Well, I finally finished the colored stacked birch bark handled knife that I started last summer (see this post http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?32849-Which-spacer-positioning-makes-knife-look-more-balanced).
It is has a Mora laminated steel blade with 1/4" brass butt and finger guard. The handle is finished with tung oil and beeswax. Total length is 8.25"
Here are some pictures of the build:
To keep the butt from spinning, a rectangular punch the exact size of the tang was made from an old drill bit and hammered through the hole to create locking corners. The butt was also countersunk (after this picture was taken) to allow more room for the peened metal to expand into.
Here is a link to how I made the birch bark blocks:
http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?35625-Making-colored-stacked-birch-bark-blocks-for-handles
Blocks bandsawn into a rough shape
Blocks removed from tang, then glued with slow set epoxy one-by-one into place...
... then capped with the brass butt, which was immediately peened into place.
Here we see the peened butt half ground down to check if the steel has properly expanded into the countersunk hole.
And finally we see the finished handle half covered in tung oil to display the color difference the oil makes.
Sorry for the long delay in completion
It is has a Mora laminated steel blade with 1/4" brass butt and finger guard. The handle is finished with tung oil and beeswax. Total length is 8.25"
Here are some pictures of the build:
To keep the butt from spinning, a rectangular punch the exact size of the tang was made from an old drill bit and hammered through the hole to create locking corners. The butt was also countersunk (after this picture was taken) to allow more room for the peened metal to expand into.
Here is a link to how I made the birch bark blocks:
http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?35625-Making-colored-stacked-birch-bark-blocks-for-handles
Blocks bandsawn into a rough shape
Blocks removed from tang, then glued with slow set epoxy one-by-one into place...
... then capped with the brass butt, which was immediately peened into place.
Here we see the peened butt half ground down to check if the steel has properly expanded into the countersunk hole.
And finally we see the finished handle half covered in tung oil to display the color difference the oil makes.
Sorry for the long delay in completion
