Raymond Richard
Forum Owner & Moderator
Maybe sometime in the fall you can come over.
bog oak
- Thread starter jspake
- Start date
Maybe sometime in the fall you can come over.
jspake
Well-Known Member
hey guys, just thought i'd update the thread. the knife is done, but the sheath is not, so i'm not ready to show anything JUST YET. i wound up ordering from knifebargains shop in the uk. i ordered 2 blocks, and i actually got one long piece of wood that was a couple of inches longer than the total of 2 separate handle blocks, so i thought that was very cool of them. the wood is a deep grey-brown, and i think it looks fantastic. when i first started grinding, it seemed like it wanted to chip off chunks of wood, perhaps because of checking that i had not noticed. at any rate, i figured out how to not make that happen, and i'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. i hope to finish the sheath this week and post pics then. in the meantime, here's a boring preview.
ray, its raining outside, so it must be fall already. i'm kind of crazy busy from now until november, but i would still love to visit your shop some time.
ray, its raining outside, so it must be fall already. i'm kind of crazy busy from now until november, but i would still love to visit your shop some time.
prisonbreak
Well-Known Member
this is similiar in new zealand...........swamp kauri
http://www.thewoodturnersstudio.co.nz/pages/KauriBlanks.htm
http://www.thewoodturnersstudio.co.nz/pages/KauriBlanks.htm
Raymond Richard
Forum Owner & Moderator
I would think you would have this knife done by now. How'd it turn out? I hope you were pleased with the bog oak.
jspake
Well-Known Member
"I would think you would have this knife done by now."
ray, that makes two of us!!! i wound up moving house and everything else that goes along with packing/painting/repairs/moving/settling in have unfortunately taken precedence over getting this stupid knife done! fortunately i took a nice relaxing trip up to a cabin on the olympic peninsula last weekend and i carved out some time to sew up the sheath, so right now i'm just waiting for the dye to dry and then final touches. as soon as i can steal away the good camera from my gf i'll post some nice pics. not my best knife, but not my worst either.
-jeremy
ray, that makes two of us!!! i wound up moving house and everything else that goes along with packing/painting/repairs/moving/settling in have unfortunately taken precedence over getting this stupid knife done! fortunately i took a nice relaxing trip up to a cabin on the olympic peninsula last weekend and i carved out some time to sew up the sheath, so right now i'm just waiting for the dye to dry and then final touches. as soon as i can steal away the good camera from my gf i'll post some nice pics. not my best knife, but not my worst either.
-jeremy
jspake
Well-Known Member
oh man... i just wrote a really in depth post detailing everything you could want to know about this knife and sheath, and then accidently navigated away from the page, and i lost the whole thing. what's this "auto saved" thing that keeps popping up as i write, and what use is it? bleh. anyway, here's the dang pictures.
Allen Newberry
newberry knives
Nice!
jspake
Well-Known Member
okay, i think i've regained my composure enough to start again with some basic info on this knife. but first, thanks for the compliments guys!
the customer is a female with small hands, and she wanted a short puuko style knife with a fat handle made from bog oak. that's basically what i ended up with, so i think she'll be happy. the blade is a 65mm vikstrom that brisa sells. i've used a few of these blades (and lauri) in different sizes and they have made me quite happy. they arrive as sharp as can be, if not always immaculately ground. as i began my knifemaking journey i decided to focus first on construction techniques and fittings while using premade blades. this way i don't get emotionally attached to the piece, as i've been figuring out the basics. these blades will do until i have blades of my own that i am willing to put my name on. the bog oak was pretty nice to work with. i don't know too much about regular oak, so i don't have that much to compare it to. smells kind of burned. at one point i had a couple of chunks break off while i was shaping the handle, but i couldn't tell you if that was something inherent to the wood, or if maybe i had just missed some checks that went through the block. i think it polished up pretty nice. sealed it with a couple of applications of birchwood casey sealer, then the gun stock oil, and then wax. the guard is 303 stainless, with a black spacer between it and the wood. i have been frustrated with my recent attempts at getting a nice smooth line with low temp silver solder to attach the guard to the blade, so used jb weld mixed with metal dust, and got a pretty clean join. i still would rather solder, but this is a good alternative for the time being, i suppose. a lot of people seem to think that's a fine method. i brazed a length of threaded rod to the bottom of the tang, and that spans the length of the whole handle, with a home made screw on thing to fasten everything together nice and tight after glueing. i don't have a picture of that though. the bottom just has a flush circle of steel in the middle, that looks about the same as a ground down pin on a full tang knife with scales. the sheath came out a little but funky, but maybe you won't be able to tell what went wrong. maybe you can. still trying to master the art of getting the "light" feibing dyes not to come out nearly black by the time you get even coverage. pointers welcome.
criticisms welcome!
by the way, what is the appropriate sub-forum for posting this sort of thing for general commentary and critique/feedback?
-jeremy
the customer is a female with small hands, and she wanted a short puuko style knife with a fat handle made from bog oak. that's basically what i ended up with, so i think she'll be happy. the blade is a 65mm vikstrom that brisa sells. i've used a few of these blades (and lauri) in different sizes and they have made me quite happy. they arrive as sharp as can be, if not always immaculately ground. as i began my knifemaking journey i decided to focus first on construction techniques and fittings while using premade blades. this way i don't get emotionally attached to the piece, as i've been figuring out the basics. these blades will do until i have blades of my own that i am willing to put my name on. the bog oak was pretty nice to work with. i don't know too much about regular oak, so i don't have that much to compare it to. smells kind of burned. at one point i had a couple of chunks break off while i was shaping the handle, but i couldn't tell you if that was something inherent to the wood, or if maybe i had just missed some checks that went through the block. i think it polished up pretty nice. sealed it with a couple of applications of birchwood casey sealer, then the gun stock oil, and then wax. the guard is 303 stainless, with a black spacer between it and the wood. i have been frustrated with my recent attempts at getting a nice smooth line with low temp silver solder to attach the guard to the blade, so used jb weld mixed with metal dust, and got a pretty clean join. i still would rather solder, but this is a good alternative for the time being, i suppose. a lot of people seem to think that's a fine method. i brazed a length of threaded rod to the bottom of the tang, and that spans the length of the whole handle, with a home made screw on thing to fasten everything together nice and tight after glueing. i don't have a picture of that though. the bottom just has a flush circle of steel in the middle, that looks about the same as a ground down pin on a full tang knife with scales. the sheath came out a little but funky, but maybe you won't be able to tell what went wrong. maybe you can. still trying to master the art of getting the "light" feibing dyes not to come out nearly black by the time you get even coverage. pointers welcome.
criticisms welcome!
by the way, what is the appropriate sub-forum for posting this sort of thing for general commentary and critique/feedback?
-jeremy
Raymond Richard
Forum Owner & Moderator
Jeremy, Its looks to me as if you changed your mind about the handle shape from a previous shape. When I first saw this knife first thing that came to mind is the proportions were all out of whack but after I saw it was made as an order I'll take that back. Nice job on the sheath. Doing this style sheath has sure changed the way I feel about making them.
jspake
Well-Known Member
i'll be the first to admit that it is a weird looking knife! basically i showed the customer some other knives i had made, and we settled on a shape that was a mishmash of "this handle feels good to me, but shorter, and with a fatter belly"... that sort of thing. i've always thought that puukko knives have a tendency to look a little bit funny, which is one reason i was drawn to them in the first place. it is certainly not a super macho looking knife.
thanks for the compliment on the sheath. i have also enjoyed making them this way. as i mentioned, i'm still trying to master the basics, but it is something i starting to feel comfortable with.
-jeremy
thanks for the compliment on the sheath. i have also enjoyed making them this way. as i mentioned, i'm still trying to master the basics, but it is something i starting to feel comfortable with.
-jeremy