I know most people on here say that they lean the most off the first knife they build, I've lean't the most from my second. I ended up junking it because it was awkward to hold and looked like my three year old made it. the main lesson I learned was not to rush through the project and just enjoy the process of building a knife. So I'm going to skip this knife and show the rework I did to a knife I got off Kijiji. I got this knife for $5 because it was in such bad shape, someone had tried to epoxy over the leather handle. The blade had been painted, was horribly scratched and rushed. This knife had not seen any love for a very long time. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-dwFQRoAZ09WmhjdGN0U1hNYmc https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-dwFQRoAZ09Nm9ubnF4bU9zckU https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-dwFQRoAZ09YnJVTUZTTVA0Mms I took the knife apart and decided to try and clean the blade up and put a new handle on it. I spent many hours hand sanding the blade until most of the scratches were gone. As I was sanding I notice some strange colours show up, then I realized that at some point the blade must have been plaited to make it look like stainless steel, not carbon steel. The handle is made from Walnut that I got for free, expect to see more Walnut because I liked the way it turned out, Blues spacers and some Copper plate I picked up at the hardware store. The finish on the handle is Bees Wax, I heated the wood with a heat gun and rubbed the wax in with a cloth. After a few coats it make the handle water proof and the smell of bees wax every time I use the knife is a bonus. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-dwFQRoAZ09X1VFRkZDeGlqc1E https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-dwFQRoAZ09UWtmYVBFcEkwcTg Giving this knife some well deserved attention and, I believe, saving it from the garbage bin has been a very rewording experience. I'm looking for any advice or tips as I'm in the process of doing three more knives, hopefully done before Christmas.
My first knife is rusting on one of the shelves in the shop cause it was awkward and bulky. Its now a reminder. My second knife I still wear on my belt everyday. I do enjoy how the blade says "original bowie" and on the same side its stamped japan. I think you will transition well into making knives that are 100% your own......you did very well on that handle. nice work!
Thanks Prevenge, I spent a lot of time working the shape of the handle so felt right in my hand, not trying to copy a picture I saw on line. This knife is a bit big to care around all the time, but I think it will be great to take camping next year.
Making a blade is not the hard part....mastering the fine detail work and understanding how to do it is the crucial part. Devlin, you are on the right path...keep up the hard work it just get easier and more addicting. cheers!
