Hidden tang hunter ,1080 /15N20 forged steel by maker with Turkish Walnut handle and stainless fittings.
That’s is stunning! I have a block of Turkish walnut from Robs Wild -Wood...and now I can’t wait to use it!
There's something so right about polished stainless against dark woods. IMHO this is one of your best looking hunters. The bolster counter-curves against the plunge curve. Very cool.
Thanks Dan It was one of my worst ( frustrating ) builds. That handle took over 12 hours to cut, fit all the curved pieces and glue together. As soon as you went to tighten the handle all the pieces move, it like they are on an inclined plane, so everything had to be glued separately and let dry. Fill the tang hole with epoxy, put the handle on and tighten it up and hope your glue joint did not break from the tension. Anyway it turned out with only one slight problem. Next time it should be easier and hopefully go a bit faster.
The Walnut was stabilized but I don't think it was a very good job or Walnut does not stabilize very well, I don't know which. It may be like trying to stabilize Iron Wood, it just does not work. I don't know. I use a couple of thing to put on wood handles, Watco butcher block oil available at Canadian Tire. The other oil I use is Scherell's gun stock oil made in Germany . This company just outside of Calgary stocks it. https://bilozir.net/scherells-schaftol-canada-/ It is a great wood oil and used on expensive gun stocks.
I have tried on two attempts to stabilize walnut and it really didn't take very well. Pieces of maple in the same batch worked fine. I believe the oils in walnut prevent the resin from sticking. Maybe walnut should be stabilized with something other than methmethacrylate.
How did you possibly get all those stainless curves to match so perfectly? I can imagine it was a nightmare. Turned out beautifully!
That was one of the toughest handle builds I have ever done. It took twelve hours just to fit all those pieces together. The big problem was that the pieces can't be put on the hidden tang and glued because when you tighten the nut up they all tend to slide up the tang like an inclined plane. I had to make a jig to hold them all in place so they could be squeezed together without moving while the glue joints set. Anyway the next one should be easier and hopefully quicker.
Thanks Gary , if this Covid ever goes away I will bring that stick over and show it to you. Wouldn't mind making another one someday.
We are working on the house , with the mind of selling this summer??? so I gotta move most of the diamond willow, and your more than welcome to stock up. I may need to move the antler as well.
