# Knife maker..no....Handle shaper...sure



## justturnin

So a knife maker I am not. That requires a great level of skill that I am lacking 100% of. That said, I am trying my hand at becoming a handle shaper and polisher instead 

Using a woodriver blade I picked up @ 50% off a year or so ago. I am tossing the screw on pins because I don't like them. I wanted to use some SS pins but I only have 0.25" and the current pins are 0.195 so they don't fit. So I will just epoxy the handles on instead. Hope they hold up to the non-use this knife will likely see. 

I tried to drill out the hole to fit the 0.25" pins, no luck......






I am using a set of my pine cone scales that I made that were acting up. I cleaned them up and cut them out.






Blade sitting on the roughed out scales.





Shaping the front, applied some CA to seal the exposed cone.






Sanded the CA all off and buffed the front and curve under the ridge. Sorry my knife liongo is crap.


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## justturnin

goslin99 said:


> Hurry hurry hurryy:fit:



HAHAH, Well I just soaked the scales w/ thin CA on the outside to sure them up and fill any cracks and voids. It is I pooled it on so I may not be able to glue the scales on until tomorrow. Then the Epoxy needs to cure. Then the weekend and my daughter comes for a visit so work does not happen on those weekend really. Maybe next week 

Heres a wet look teaser for you w/ them soaking in CA.


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## justturnin

Well a few pics did not seem to take. I cleaned the blade w/ Acetone and I cut groves into the handle using a cutting wheel on my dremel to give some more bite. I taped my polished area because I was going to be using acetone to clean the excess epoxy and that could hurt the resin.

After that I mixed a little pigment in w/ the epoxy.






And glued it up. 












Maybe I can start shaping it up tomorrow.


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## justturnin

Me too. Only gonna happen if it rains. Been raining all day here so I can't cast.


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## Cody Killgore

Oh man. I really want to see this finished so I can see what I have to look forward to! I like that green epoxy!

What kind of epoxy are you using?


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## justturnin

Cody Killgore said:


> Oh man. I really want to see this finished so I can see what I have to look forward to! I like that green epoxy!
> 
> What kind of epoxy are you using?



It is Mercury brand. I just mixed some of the green mica powder in with it to fill any gaps w/ matching colors. I really want to get out there and start sanding on that beast now......:dash2::dash2:


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## Cody Killgore

justturnin said:


> Cody Killgore said:
> 
> 
> 
> Oh man. I really want to see this finished so I can see what I have to look forward to! I like that green epoxy!
> 
> What kind of epoxy are you using?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It is Mercury brand. I just mixed some of the green mica powder in with it to fill any gaps w/ matching colors. I really want to get out there and start sanding on that beast now......:dash2::dash2:
Click to expand...


Cool. One thing that I've started doing is grinding some hollows on the tang on both sides. This way you can make sure you have enough epoxy down there to get a good hold on the steel. Just some ideas . Don't mind the weird holes. Enough hijacking for now... I vote you go ahead and start sanding on it. It's probably hard enough :teethlaugh:


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## justturnin

Hijack away brother. Give this thread some meat because when I post this finished knife it may be deflated a little. This is only knife #2 so it may not be too wise for me to choose such and advanced material for it. I have been hurtin to make another though.

I checked a few minutes ago. Still a little tacky.


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## Cody Killgore

justturnin said:


> I tried to drill out the hole to fit the 0.25" pins, no luck......



One time I forgot to drill the holes before heat treating for some reason. I just held the blade in a tank of water with the tang sticking out and heated the tang up with a torch until it turned black. That way you can soften the tang up without messing up the temper on the blade. Then you can drill them no problem. Obviously too late now but just thought I'd mention.

Okay. I really am done hijacking for now! Haha...time to go back to work.


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## justturnin

So, how long should I allow the epoxy to cure before sanding on it? It is dry but still pretty flexible. Is it best to wait several hours or can work begin on shaping the handle.


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## Cody Killgore

Well I don't use the same stuff you do. Mine takes about 10 hours to stiffen up. I always wait 24 hours because I don't want to risk it at that point.


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## justturnin

Dang Cody, you're bursting my bubble here. I am hurtin to start sanding on this thing. Guess I will wait til tomorrow......


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## Cody Killgore

I would tell you to do it after about 6 hours but I don't want to be resposible when they slip off. Also they don't have the pins to help prevent the shear force on them.


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## justturnin

Well, the scales slipped. Another thing the pins are good for I guess. CRAP!!!!!! Still gonna finish it and see if I can even it out. If not at least I will see one finished and get some completed pics before I drop it in a vat of Acetone.


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## Cody Killgore

justturnin said:


> Well, the scales slipped. Another thing the pins are good for I guess. CRAP!!!!!! Still gonna finish it and see if I can even it out. If not at least I will see one finished and get some completed pics before I drop it in a vat of Acetone.



Bummer! Yeah it would be a real PITA to even those out. I definitely look forward to seeing how it looks finished though 

You better get to sanding!


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## justturnin

Well I figured I botched the handle so I would see if it would survive shaping. Still want to go back an re-sand it because there are sanding marks all over that only showed up after buffing becasue I was wet sanding with MS. Then again may end up still doing the acetone deal and just getting the blade back. 

Just sanded and buffed. No finish applied.


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## Cody Killgore

OH man you've been working on it. Man that is awesome looking! Can't wait to try my red ones out  Nice job. 

I think I want some cast in black resin now... :lolol:


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## justturnin

Cody Killgore said:


> OH man you've been working on it. Man that is awesome looking! Can't wait to try my red ones out  Nice job.
> 
> I think I want some cast in black resin now... :lolol:



Yea, I rushed it. I wanted to see it finished and did not take my time sanding. Now that it is out of my system I am going to clean it up and do it right. I may keep it, the blade was only $7.


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## justturnin

I am not happy with the shape by the blade. Next one I will surely do different. Guess that is part of the fun making these.


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## Cody Killgore

justturnin said:


> the blade was only $7.



   :dash2::dash2::dash2:

I couldn't even buy the materials to make a blade for that.
I will say though that the resin seems to be hard stuff to sand! Only reason I say it is when I was finishing that pen, it seemed like it took me forever to get all the sand marks out going the other way before moving on to the next grit.


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## justturnin

Cody Killgore said:


> justturnin said:
> 
> 
> 
> the blade was only $7.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> :dash2::dash2::dash2:
> 
> I couldn't even buy the materials to make a blade for that.
> I will say though that the resin seems to be hard stuff to sand! Only reason I say it is when I was finishing that pen, it seemed like it took me forever to get all the sand marks out going the other way before moving on to the next grit.
Click to expand...


I highly doubt these blades are of the same quality steel as you use.

Yes, the resin is very hard to sand. Wet sanding is really the best way. It will minimize the gouging but that is hard with a pen because you need to be able to apply finish afterwards.


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## justturnin

Well, I put another hour into sanding. I think I found out what was happening w/ the other round of sanding. I started wet sanding w/ MS and this blank was not stabilized. I think the MS was pulling the sap out and smearing it on the handle. Just a guess but when I was resanding I grabbed the Mirlon pads I was using w/ MS on them and it started happening again.

Some more pics. Not great pics. Will try to take better tomorrow w/ more light.


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## justturnin

goslin99 said:


> goslin99 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Bro n law loved the gator jaw pen and asked if gator jaw grips are a possibility... told him I'd check.. bet he'll back pedal when he hears a price..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Do de do de do.....:dunno:
Click to expand...


Missed that. Never made knife scales. Would eat up 2 jaws to make matching sides. I would think the price on that would be about $40-$50 but I don't know if I even have jaw wide enough to do it.


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## robert flynt

If you want to inlarge the a hole in heat treated steel get a cheep masonary bit with the carbide tip. After you get the holes inlarged you can throw it away because it probably want be much good.


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## justturnin

robert flynt said:


> If you want to inlarge the a hole in heat treated steel get a cheep masonary bit with the carbide tip. After you get the holes inlarged you can throw it away because it probably want be much good.



Would that make the hole too large for the 0.25" SS Rod?


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## ButchC

justturnin said:


> Well I figured I botched the handle so I would see if it would survive shaping. Still want to go back an re-sand it because there are sanding marks all over that only showed up after buffing becasue I was wet sanding with MS. Then again may end up still doing the acetone deal and just getting the blade back.



I think the pine cone blanks look really nice. Very unique.

Butch


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## robert flynt

It shouldn't, you can get them in various sizes. I have used them a number of times with no problems but I use corby rivets which screw together so if the hole in the blade is a slightly over sized it want be a problem. If you have one of those disc and belt sander with a one wide inch belt you can take the platen behind belt off and use it like a slack belt grinder to shape the handle before you start hand sanding. You can use 4" half round or round files also but they clog up easily.


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## ripjack13

I really like the look of the handle, the green color is really sweet.
Thanx for posting up the process.


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## justturnin

robert flynt said:


> If you have one of those disc and belt sander with a one wide inch belt you can take the platen behind belt off and use it like a slack belt grinder to shape the handle before you start hand sanding. You can use 4" half round or round files also but they clog up easily.



I have a Ridged Oscillating Spindle/Belt sander. It worked awesome for the rough shaping. I used a couple of different spindles to shape the fingers and groves. Made short work of it all. Now I need to get some finer grits for it to help with the clean up as well.


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## Kevin

Nice looking handles Chris. I was going to ask you to describe what tools and methods you used in the shaping and sanding process. I see you just described the rought shaping but how about the sanding - what tools and grits did you use - e.g. ROS etc?


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## justturnin

Kevin said:


> Nice looking handles Chris. I was going to ask you to describe what tools and methods you used in the shaping and sanding process. I see you just described the rought shaping but how about the sanding - what tools and grits did you use - e.g. ROS etc?



For these handles the tools I used were a Flat File for the little inset part by the ridges then hand sanded the rest. After gluing like was mentioned, I used my Rigid Oscillating Spindle/Belt sander w/ 80gr (way to rough but its all I have) then I hand sanded the rest. I held it at an angle on the spindle sander to cut the grooves for the grip running up the handle. Feels real good in the hand. Then I actually used the rubber spindles from the sander to shape my paper round to the grip section then just did the rest by hand the old fashion way. For paper, since my roughing was so rough at 80 I started hand sanding wet at 150 through 600 then I switched to the MM and ran from the 1500-12000. Then I took it to the buffer with Trip, WD and a Barry Goss high gloss Blue bar I got from WC. No other finish applied. I added some thin CA in the beginning to fill any voids and seal the pine cone but sanded through that.


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## Molokai

Nice scales ,i love how cast cones look,
hope i will work with that in the future.
Keep up the good work and hope you will correct those scales. 
This is good thread to show people how much detail is in knifemaking (like in everything) and this is only the handle work, not talking about the metal, stock removal or forging..... leather work etc....

Tom


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## robert flynt

I know this doesn't apply to a full tang knife but you can make a hidden tang knife handle with finger grooves by putting the 1 1/8 x 1 1/2 x 5" block off center in a lathe. Chucked like that it will only cut the block on one side so you can cut some nice finger grooves.


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## NYWoodturner

robert flynt said:


> I know this doesn't apply to a full tang knife but you can make a hidden tang knife handle with finger grooves by putting the 1 1/8 x 1 1/2 x 5" block off center in a lathe. Chucked like that it will only cut the block on one side so you can cut some nice finger grooves.



Robert - I didnt know you were turner too  Do you have secrets you have not revealed or have you just mastered every way there is to make a knife handle?


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## robert flynt

NYWoodturner said:


> robert flynt said:
> 
> 
> 
> I know this doesn't apply to a full tang knife but you can make a hidden tang knife handle with finger grooves by putting the 1 1/8 x 1 1/2 x 5" block off center in a lathe. Chucked like that it will only cut the block on one side so you can cut some nice finger grooves.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Robert - I didnt know you were turner too  Do you have secrets you have not revealed or have you just mastered every way there is to make a knife handle?
Click to expand...

I turned a long time ago but I have a friend who is an outstanding wood turner who has turned one for me like that. He also let me in on using a mortise bit to cut rectangle hole in the block for the hidden tang.


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