WIP - simple fixed blade

[John T Wylie Jr.]

Awhile back a co-worker approached me about what to get her son for making Eagle Scout , and she was trying to decide to get him camping gear or a knife as a reward. I suggested she go with the camping gear.
That shocked her , since I am known as the knife nutt at work. Go figure 2thumbs

When she asked Why not a knife ? I informed her that he is getting a reward knife , only she ain't paying for it , then I asked her permission to make him one , which after showing her pictures of some of my past work as well as my carry knife , she readily agreed.

This is the simple design I came up with:
blade steel 154CM .140 thick (donated to the cause by Alpha Knife Supply)
blade length: 3.4"
heat treat: Paul Bos

The beginning , drawn on paper , then traced onto the steel , rough cut ( and I do mean ruff ) on the band saw , then final profile done on the Bader with 60 grit.

Here it is profiled , flat sanded poor boy style on the flat platen and also the 9" disc. Wasn't sure if I would taper the tang or not , so I drilled many holes just to be safe .

grinds done , jimping done on the spine with a 20LPI checkering fille , sand hand satin work done ( up to 220 ) and it was off to Paul Bos for HT.

Fast forward a little bit ( thats knifemaker time for 2 months ).
blade back from HT , hand satin to 400 grit ( sorry , that all the finer I have)
Start to work on adding the scales.

 

[John T Wylie Jr.]

Drill the holes for the corby style bolts , scribe the profile and off the to bandsaw.

Repeat for other side and now I have a pair of scales....I have also counter sunk the holes for the bolts , which never seem to fit just right , so I turn the bolts down to fit the holes nice and tight.

I then shape the scales up to the scribe lines , and shape the front of the scales so they match , then do a test fit..

All going according to plan , I add the red liners into the mix and shape the front of the scales , final sand and buff...

 

[John T Wylie Jr.]

ok so all is set , cut the lan tube , test fit it , and dissassemble , clean everything with acetone , tape up the blade...
Ready...set

Glued.. yeah the Kant twist are over kill , since the corby's will hold it tight , but I never take a chance. With the corby bolts the epoxy is just a sealer.

Now , in a few hours , I can get to shaping the handle and get started on the leather sheath.

The plan is to present the knife to him at his awards ceremony (beginning of March ), along with a photo album with pictures of the build. Hope it brings him many years of good use..... more picts as it progress's.

Haven't had much time in the shop over the past few months , take care of some family matters , but it sure feels good to even get a little bit of shop time in

 

[Bondy]

Looks like a great knife,and a great gift, think he will love it2thumbs

 

[John T Wylie Jr.]

With the epoxy cured , it was time to trim of the excess bolts on the band saw and get to profiling. Sanded outside shaped and broke the corners with a 60 grit.

Then 80 grit to rough in the contour :

From here on out , all handle work is done in the knifemaker vise using 1" shop rolls in 80 , 120 , 220 and 280 (sometimes 400).

taking shape pretty nice , at 220 grit here.

Love the effect of the red liners against the OD Green

 

[John T Wylie Jr.]

This is about it for today , will do final cleanup , logo and sharpen after I make the leather sheath:

Now to find all my leather working tools....and a clean spot on the bench to work the leather.

 

[Cubane]

Nice wip

 

[murphda2]

That's a fine lookin knife that I'm sure he wil be extremely proud to own John. I know I would.

 

[Tom Anderson]

Looks good, John T! 2thumbs

 

[Leatherface]

Fine looking blade bro

 

[ChipI.]

That is a great looking blade.

 

[Paul Mathews]

Nice WIP, John. Great knife, too!2thumbs

 

[LR Adkins]

Nice knife, John. I enjoyed the WIP too.

Larry

 

[Billy Helton]

John thats a knife to be proud of thanks for posting your WIP... .

 

[cornfed]

helluva knife brother!! gonna be time to pick up a new jtw custom here soon! 2thumbs -fed

 

[John T Wylie Jr.]

Yeah , I gonna finish some more eventually. Right now I am in the midst of redoing drywall in the shop , its slowly becoming functional again , and it will be nice to have 1200 sq ft of usable space finally !

 

[Predator 57]

When's the tea party?

 

[John T Wylie Jr.]

Tea & Pickles ? Thought that was at your place.....

AHDC supported

 

[howiesatwork]

Nice gesture on your behalf, John. We need more Eagle Scouts.
Nice looking knife!

 

[KB1SYV]

John, I wasn't around back in February, so I'm glad someone revived the thread so I got a chance to check out the knife. I hope that new eagle scout appreciated that knife. Excellent work.2thumbs