making a new knife ( my way )

[cosco]

That is a lovely knife. As Tiffers said, the abalone goes pretty well with the blade.

[Dave Barker]

MIk,

The workmanship is without doubt top class.

I actually use a similar system, ( but without the powertools) and have found that after getting to around the 240 grit it pays to sand the wood with wet paper. i leave the paper in water so that it is really wet, and have found this gives a great finish. ALmost like glass. Once i have done this i let it dry then use the same paper again ( dry this time) to remove anything that dares have hidden from the wet sand.

Anyway just my 2 p.

[grangerknives]

Your tootorial has inspired me to have a go at one Mik.
I may be showing it ONLY to you in PM when it's compleat;
But I'm trying...
Paul

[Jim L.]

Simply put, a beautiful knife! Thanks for sharing.

Jim L.

[Mr_Yarrow]

Mik,

You forgot a final step to 'Making a knife your way';

Decide that despite what everyone tells you, its not good enough and taking it apart and starting again

All joking aside, your commitment to doing just that when its not as good as you think it should be, is one of the reasons your an accomplished master of the art...keep up the good work

Rgds

[munkyman]

we know how you make your knives now, how about a tutorial telling us how you make your lovely sheaths?

[Habaki]

Great piccies and text Mik, more superb work!!.
Regards,
Simon.

[kgk]

Lovely knife.........will it have a secondary bevel.

KGK

[ngraudal]

Very nice, Top class!!!
It has been very ineresting to read and follow this thread. Very educating!

I dont know if im the only one, but i would very much like to see a close up of the "sandwich" construction.

[pennillion]

Hi all

I just realised that people are still occasionally having a look at this thread

So i thought i would add a little more, just for something else to look at.


Anyway, i had an 85mm Frandsen damascus blade i bought from Per a while ago, and i couldnt think how to do it. Then i found a bit of mammoth ivory bark, an offcut from another job. It was too nice to throw away so i thought i would make a bolster out of it ...something a little different.

So, i started by levelling the sides of the mammoth so i could hold it in the vice securely. Tried not to over tighten it and watch it smash into dust.

Them using a dremel and a 2mm bit i just put a series of holes in the centre of the ivory. Just freehand as they are very small.

Then using various needle files...........

These are some i use...



These are the ones i used for this bolster.

round, flat, square needles and a slightly larger flat needle for the major removal.....




Wearing a pair of 2.5 mag glasses so i could see what i was doing, it was a case of using the files carefully and slowly to make the hole for the tang to fit in. It was done similar to the abalone one from the first knife in this thread.

File out for the tang and them chamfer the inside edges untill the blade sat in nicely. Its fiddly but in the end after a lot of swearing one eventually wins out.

The rear side of the bolster is slightly opened out at an angle from the front so i could make sure epoxy was present to hold it onto the blade.

I dont do it this way all the time, but sometimes i just wing it and see what happens.

Anyway, at the moment it looks pretty weird....like a knife blade sticking out of a rock wall.......pretty cool.

I will try and remember to take some more pics and post them here if anyone wants to spend a few minutes away from maker sales and all the lovely shiny things

Blade with bolster fitted. Have no idea what to do next. I will just make it up as i go along. Not even sure what wood to use

[Shinken]

Very cool!

[pennillion]

Next bit is simple enough. The main thing ( for me ) is to get the surfaces nice and flat and make sure the lines of the handle and blade are as i want them.

Sorry if i am trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs here and i hasten to add this is just the way i mess my knives up. Others do it other ways. I dont very often measure things up as well, i just do it by eye.

[Albert E]

Mik!!This is a great thread/tutorial!!Sorry I just realized it was here!!Congratulations!!The knife ofd course is fantastic!!
Regards:Albert

[G.Holmberg]

Hallo Pennillion!
I realy like both of your knifes, but when will I see them ready, I mean with sheats?
Regards Gunnar.

[pennillion]

Hallo Pennillion!
I realy like both of your knifes, but when will I see them ready, I mean with sheats?
Regards Gunnar.

Hi Gunnar. I'm afraid both of these knives have been finished and sold some time ago.

I may have pics somewhere though....will have a look.