Here is a final result of that staked birch bark project... As always, comments and criticism are welcome and much appreciated. ))
Wanted to do the cork handle on a fillet knife and so far 0 for 6 in my search for cork. hardware stores are dropping it apparently.
Love the look of it Roman! How does the handle feel? Is there any concerns with chipping of what I guess I could describe maybe as the biscuits the handle is stacked with? Are they all epoxied together?
Wow, that looks great Roman! Very nice. How did you get that finish on the guard and pommel if I may ask?
Thank you all, friends! What I have heard about cork handles is that they wear out very quickly. Never tried them myself. I wish it would... )) But it doesn't. I have heard about floating birch bark handles, but I don't trust this. It feels AWESOME! Very nice, smooth, velvet, and warm to touch. What is important it stays warm to touch even when outside temperature is below freezing. I don't anticipate any chipping. Layers are tightly pressed together and heated at 100 C for 30 minutes. Birch oil glues them together so they form block. This technology is a few hundreds years old and stacked birch bark handles are widely used in Scandinavia. Here is how I made it: http://www.canadianknifemaker.ca/index.php?threads/stacked-birch-bark-block.1627/ I used a pin with rounded tip and a small 8 oz. hummer. This process in Russia we call "wood pecking". There is a good deal of irony in this name, but it describes the process pretty precisely... )) Then I smoothed the surface using wire brush wheel on my Dremel.
I forgot to add, birch bark handle doesn't need any finish. I sanded it to 400 grit and wiped with mineral oil to add contrast before taking photos. But this was totally unnecessary, birch bark is so full of birch oil that it does not need any finish.
the peckering can also be done on wood, if you check out competition handguns you will see the type of finish on the hand grips
The pistoleers call it stippling. It's normally far more aggressive though. I've handled a couple of guns that feel like you're jerking off a cheese grater. I'll stick to my Hogue Overmold grips and stocks.
Okay trying real hard not to picture that. My rifle was much smoother and worked well with sweaty hands.
