First attempt at bolsters

Robert Erickson

Robert Erickson

KNIFE MAKER
Hey guys, Just finished up this paring knife in Alabama damascus. I've been making knives for about 10 months now and had yet to attempt bolsters. They definitely added a bit of complexity to try and get everything to fit right. The steel is 0.95 inchs, the bolsters are linen micarta and the handle is Ringed Gidgee. I would welcome your comments and criticisms
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Knife is gorgeous! I am curious about the Alabama Damascus though, I've got a stick of it on my bench that I haven't used yet. The pattern abruptly changes on your blade halfway down and I'm wondering why. Do you have a strong taper that starts right at that point?
 
Great job! I love your fit and finish after only 10 months. I, too, am curious about the change in pattern and would love to hear more about it. I just finished grinding a chefs' knife out of Alabama Damascus and it was a little weird. Thickness of my piece was 3/32" thick. I cut it out just fine on the band saw and I grinded the profile without any difficulty. When I started to drill my pin holes (1/4") and the lanyard hole (3/8") the drill cut fine for about the first 1/64" and then stopped drilling. It just so happened that I had bought a new set of carbon bits and the bit I was using was brand new. I was taking it very slow and applying very little pressure. Since it wouldn't drill I stopped and thought maybe a smaller pilot hole would help. So I changed to a 1/8" bit and it drilled straight through easily. Then back with the 1/4" bit and it was like the pilot hole wasn't even there - it would not drill. I turned it over and tried drilling the same hole from the other side - same result. I drilled fine for the first 1/64" and then stopped. When I first started I could see the bit actually grab the metal and remove It and there were shavings around the hole. When it stopped drilling the bit simply would not bite into the metal. I thought the bit might be bad so I got an old piece of 5/32" 1095 and the bit cut a perfect 1/4" hole. Finally I got the 1/4" bit from my old set and just laid on it. It wouldn't cut either but very quickly the bit and metal got red hot and I actually melted my way through the metal. Had the same problem and same results on all three holes. What's up with that? Thanks,

Wallace
 
Very well done. I've used Alabama Damascus on several knives With good results. Yours does have an odd pattern. IMO a full tang knife without bolsters looks wrong. I always see a knife by a lazy knife maker when I see one. But thats just me. A hidden tang needs a guard. A fixed blade needs bolsters to look right. On drilling. Sometimes too little pressure can work harden a spot and make it hard to drill. You may need to anneal the piece to drill it. Or use a carbide bit. Anyway. That's a great looking knife. Like others have said, now try steel or brass bolsters.
 
Thanks guys for the kind words! The blade is FFG and the pattern is the same on the reverse side. I used the bulk of the piece of steel for a chef knife and the residual material became the parer. The transition doesn't seem to be affecting it's cutting ability and it doesn't flex unusually there. The look has grown on me, it's unique. I like the Alabama damascus but if there's one thing I've noticed is that the patterns can be irregular on the billets that I've bought.
I didn't notice any problems drilling any of the steel that I have used from Alabama so far.
 
I think your knife looks great. As mentioned already the fit and finish are top notch. I have used some Alabama Damascus and have a billet laying around that I have yet to use. The pattern in what I have used was not uniform, much like yours it had some funky abrupt pattern changes. The big problem I had was with it warping. I'm not talking about a slight bow either! I might use it again if I ever need to make a specialized SWAT weapon to stab around corners or something.:biggrin:
 
Thanks KDX and Blancefitz! SWAT weapon or sharpened boomerang! LOL Did your damascus billet come with the huge bow in it? The few that I have bought have been pretty straight.


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That's odd you guys are mentioning about Alabama Damascus. . I had won some as part of a door prize/raffle thing at a gun show some time back..before I had started my latest round of trying to learn knives.. and it too seemed to have a deformed or screwed up pattern... Beautiful for 2 or 3 inches...then crap for twice that... I traded it off to a gun guy to do something with....but you look around and see lots of pieces with no problems at all..I have even recently been tempted to buy a blank, I still screw up to much to lay out alot of cash only to mess it up lol... makes me wonder...perhaps they have a "seconds" pile? Or maybe not all things called "Alabama Damascus" really are??

And regarding that Paring knife in the original post... Beautiful! I would be proud to use that one for sure! Well done Sir.
 
Thanks OkieCowboy! I got my Alabama damascus billet off of ebay. Being new to knife making I didn't look that close at the photos they had posted of the steel to check he pattern. I'll just look more closely the next time I get a piece. There is other damascus for sale out there but it's a lot more expensive.


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Nice Job on the knife! I am attempting to do my first bolsters next week.
 
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