start on some 220 grit with some lubricant,(Windex) to keep the dust down. After moving to 340 and 400 the handle should look something like this: This is 400 grit wet sand. If you have a buffer, grab some black compound and polish the handle. Hold on tight! Once the handle is buffed, I cleaned it with acetone as the black compound make the wood look dingy. To help the Blackwood, I put some Tung Oil on and dry it. Ya, I have to use the heater for it's something bloody cold in my shop. Next we're buffing the dried Tung Oil and getting the light box warmed up...
Cont'd... This was something different that I wanted to try. My customer had no problem with it, so there are two happy campers this morning. Never fear the unknown. LOL Cheers and happy knife making, Dan
Beautiful work? I love the step by step pics. It really brings it home when you see the finished product. I seen the thread with the sheath as well. I love the sunburst effect, kind of like an old LesPaul.
I have to ask, where did you get that interesting large pin 3 down from the top? Did you make it or obtain it?
Hi, That is a 1/4" mosaic pin I bought from Canadian Knifemaker Supply. They're about 5" long and I cut to size for the handle thickness. They can be made DIY as well, but it's so darn easy to buy them. Google "mosaic pin" and lots of great images come up. Dan
I made these a couple months ago with paper micarta. Pretty easy process but a bit of a mess and clamping can be a real pain in the neck as everything wants to slide with the epoxy. Very nice work Dan. That knife is a beauty.
For clamping check out a local pottery shop, they have huge elastic bands that would clamp from all sides. one company in Alberta is http://www.ceramicscanada.net/
