A first (and possibly last) attempt at a riunded spine....

[Bailey Boat]

Working on a little knife 6.25" in length with a 2.75" blade. The type you would choke up on to do something with the first part of the blade. I thought a rounded spine might be more comfortable as well as add a distinctive look to the piece.
What I discovered is that doing a rounded spine isn't as easy as just knocking off the edges. It has to be kept centered and symmetrical. 2 hours later I finally got it to look correct. NOW, I know why nobody does them much anymore......

 

[EdCaffreyMS]

I had to smile when I read that.

I discovered is that doing a rounded spine isn't as easy as just knocking off the edges

On using pieces I always round the spines, and it does require some thought and practice to make is work. The payoff for me is when a customer notices it (generally the first time they use the knife), and I get a phone call or email saying how nice it is to work with a knife that has that feature.

 

[J. Doyle]

I LOVE rounded spines and moust all of my knives have them. Yep, a lot of handwork for me to get them right. But so worth it to anyone that really uses a knife a lot.

 

[Daniel Rohde]

What are your usual spine rounding steps?

 

[wmhammond]

I make rounded spines as well but I don't find them so difficult. I use my Foredom rotary tool with a coarse, extra wide Cratex wheel. I initially put a concaved groove in the middle of the wheel and then I start on the spine. As I work the spine my cratex wheel groove gets wider and deeper until it is the exact width of my blade and it will make a perfect rounded spine in about 15 minutes. You can also do this on your buffer with a 3" cratex wheel in about 5 min.

Wallace

 

[Bailey Boat]

Ed sent me some helpful tips but I'll let him share them. What I did was totally backwards and I tried to "shoeshine" the rounding and that's why it took so long. Oh well, live and learn and I've definitely learned some tricks to make this a little easier.. Thanks guys!!

 

[J. ROSA]

I've never tried this but would like to add it to my skill list. I some people have mentioned issuing a slack belt with the spine of the blade being vertical. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.