Dan's work in progress

I've come up with a few things. I'll use some 5/32" 154 CM. The design will be one of these.



http://dcknives.com/public/downloads/BC8 Template - DanCom-2015.pdf

I am going for the English style, Woodlore/Ray Mears styling, 4-1/2" blade, with a little more arch to it than usual. With the classic coke bottle handle shaping. Lanyard hole and something 'au natural' for handle. Lanyard and leather sheath.

That's as far as I got. Steel is waiting for me.

Dan

 

This is my progress report. Valentine's Day morning, snuck out to the garage.


Glued to sizes down to some scrap 1/4" plywood. One is 7.5" and the other is 7.75". Not much difference, the feel in hand certainly says 7.75".


I cut them out with the wood cutting band saw and shaped them close on the disc sander.


Checking on my stock I find I have no 5/32" 154CM, but rather some CPM154 from Canadian Knifemaker Supply.


Clamp and trace with a fine-tipped Sharpie and start removing stock.


Truing up the profile with a fresh blaze 60. I touched up the tighter curves with the oscillating spindle sander and a 1/2" drum.


This is where I got to. I wish I could have done more, but apparently I have to cook heart shaped eggs this A.M.

To be continued...


Dan

 

I like them. I use the 60 and 120s all the time. They eat steel very well, and being ceramics, the like being worked hard.

 

I found this great article told by Alan Wood, maker of the Woodlore bushcraft knife.
He takes us through the evolution of the knife's shape and materials.
http://www.alanwoodknives.com/the-woodlore-knife-story.html


Dan

 

Got some work done this A.M.

We did the profiling, so I went on the belt and cleaned the mill scale off the steel.



This is after the grinder, I did some sanding with 60 grit on the bench.
This second sanding on the bench is done at 90° to the first one on the grinder.
This way I can see any major scratches that are still on the surface.
Once any surface inclusions are gone, we can proceed to layout.



After some felt pen planning of the plunge and arc of the grind, I applied layout dye to the soon-to-be cutting edge.
In the dye, we can scribe a centre line to help us with the bevel grinding. I used a drill bit.
Some guys have a proper scribe, but for pre-heat treat grinding I don't think a 128th of an inch is a problem.



I made a simple block of 3/4" plywood that has an 11° cut on one side.
As I am not yet proficient in freehand grinding, I use this jig along with the tool rest to make a consistent angle.



With a Scandi grind the block only helps so much. You have to slant the knife each pass as your pass nears the tip of the knife. This is kind of intuitive but worth mentioning.
This "tilt" ensures the grind follows the arc of the cutting edge.



Now on to the layout. For this knife, I need a lanyard tube, say for some parachute cord.
I've chosen 1/4" (Inside Diameter) brass tubing for this purpose.
We need to be a little bit careful of outside and inside diameters.
It's always a good idea to check with a precision ruler or caliper.



With a bushcraft knife, the single bevel means that sharpening cannot conflict with the handle.
I've drawn a line to indicate where sharpening will be happening.
Imagine the user with a large stone, holding the angle of the primary bevel.
If they hit the handle they are going to get messed up!


For layout of the pins, I chose the 1/2 way and made a series of marks.
I then tried to figure out what is the distance between the scale front and the front pin and made it match the distance between the lanyard hole and the rear pin. Say, 20mm.



Now we have the pin (and tube) marks in place we haul out the wee anvil.



With a centre punch, I stamp the starting holes.



A few drops of cutting fluid and we're off. I don't use fractional bits here, rather I use the numbered bits #12 and F.
These are slightly oversized but correlate to the fractional bit 3/16" and 1/4" respectively.



A note on cobalt bits. If your bits don't do this, consider some cobalt bits.
They are expensive, but worth the money as you can sharpen them again and again and they are still cobalt.



The primary holes are drilled.



Now to add some "adhesion" holes. Their purpose is two fold; they increase the bonding surface areas for when we glue the scales on: secondly; they reduce the weight in the handle end of the knife.

Here I am checking the lanyard tubing to see it fits into the F bit sized hole.



This is where we are at as of February 21.
It's going to be a good KITH!

Of course, comments and suggestions appreciated!

Dan

 

With all these secondary "adhesion" holes you can write a secret word hidden in the handle...

 

Yes! And it would be visible with x-ray imaging.

 

I think it's looking great so far, Dan. Even though I feel kind of dense doing it, I have to say I don't get how your 3/4 inch plywood block with the 11 degree angle works when it comes to making the scandi grind. I know I'm probably missing something simple, but could you elaborate?

Jim T

 

Jim,

At this stage I am more or less removing material before heat treatment and the grind will be brought to a point after heat treatment. The blocks work in conjunction with the tool rest and help hold the angle correct. Maybe this illustration will help.




Two 11°angles would yield a 22° bevel. I have a bunch of these blocks made for different angles.



Here I am using the mitre saw to cut an angle in the plywood block.

Dan

 

Oh, now I get it! Dan,thanks! The diagram helps a whole bunch. It makes sense now. Very simple, very clever solution.

 

For funzie, I added a little bit of simple filework to the spine with a 5/32" chainsaw file.
It's not perfect, but KITHs are about trying and learning new things.



Dan

 

I like the file work you have done.And i like your jig design for grinding.I am new at using a belt grinder i have a 2by72 belt grinder 1 horse variable speed from bee grinders but i am a long ways from getting straight grind lines.I think your jig design will help out a lot with that

 

Jeff,

Sounds like you have a nice machine.

For me, grinding is the hardest part. I am a relative newbie and I do freehand flat grinds, but this kind of grind requires a bit more accuracy that I can do freehand. I have no problem using jigs, especially if it means making a knife I am (and others are) happy with.

Best of luck!

Dan

 

OK, so I did a bit of finish sanding and a wrap and it's ready to go into the heat treatment oven.
The knife is wrapped up in foil to make an envelope which reduces oxidization of the blade during heat treatment. The foil I use is 304 stainless steel foil wrap from McMaster-Carr, P/N 3254K22.



I fold the long edge to make a seam, then fold the two ends. I use the block of wood to press the foil after it's been folded. Then I repeat the process, so there two folds around. This is fine for keeping air out.


I another knife on the go, so I will fire up the oven tomorrow and report back

Dan

 

So... into the oven and into the other oven. That's the story of this morning.


I did at soak at 800°C and then up to 1060° for 20 minutes.

Plate quench.



And right away into the 200°C oven.

This should net a Rockwell 58 or 59 hardness.


Dan

 

I managed to get a little work done this morning. I did some hand finishing (post heat treat) and brought the grind to near zero with a blaze 120.




Another pass with a 240 grit belt on the cutting edge and I'll tape it up. Scales can go on this weekend.

Dan

 

I taped up the blade with masking tape to approximately there the scale fronts are going to land.

For the scales I wanted to go with something wood. For me synthetics like Micarta or G10 seems in-congruent on a bushcraft knife. (Maybe it's the "nature" vibe.)

The first part of putting scales on is to get the book matched pattern right. Make sure that the two sides you want showing line up properly.
Of course, if your scales are not book matched, then no worries, place them however you like.


Trace the handle shape and roughed them out on the wood band saw. I used a roll of masking tape to trace the curve at the scale fronts.



Here I have one scale clamped and drilled. Using slightly over sized numbered bits #12 and F will allow an easy fit of the pins and leave some room for the epoxy to flow around them.


Once drilled, I took the scales off the knife and temporarily pinned them.
I like to use short pieces of appropriately sized wooden dowel to keep the scales in place when shaping "off the blade".



With the scales together, I sand them with about a 120 grit and then a fine belt, say 400 or 600. Keep the fronts square (90°) to their faces. After the finishing belt, I give them a buff.



On the buffer, I used just a little black compound, then over to the clean cotton wheel for a shine. This is our last chance to perfect these areas.


The maple burl looks sweet!


Cut the pins and test fit. At this time, I also drill some tiny holes or scratch up the insides of the scales so they have more surface area to bond with.


Test fit the scales and make sure all the pins go in. If you cannot do this you could be in trouble at glue up time.
For this 'special' knife I am using two 3/16" mosaic pins, one 1/4" center mosaic and one section of brass 1/4" tubing for the lanyard hole.


Everything's ready to go for glue up. I will be using Acraglas.
I put on some disposable gloves and prepare the bench for messy work. A plastic shopping bag or piece of craft paper work fine for protecting the bench.


I used cheapo vise-grips with leather pads (see Shop Jigs & Fixtures page) to hold the scales down.
Sometimes you need to flex the wood in certain places to make the tiny gaps go away.


Of extra importance is the Acraglas fill on the spine where the filework is. We are trying for no gaps, no air pockets, no bubbles... basically nothing unsightly.
The filework is an eye catcher and you don's want to have a big air bubble hole in the epoxy there.


So now I am waiting the 24 hours for Acraglas to cure... but I've got new cartridges for my respirator...to be continued...

Dan

 

Ah 24 hours is up!

I unclamped and took straight away to the belt sander to get the epoxy and excess pin material down to flush.



Using the sander and belt grinder with a 60 grit, I get the profile of the handle close.



Now it's time to start rounding the handle. Careful to keep the symmetry. Starting to shape the "Coke bottle" shape here as well.



This is pretty rough with a 60 belt, so I repeat the same process with a 120 grit.



I go over to the bench and start wet sanding with 120 grit.



The handle is shaping up nicely.



I whetted the handle after a satisfying 120 grit session. The left side.



The right side.



And the classic bushcraft top view.



Next is to do some finer sanding and some buffing.

Dan