My first knife build

[CliffCurry]

Hi Cliff: Normally, with epoxy, you would have had a better connection if you’d hit the surfaces of the handle material and the tang with 80-grit for an optimal tooth.

I did just that Tom. I applied a very rough surface finish to all mating surfaces after making sure they were flat and mated well. This 2 ton epoxy resin is an impressively strong mix. I have good confidence for the light duty this knife was intended it will hold for years to come.

With the holes you drilled in the tang, it would have been easy to use Corby rivets, which are a male/female screw set you can grind the heads off afterwards. http://www.knifemaking.com/category-s/364.htm Together with the epoxy, it’d be a forever connection. If you knew where the big tang holes are, you could drill after epoxying the scales to the tang.

For my next projects I will be using either corby or mosaic pins for sure, thx for the tips!

I wondered at first if Koa was particularly oily and would suggest that the scales be washed with, or even soaked in alcohol. Not to worry, I found a site that described coating a Koa fin with epoxy on a surfboard.

I also did some research on koa. This wood was well cured and didnt appear to have any excess oil content but to make sure I gave it a good wipe down with rubbing alcohol to make sure.

BTW, I threw my first couple of tries at knifemaking away. Actually. I tossed them deep into my junk box where they would never be seen and never associated with my face.

I have heard that is the case from countless youtube vids I watched prior to starting. Perhaps that is why I really took my time and have focused on each step. A few things didnt go as planned but I caught it early enough to correct and cover up. Honestly Im over the moon with how this first project is coming out, I was just happy to get even bevels etc.

Thanks again to everyone for the feedback! 😉

[CliffCurry]

Mission accomplished!

 

 

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[CliffCurry]

Couple side notes:

First attempts at creating my own makers mark are promising but a better transfer film(thinking clear laminated stock) is needed to make this possible.  I know you can order stencils premade online but Id much rather DIY.

I got the best results so far with thin shiny xmas paper taped down and ran through the laser printer producing and reversed negative image of the Logo.  This was after a whole afternoon trying different paper, iron temperatures etc.

The electric/salt water method didnt seem to work at all and destroyed the toner stencil immediately.  If/when you can get the toner stencil to stick to the knife it is really fairly durable.  I taped off around the area I wanted to etch and let the acid sit for 5 minutes.  I knew part of the stencil was missing and just wanted to see what results it would give where I had good overlay:

Appears to be a little too long soak time but decent enough definition.  Logo is about the size of pencil erasure…Next attempt produced better definition but where I tried to touch up with nail polish it shows and it needed to soak longer.  You really need a perfect stencil and then the correct amount of time to get this right!

It has potential but even I wasnt crazy enough to try this on my first knife until I was sure! Ok, I “may” have made 1 attempt at laying the stencil on but it failed and I said nuff of that!  Little voice wispered “walk away”…

Also heres the final sharpening on the WE, since this is the forum for that 😛

Not really on purpose but the knife ended up apexed(zero grind?) before I began sharpening it.  Here it is mounted in the Tormek small knife adapter set at 10dps using the front adjustment bar I had added a while back.  I really tried to work it agressivly to give it a bit more of a 2nd bevel for strength but it still came out wishper thin in the photos.

One things for certain, this knife will ki… I mean cut! 😛

[tcmeyer]

Beautiful knife, great lines.  I really don’t like ugly-assed knives and this one doesn’t come close to that category.  You can be proud of this one and we’ll be looking to see what wonders you produce after a few years.

Is your buddy teaching to make sheaths too?  That’s one thing I never really pursued after the first efforts (ADD times 10).  I did make one out of the same wood (pecan) as the handle, and used it as an inside-pocket job.  Was much more functional than one would have thought.

[Mark76]

Wow, that looks incredible! Is this really your first knife?

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Josh]

why oh why can’t I see the pictures in your last post cliff?!! I did see the one at the end of the video post and it is absolutely beautiful… you’ve really got a knack for this!

[Anonymous]

That looks amazing

[Author]

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