Just had to try out the chef knife pattern with 1/16" AEB-L. Handle is a combination of lightly dyed Maple Burl for the bolster, along with stabilized pine cones cast in Alumilite then sliced to 1/4" thick Small grooves and defects in the maple are filled with gold leaf and clear resin, this picture is before coating the maple with a couple of layers of Tru-oil A little oil and buffing looks ready for the show, still think the tiny bubbles look really weird on the pine cone surface. Think next time they will get cooked for a while and go for the more natural look. The larger handle up front was a bit of experiment for a larger surface with the pinch grip. Seems to work okay for the most part, will have to build another and this time keep for myself instead of donating.
Wow John you've really stepped up the fit & finish on this one. Looks great! I gotta get me some Alumilite to play with. Did you us a conditioning belt on the blade? Dan
Chapeau..( means hat off to you in French..) My friend! Very ...very.... nice! getting back in to production this week myself...cant wait
The front of the handle really feels good for me, if there was lower level than amateur cook that would be me. Unfortunately never used it more than twice for a test drive and it is now gone to a new home. It does provide a nice solid lip for the fingers and readily hangs even with a light grip. Used Red and Green conditioning belts which I really like for the satin finish and have used them on another knife before switching to the polishing grits and it really makes a difference in the end results.
Oh for Alumilite you want to get clear and white, the solid white when dyed makes nice solid colors the clear only makes variations of transparent. You also want the slow cure as it gives you 11 minutes work time instead of 7. Makes a huge difference when trying for multiple colors, patterns or inserting objects into the handle in stages to eliminate trapped air.
