"W"s from Walla Walla

Bruce, another question:
I was surprised by the fit at the back of the guard. Some big gaps there. Is it only for the locating tabs or am I just trying too hard to get a perfect fit all the way through when I do it?

Thanks again for taking the time to show us your work and answering our newbie questions, much appreciated.

Patrice
 
Patrice Lemée said:
Bruce, another question:
I was surprised by the fit at the back of the guard. Some big gaps there. Is it only for the locating tabs or am I just trying too hard to get a perfect fit all the way through when I do it?

Thanks again for taking the time to show us your work and answering our newbie questions, much appreciated.

Patrice
Click to expand...

The tang is tapered but the guard slot is straight so there is naturally a longer slot at the rear of a thick guard like this one. If I used a thinner guard and some spacers and washers I could keep those gaps to a minimum. This is a "take down" knife so I can utilize this long slot for locating tabs on the spacer. The tang has two shoulders ground into it that gives the tabs room.

If this was a glue together handle it could be real loose inside and filled with epoxy. This handle is hogged out and will be filled with acraglas but there wont be any epoxy in the metal work so it has to fit tight. I dont like alignment pins and prefer these tabs.
Does that answer your question?
 
Yes it does Bruce. You don't know how much time knowing this will save me. Getting a tight fit all the way through on thicker guards took me forever and many times I don't do such a good job and end up with a loose fit anyway.

If I lived closer I'd take you for a nice steak dinner and leftovers for the doggies! ;)

Patrice
 
That damascus and stag looks just awesome Mr. B. I'm really looking forward to seeing it finished.

Are you planning to keep as much stag as possible (just like you would do with a bark ivory) ? IMHO it would look better :)

Ondrej
 
papi said:
That damascus and stag looks just awesome Mr. B. I'm really looking forward to seeing it finished.

Are you planning to keep as much stag as possible (just like you would do with a bark ivory) ? IMHO it would look better :)

Ondrej
Click to expand...

Hi Ondrej,
Yeah I want to keep as much as I can. I hand picked this piece because it has some nice texture with allot of popcorn. It costs me about $90 plus $20 to have it amber dyed. Just around the spacer will get ground off to see some amber color. The pommel has a great shape to it and will get a butt cap the same shape.
Thanks for asking.
 
Thanks for answering :)
I was hoping you'd to it like that, the stag looks really beautiful and it would be the shame to grind it away. I'm really looking forward to seeing the knife finished.

Ondrej
 
Patrice Lemée said:
Yes it does Bruce. You don't know how much time knowing this will save me. Getting a tight fit all the way through on thicker guards took me forever and many times I don't do such a good job and end up with a loose fit anyway.

If I lived closer I'd take you for a nice steak dinner and leftovers for the doggies! ;)

Patrice
Click to expand...

Hey, that sounds good. Walla Walla has an airport. Come on down. 2thumbs
 
Most of the day shaping the guard. I started with the bandsaw and almost there now with the dremel. Its gettin there. I think I'm going to order some sterling silver plate for some spacer material. It will get a plate in front of the guard and a spacer at both ends of the stag.

101_5734_edited.jpg


101_5735_edited.jpg


101_5736_edited.jpg


101_5738_edited.jpg


101_5742_edited.jpg


101_5744_edited.jpg


101_5749_edited.jpg


101_5750_edited.jpg
 
Last edited:
Here is a trick learned from Tim Hancock that I use. Its just a small mirror held against the flat of the guard. If the guard isnt perpendicular to the tang it will show. Its a great way to get the tang straight too. It also shows how the guard sits on the blade. Notice my guard is slightly off at the tip? I couldnt tell that until this test. Everything looks right except I need to regrind the tip.

101_5748_edited.jpg
 
Last edited:
Bruce, are you going to have the guard on this one engraved? It sure suited the OTHER ONE! :D This is one of those knives that makes me wish I could afford to be a collector as well as a maker.

And Roger, good to see you here.

I'm really enjoying your WIP, Bruce. It's very informative, even for us old guys!

David
 
David Broadwell said:
Bruce, are you going to have the guard on this one engraved? It sure suited the OTHER ONE! :D This is one of those knives that makes me wish I could afford to be a collector as well as a maker.

And Roger, good to see you here.

I'm really enjoying your WIP, Bruce. It's very informative, even for us old guys!

David
Click to expand...

Yep the guard is pretty plain with out engraving. Unlike other one but this one will probally go to Ken Hurst. The backside of the guard is hard to engrave the concave areas but Ken enjoys the challenge of full coverage. It could actually be ready to send off within a few days.

Glad you like the WIP, Thanks for the input.
 
On to the pommel, I cut a 1/8" thick 1018 oval with a pilot hole for a 6-32 corby bolt. I silver soldered the plate to a 3/16" thick plate and drilled through the hole all the way through the pommel. I counterbored it for the corby rivet being careful to not go into the 1/8" oval plate.

I also had time to hand rub the blade to 2000 grit and put it into the ferric cloride. I use a very weak solution so it takes a slow more pit free etch. It takes about 6 or 8 dips this way but I like the results. I stop when I can hook my thumbnail.
Every 10 minutes I take it out, rinse with water and use an old worn out 3M ultra fine sponge to gently rub off some of the black oxides. Be sure to use a circular motion to prevent horizontal stripes and dont press hard on the sharp edges (ever) or it will round them off.

101_5798_edited.jpg


101_5799_edited.jpg


101_5801_edited.jpg


101_5802_edited.jpg




The camera battery went dead so you will have to wait on the pommel and etch.
 
Last edited:
Here is a shot after the etch. It will be more refined after some oxpho cold blue and rubbed out to make the 15n20 high spots bright.

101_5809_edited.jpg
 
After the Oxpho cold blue is applied it needs to dry. Dont go by the instructions on the bottle. I just put it on and rub it in with 4000 grit polishing cloth (the pink stuff from Rio Grande) but a cotton ball will do. Let it dry and sand the tops off with 2000 grit paper. The cold blue needs to be killed after that with warm water and baking soda. Back to the 2000 grit and oil it to protect it from moisture.

I think it looks great. The pattern is very small and is best looked at in person. A good photographer should be able to bring it to real life.

101_5814.jpg


101_5830_edited.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top