kevin - the professor
Well-Known Member
Hello Everyone,
Here is a simple hunter out of w2. It has a nicer hamon than I can show in the pics. It is shy. I have taken a short break from swords to enjoy the pure fun of making some relatively simple knives (partially because some people want to buy them and the money will buy more sword-making supplies).
This is my favorite general type of knife to make when the goal is enjoyment of the process. Working with the tools to make swords has taught me number of valuable lessons/skills, so that my knife making is a lot better, too. The first lesson (of way too many to list) is that using simple hand tools is fast and efficient. It takes longer, but when you add in for the lack of ruined work, and the increased precision once you really know how to use them, hand tools are IT. The best tools under the sun are files and rasps.
But, what I wanted to share (besides the knife) is the super-secret milling jig. If you make these things like I do, you taper the tangs. The tangs are always a little different, and I have been trying 1 degree and 2 degree angle blocks to get the proper angle for where the front of the scale meets with the rear of the bolster or guard. But, the angles are never perfect, so it is then a matter of file work and things sometimes the fit is not quite, "there." I have come up with a way, that no one has told me of and that I have never seen before.
Here goes:
1. get the blade blank read, and all the tapers and planes set (wish i had room for a disc grinder).
2. take the mill and flatten your scales and make sure the sides are all 90 degrees.
3. put the knife blank flat on the bottom of the milling vise.
4. put the scale where you want it to go on the knife, with the front terminating just a bit ahead of where the final end will be.
5. tighten the vise down on the sides of the scale, and remove the blade blank from underneath.
6. this leaves the scale protruding from the vise, and you are free to use a side cutter to mill the front end to the perfect angle.
In other words, use the knife as it's own jig.
Repeat.
OK, probably everyone knew that and you are all now bored or laughing, but no one ever showed me, so...
Here are the pics. Thanks for looking. Comments are encouraged.
$100 - Christmas Special
Kevin
Here is a simple hunter out of w2. It has a nicer hamon than I can show in the pics. It is shy. I have taken a short break from swords to enjoy the pure fun of making some relatively simple knives (partially because some people want to buy them and the money will buy more sword-making supplies).
This is my favorite general type of knife to make when the goal is enjoyment of the process. Working with the tools to make swords has taught me number of valuable lessons/skills, so that my knife making is a lot better, too. The first lesson (of way too many to list) is that using simple hand tools is fast and efficient. It takes longer, but when you add in for the lack of ruined work, and the increased precision once you really know how to use them, hand tools are IT. The best tools under the sun are files and rasps.
But, what I wanted to share (besides the knife) is the super-secret milling jig. If you make these things like I do, you taper the tangs. The tangs are always a little different, and I have been trying 1 degree and 2 degree angle blocks to get the proper angle for where the front of the scale meets with the rear of the bolster or guard. But, the angles are never perfect, so it is then a matter of file work and things sometimes the fit is not quite, "there." I have come up with a way, that no one has told me of and that I have never seen before.
Here goes:
1. get the blade blank read, and all the tapers and planes set (wish i had room for a disc grinder).
2. take the mill and flatten your scales and make sure the sides are all 90 degrees.
3. put the knife blank flat on the bottom of the milling vise.
4. put the scale where you want it to go on the knife, with the front terminating just a bit ahead of where the final end will be.
5. tighten the vise down on the sides of the scale, and remove the blade blank from underneath.
6. this leaves the scale protruding from the vise, and you are free to use a side cutter to mill the front end to the perfect angle.
In other words, use the knife as it's own jig.
Repeat.
OK, probably everyone knew that and you are all now bored or laughing, but no one ever showed me, so...
Here are the pics. Thanks for looking. Comments are encouraged.
$100 - Christmas Special
Kevin
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