Here's something that might help someone. Disclaimer first: I bought these full price with my own money. Penn State Industries has not given me anything to say anything about this. Nor am I associated with Kirinite or Eagle Grips. Wouldn't hurt my feelings if they did, but I am sure they don't even know I exist.
So I am rebuilding a Utica lady's leg knife. It originally had celluloid scale material that had off gassed and was dissolving the knife with something akin to nitric acid, or so I am told.
Those scales were celluloid and glitter (basically crushed glass since glitter hadn't been invented yet.) I wanted to find a replacement, and came across Eagle Grips Kirinite Stardust Series. They sell knife blanks and all sorts of other things, but the knife making suppliers I was looking at didn't have any in stock. However, apparently they sell pen turning blanks. Pen blanks are 3/4 square roughly. These measured in at 0.80-0.83. As you can see in my second picture my liners from the lady's leg, slim trapper and toothpick for perfectly. I will re-saw them down to scale size and get perhaps 2 pair per block. While I was there I got some from their pearl or M series as well as just some plain old acrylic. Not to mention some aluminum honeycomb ones.
Anyway I think knife blanks were going to cost me 18.95 for a set of 2 scales where the Penn State turning blank cost around $6. And the plain acrylics come in around 3. Check out some of the pen turning suppliers. They may also have pepper mill blanks which I think are 2 or 3 inches square.
They were not wide enough for the sunfish, Lanny's clip (clasp), or the sodbuster Jr that I am working on. Though perhaps if you cut them diagonally they might fit. I haven't tried to re-saw them diagonally yet. More if it works!!!
Hobby knife making is a small vertical. Keep an eye out for other uses of certain products for better pricing. If they get to put "for knife making" on the label it gets to cost more.
So I am rebuilding a Utica lady's leg knife. It originally had celluloid scale material that had off gassed and was dissolving the knife with something akin to nitric acid, or so I am told.
Those scales were celluloid and glitter (basically crushed glass since glitter hadn't been invented yet.) I wanted to find a replacement, and came across Eagle Grips Kirinite Stardust Series. They sell knife blanks and all sorts of other things, but the knife making suppliers I was looking at didn't have any in stock. However, apparently they sell pen turning blanks. Pen blanks are 3/4 square roughly. These measured in at 0.80-0.83. As you can see in my second picture my liners from the lady's leg, slim trapper and toothpick for perfectly. I will re-saw them down to scale size and get perhaps 2 pair per block. While I was there I got some from their pearl or M series as well as just some plain old acrylic. Not to mention some aluminum honeycomb ones.
Anyway I think knife blanks were going to cost me 18.95 for a set of 2 scales where the Penn State turning blank cost around $6. And the plain acrylics come in around 3. Check out some of the pen turning suppliers. They may also have pepper mill blanks which I think are 2 or 3 inches square.
They were not wide enough for the sunfish, Lanny's clip (clasp), or the sodbuster Jr that I am working on. Though perhaps if you cut them diagonally they might fit. I haven't tried to re-saw them diagonally yet. More if it works!!!
Hobby knife making is a small vertical. Keep an eye out for other uses of certain products for better pricing. If they get to put "for knife making" on the label it gets to cost more.
