Todays little project is shaping and sanding a fillet knife handle. The handle is made from a Banksia Seed Pod from Australia that has been stabilized in Gator Venom then cast in Alumilite resin with orange fluorescent dye. Knife is AEB-L Stainless steel 1/16" thick with a single sided bevel that is 3/16" high. Creates a medium flex blade unless given a distal taper. The faceted surface is not bad comfort wise however I normally go for ergonomic and round all edges. Still have to make a final decision one way or the other. Only handle I managed to get done this week and had another one on the go but learned real fast that angled blocks going in multiple directions can be very troublesome to clamp. So I cheated and hit it with crazy glue.
Decided to go with angular sides since they help you feel the knife orientation when using it. Now I have to make a few more with an assortment of colors and maybe a couple of mixed color handles
Very nice John. The handle material and geometry makes it stand out. Did you have any issues with the thin AEB-L? I've got some 0.070" but haven't had a chance to use it yet. Dan
Biggest problem I have run into and it took several bent knives to figure out was the blades even after air quenching were bendable (easily) right down to room temperature then they stiffened up. My routine now and both blades came out straight is: heat to quenching temperature air quench between aluminum plates, use sand blasting nozzle at 100 psi to rapidly cool (under 2 minutes) move over to pair of angle irons and clamp tight then place in fridge until good and cold, about a half hour After freezing put the knives through their temper cycle I have found the blades are much stiffer after the freeze cycle and less prone to bending when handled. There is a reference in a heat treating schedule that it is best to get the knives below room temperature within 30 minutes and below 600F within 2 minutes Which is why I added in the freezer step right after 1 minute of air quenching.
