# Wood Knife Try (Wooden Knife Challenge)



## HomeBody

I got a start on my knife. Ebony blade, walnut guard, hawthorn scales. I've made "Indian knives" with flint blades but never a metal knife and for sure never a wooden knife. I've learned a few things already. Gary

Reactions: Like 3 | Way Cool 2


----------



## Jack "Pappy" Lewis

wow gonna look great, you could try "knapping" the blackwood? Just a thought


----------



## Kevin

That's gonna be a looker Gary!


----------



## Tony

@Kevin, is the popcorn emogee gone? Tony

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## Don Ratcliff

Now we have this little number...


----------



## Tony

Don Ratcliff said:


> Now we have this little number...



Hell. I guess I'm just blind.


----------



## Don Ratcliff

Tony said:


> Hell. I guess I'm just blind.


Don't sell yourself short... They were moved to the top shelf...

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## Tony

Don Ratcliff said:


> Don't sell yourself short... They were moved to the top shelf...



Now that's funny right there!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


----------



## Foot Patrol

Nice start Gary. Gonna be another beauty!


----------



## SENC

Don Ratcliff said:


> Don't sell yourself short... They were moved to the top shelf...


So Kevin can't reach them?

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 3


----------



## Don Ratcliff

SENC said:


> So Kevin can't reach them?


The great Keweenie is magical and can reach them.

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## Kevin

SENC said:


> So Kevin can't reach them?

Reactions: Sincere 1


----------



## robert flynt

Looking forward to seeing the finished product!!


----------



## HomeBody

Having us non knife makers make a wooden knife was a good idea. I have a new appreciation for the pro steel knife makers on here plus newbies like tony @Tclem that have progressed very quickly.

I've been slowly sanding, trying to keep it from looking like a letter opener or a steak knife.










I need wooden pins but don't have a lathe. Since I have to make them by hand anyway I thought I'd try something different. I went and found some honey locust thorns and started sanding on them. I found out they have a spongy pith. I always figured they were solid. Back to the drawing board.






It looks like there will be stiff competition for one of those calendar pages. Between the pro knife makers and top notch wood workers on here, I'll have to pull out all the stops. Gary

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 9 | Sincere 1


----------



## Kevin

HomeBody said:


> Between the pro knife makers and top notch wood workers on here,



Yeah those guys and certain expert wood carvers leaves guys like me and Tclem in the dust......

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 4


----------



## ripjack13

Gary, what if you used either a colored pencil or chopsticks for the pins? Both can be sanded easily.

And that carving is going to make that knife stand out from the crowd. Looks real good....


----------



## rocky1

Use your drill; hand drill or press... Hand drill would likely work best, once rounded the end not in the chuck could be laid on a rag or scrap of carpet to support the other end while sanding round. In fact, the drill itself could be duct taped to a sawhorse or 2x4 (_locked in your vice/clamped to workbench_), with support cut and taped to fit under the other end for a McGyver lathe.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


----------



## Kevin

Bamboo food skewers come in pretty small diameters about right for that knife I would think, and no need to McGyver anything - just match to the proper size drill bit.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 3


----------



## Spinartist

I have 7 lathes & have still used a hand drill & drill press as a make shift lathe.

Reactions: Sincere 1


----------



## Jack "Pappy" Lewis

what Kevin said..............


----------



## ripjack13

Spinartist said:


> I have 7 lathes & have still used a hand drill & drill press as a make shift lathe.


----------



## Kevin

ripjack13 said:


>




Heez jess tryinta makus pore layth trash fokes fill guda bouder selfs. Ainta werkin none tho . . . .

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 2


----------



## Don Ratcliff

Kevin said:


> Heez jess tryinta makus pore layth trash fokes fill guda bouder selfs. Ainta werkin none tho . . . .


Did you change phones again?

Reactions: Funny 3


----------



## ripjack13

He let @Tclem type for him....

Reactions: Funny 4


----------



## Don Ratcliff

ripjack13 said:


> He let @Tclem type for him....


Ouch...

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## Tclem

ripjack13 said:


> He let @Tclem type for him....


Very funny clown

Reactions: Agree 1 | Sincere 1


----------



## NYWoodturner

Damn Gary - Me thinks you need to convert to steel  Thats a nice knife!


----------



## robert flynt

HomeBody said:


> Having us non knife makers make a wooden knife was a good idea. I have a new appreciation for the pro steel knife makers on here plus newbies like tony @Tclem that have progressed very quickly.
> 
> I've been slowly sanding, trying to keep it from looking like a letter opener or a steak knife.
> 
> View attachment 110729
> 
> View attachment 110730
> 
> 
> I need wooden pins but don't have a lathe. Since I have to make them by hand anyway I thought I'd try something different. I went and found some honey locust thorns and started sanding on them. I found out they have a spongy pith. I always figured they were solid. Back to the drawing board.
> 
> View attachment 110731
> 
> 
> It looks like there will be stiff competition for one of those calendar pages. Between the pro knife makers and top notch wood workers on here, I'll have to pull out all the stops. Gary
> 
> View attachment 110732


You might stop by Hobby Lobby and get a wooden dowel.


----------



## SENC

Spinartist said:


> I have 7 lathes & have still used a hand drill & drill press as a make shift lathe.


So does @Mike1950, and he still uses sawhorses from time to time.

Reactions: Funny 2 | Creative 1


----------



## HomeBody

NYWoodturner said:


> Damn Gary - Me thinks you need to convert to steel  Thats a nice knife!



That's just what I need, another interest. Not! Making this one is fun but I'll stick to gun stocks. Gary

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


----------



## HomeBody

I got my pins made. Used some thin pieces of osage I found. I rasped them fairly round, then laid them on a block with a groove. When they dropped in the groove, I shoved them through a piece of brass I drilled (3/16") and they came out pretty good. Fuzzy pics. Forgot to switch to macro. Gary

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 7 | Creative 1


----------



## steve bellinger

With 7 lathes why didn't you just turn them. I know I turn my finials that thin all the time.


----------



## Kevin

Nice way to skin a cat Gary.



steve bellinger said:


> With 7 lathes why didn't you just turn them. I know I turn my finials that thin all the time.



I think it's Lee (@Spinartist) with the 7 lathes. I don't think Gary owns one.




HomeBody said:


> I need wooden pins but don't have a lathe.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## steve bellinger

That would make more sense da lol

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## Spinartist

Osage pins!! How cool is that!!

Reactions: Agree 2


----------



## HomeBody

steve bellinger said:


> With 7 lathes why didn't you just turn them. I know I turn my finials that thin all the time.



Yes, I'm latheless. Gary


----------



## HomeBody

I polished the blade but that's about all I've done. Still drawing some possible designs. Gary

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 2


----------



## SENC

Looking awesome Gary!


----------



## HomeBody

I put some finish on the guard and carved it. I may have to go back and cut it a little deeper. Gary

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 5


----------



## NYWoodturner

Wow Gary! That's just a whole new dimension. Can't wait to see the rest.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## ripjack13

Looking great Gary!!!


----------



## Jack "Pappy" Lewis

I love it!!! That is some sweet work, ain't it odd how a little challenge like this brings out the talent we have seen? Not that there wasn't any before, but hey, I just love the idea of the work displayed in a more relaxed atmosphere.....

Reactions: Agree 2


----------



## Kevin

Beautiful design and execution Gary.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## Tony

Looking incredible so far Gary! Tony


----------



## Spinartist

HomeBody said:


> I put some finish on the guard and carved it. I may have to go back and cut it a little deeper. Gary
> 
> 
> 
> How did you carve it?? Hand tools? Power carving??


----------



## ripjack13

Please edit your post...

Reactions: Funny 1


----------



## robert flynt

It's going to be a looker!


----------



## SENC

Agree! And Kevin and Marc have done nice work, too.



Jack "Pappy" Lewis said:


> I love it!!! That is some sweet work, ain't it odd how a little challenge like this brings out the talent we have seen? Not that there wasn't any before, but hey, I just love the idea of the work displayed in a more relaxed atmosphere.....

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## HomeBody

Spinartist said:


> How did you carve it?? Hand tools? Power carving??



I used a Dremel and 1/16" carbide burs I got from Turbocarver.com. Gary


----------



## HomeBody

I glued the guard and scales and marked the pin locations. I also cut the leaves on the guard deeper. I decided to make walnut pins for better contrast. The osage and hawthorn kind of clash. Gary

Reactions: Like 3 | EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 1


----------



## HomeBody

I got the pins in and one coat of finish. Using Ace poly made by Sherwin Williams. 48 hrs. between coats...Ugh! This thing is taking me forever. Gary

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 1


----------



## Spinartist

Are you going to carve the handle too?


----------



## ripjack13

I'm lovin it....


----------



## Palaswood

HomeBody said:


> I got the pins in and one coat of finish. Using Ace poly made by Sherwin Williams. 48 hrs. between coats...Ugh! This thing is taking me forever. Gary
> 
> View attachment 111629


Fantastic, just fantastic!


----------



## HomeBody

I have enough finish on the handle to start carving. The rosettes around all 4 of the pins are finished. I've made just one pass on the oak leaves on the first side. I stuck to the original drawing above. Time to hog out around the leaves. You have to go deep enough to round out the acorns, which is deeper than you need for the leaves. Deeper...and deeper still! Gary

Reactions: Like 4 | EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 5 | +Karma 1


----------



## ripjack13

Michele ( @Mrs RipJack13 ) says that looks "harvesty" so it should be one of the fall calendar pix....

I say it looks awesome....

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


----------



## NYWoodturner

Gary Gary Gary... You rock man... Thats a winner for sure. Truly impressive work

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Tony

Gary, that looks fantastic! Tony


----------



## HomeBody

I removed the background on side one.






I cleaned it up more and marked the veins.






Finished carving, ready for some poly.






Side one finished. I stuck to the original drawing and it came out about like I expected. I almost stained the oak leaves and acorns with walnut stain. Then I was going to add some red highlights to the leaves. I decided against it, but I still might do it on the other side. Gary

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 3 | Way Cool 6


----------



## Palaswood

Where did you get the hawthorn? I would love to get my hands on some


----------



## HomeBody

Palaswood said:


> Where did you get the hawthorn? I would love to get my hands on some



It came from my woods. It's Male chicken-spur hawthorn. I saw you were looking for some. I'll get some pics of what I have today and I'll sell you a piece. This is as rare as wood gets in IL. The trees are not rare, but the wood is because only a nutter would cut and mill a 6" tree full of thorns. The 6" tree this nutter cut was the largest I've seen in my neck of the woods. It's slow growing and was 60 yrs. old. I won't mess with another one. Here's a pic of a stock I made from it. The brown is the heart wood. Most has good curl. Gary

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | EyeCandy! 3 | Way Cool 2


----------



## Palaswood

Wow Gary. Thats an amazing stock. Im definetly interested!


----------



## HomeBody

I made a sheath from the same wood as the knife. Hawthorn and ebony with a walnut pin at the tip. Not too hard but now I have all that space for carving. Woo Whoo! Gary

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 3 | Way Cool 5


----------



## steve bellinger

Way cool glad to see another sheath


----------



## rocky1

Lookin sharper and sharper all the time!


----------



## SENC

Absolutely loving this!!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## ripjack13

Damn dude....what did you do to the blade? That looks real!!!

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## HomeBody

ripjack13 said:


> Damn dude....what did you do to the blade? That looks real!!!



I sanded the blade to 600 then buffed it. After reading a post from @Kevin recently about Ren wax I bought a jar and put some on the blade. I like that stuff. Gary

Reactions: Agree 1 | Way Cool 1


----------



## NYWoodturner

Really nice job Gary

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## HomeBody

I started on the sheath. Tirolean coat of arms with oak leaves above and below. Just 2 passes on the eagle so far. I doubt I'll get this finished by the deadline so my entry pic will probably be of the other side like the one below. Gary

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 4


----------



## Tony

Man, that's just so awesome looking! Tony


----------



## Jack "Pappy" Lewis

Holy Cow!!!!! and I mean HOLY COW !!!!! what a super sweet job, you gonna sell someone that? I love it the calendar is coming up smelling like roses....wow my eyes are glued to the pics! Great Job!!!!

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## ripjack13

Oh my goodness!!!! I can see that one as the pin up!!!!!

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## HomeBody

I worked on the eagle for several hours yesterday. It's coming along okay, although I'm over my head doing this one. I got some good carving tips from a lady carver in CA named Skip. She said it you can't tell it's carved from across the room, it's not deep enough. I have to go deeper on the eagle today. Also, here's the clip art eagle I'm using as a model. I had to eliminate a few details from the model since it's so small. Gary

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 4


----------



## HomeBody

Here's the latest from yesterday. I'd like to completely finish the bird and lettering today if I have time. This is my first carved bird and first lettering. Much harder than my usual oak leaves. Gary

Reactions: Like 2 | Way Cool 5


----------



## ripjack13

Looking real good Gary. 
Tirol Austria ?


----------



## ripjack13

HomeBody said:


> Tirolean coat of arms



Never mind....I read up a lil more....


----------



## HomeBody

I finished the bird yesterday. For my first bird, I'm pretty happy with it. Only 100 mistakes or so. 
My paternal great grandparents came here from Tyrol Austria in 1895. After WW1, Tyrol was cut in half and Italy was given the southern half. South Tyrol, or Sud Tyrol. When I was in Northern Italy I was able to go there for a couple of days. Not enough time to track down my ancestors but at least I saw the place they came from. Steep mountains and pine trees. Gary

Reactions: Like 3 | Way Cool 2


----------



## Tony

Great story and an incredible knife Gary. Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## SENC

Fantastic Gary!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## HomeBody

I'm going to get this thing knocked out before the deadline. Two deadlines. We leave for FL a couple days after the knife deadline. I'll finish this panel today and that leaves the lower panel for this week. It's been a great exercise. Gary

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 2 | Way Cool 3


----------



## SENC

That thing kicks serious butt!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


----------



## Kevin

That's not fair Gary you have too much talent - we can't compete with that! Well at least I can't. Awesome knife.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 1


----------



## HomeBody

I'm on a roll. Finished the top panel and made a rough sketch for the lower and final panel. This one will take 2 days. And maybe put a little inscription on the back of the sheath. Anyone here speak German besides Google? Gary

Reactions: Way Cool 6


----------



## Tony

HomeBody said:


> I'm on a roll. Finished the top panel and made a rough sketch for the lower and final panel. This one will take 2 days. And maybe put a little inscription on the back of the sheath. Anyone here speak German besides Google? Gary
> 
> View attachment 112916
> 
> View attachment 112917
> 
> View attachment 112918



My boss was born in Germany and still speaks it if you need something translated. Tony


----------



## ripjack13

It's something like the saying, "in my mountains I am protected". 

Could be wrong though...

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Tony

My boss said roughly translated it means "in the mountains I am your guardian angel".

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## HomeBody

Tony said:


> My boss said roughly translated it means "in the mountains I am your guardian angel".



I think that's about what I thought it said. Thanks! Gary


----------



## HomeBody

Jack "Pappy" Lewis said:


> Holy Cow!!!!! and I mean HOLY COW !!!!! what a super sweet job, you gonna sell someone that? I love it the calendar is coming up smelling like roses....wow my eyes are glued to the pics! Great Job!!!!



I just now saw your question. I think I will keep it. Lots of "firsts" on this one. Gary


----------



## HomeBody

Kevin said:


> That's not fair Gary you have too much talent - we can't compete with that! Well at least I can't. Awesome knife.



Some people have more than others, sure. If we all share the talents we have on the forum then all of us gain skills. I'm on this forum every day. I would be more than happy to share the skills I used making and carving this knife. I have no secrets. Gary

Reactions: Like 1 | Great Post 1


----------



## HomeBody

I'm nearly finished. One more coat on the latest carving and a couple of touch ups here and there. I'm still debating if I should put anything on the other side. All that nice open space! I learned a bit about knife making and also pushed the limits of my carving. It was worth every minute I spent on it. I made tons of mistakes, but hopefully I learned a little from them. 

After I made the sheath I was looking for something to carve on it. I ran across this patch I had and it was my inspiration. Now I need a better pic for Marc. It was really cloudy yesterday afternoon. Gary

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 5 | Way Cool 2


----------



## Tony

Gary that is just out of sight cool man! Beautiful piece of art. Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


----------



## SENC

Amazing work!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Jack "Pappy" Lewis

man oh man, tha more i see this the more I am awe struck....you have some amazing talent...

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


----------



## ripjack13

That is truly a great work of art....
deserving of it's own 12 month calendar....

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


----------



## HomeBody

Tony said:


> My boss said roughly translated it means "in the mountains I am your guardian angel".



Here's where I got the idea of carving a saying on the back of the sheath. This is a fob souvenir of Tirol. It has the same red eagle, the emblem of Tirol. I think I will pass. I'm all carved out. Gary

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## Spinartist

Front cover fer sure!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Palaswood

That's simply incredible. Thanks for the hawthorn! I used a small piece to make this pipe for myself. The color change is quite pronounced. Goes from a pretty light color to darker than cherry. It's a great wood. The pipe smokes wonderfully and doesn't burn.

Reactions: Like 2


----------

