Hey all, All is done with number 3 except the sharpening... 1084 carbon steel, orange osage scales, brass pins and thong tube and I stacked some purple and grey spacers for a bit of an accent. Lots of lessons in this one for sure. Tried some different things, had some issues, had to redo some stuff, but in the end I got it done and for number 3, I believe I can still hold my head up. Plunge lines are still not awesome, but way better than my first attempts. The swedge ended up much further along the spine than I would have liked as I kept messing up and had to keep moving back, and it isn't as crisp as I would have liked. I also had issues with my epoxy and had to clean and redo some spacer work because of it leaving gappy spots. I could have spent a bit more time working through the grits sanding to have a cleaner finish but I figured for a practice blade, I am not going to get too worked up... Anyways, would love a bit of feedback! Thanks!!
Nicely done. I like what the spacers add to the overall look. I like the design. Clean lines, handle looks really comfortable. I agree, you could spend a little more time with the sand paper on the blade (photo light shows all) but you don't have to go for a mirror finish either. I tend to like the sanded look.
I like it! Much improved. The spacers make the Osage orange really stand out. From experience, I can say that lining up 6 pins and a thong tube can be a test, but it all came together well. Did you bond the spacers together as one piece as a separate process or combine them all at glue up time? I find that putting all the spacers together, clamping them in some waxed paper and making them a single unit helps. Now we are shaping one piece, drilling one hole instead of three. Not to be overly critical, but I do see the pins got a little hot. The tell-tale black rings around the pins means they are burning the surrounding wood. Dark woods hide these rings, with blondes they become apparent. I keep the dunk bucket handy and use a fairly fresh belt. Fresh belts cut more and produce less heat. All in all, really well done for your third knife. Happy New Year! Dan
Thanks guys! I did pre-stack and epoxy the spacers before shaping. That is where I first ran into an issue. After the epoxy cured I took it out into the cold shop to shape them, but got distracted for about 30 minutes and when I came back to the bench I accidently bumped one off onto the floor and when it hit the shock caused a layer to pop off. Trying to get that cleaned and re-epoxied nicely was a nightmare!! I also now have done away with the cheap 5 minute epoxy I had left over and went and picked up some better stuff (G2) so I hope that will give me a bit more fiddle time when assembling and strength. I am glad you mentioned the wax paper. That will help another issue I had too! I see the black rings you speak of... Another area I will watch in the future! With each and every tip and experience I will get better. Hopefully next project will be an improvment again!
Is it just me or does it look like a folder from the rear? Oh oh, caught looking at knife butt again. Like the look of the layers, makes the handle stand out nicely
Interesting illusion, made a fillet knife that looks like a Tanto when in the sheath because it can be fun to mess with people who know knives
