Gray gunmetal finish

L

Ledpaddle

Member
This is my third fitting of a knife handle. This is a pre-hardened and drilled blade from a major supplier. I think this one is called "Mule Skinner." My question is: How do I fit this handle to the blade without removing the gray finish on the top and bottom of the tang? I have to do the final grinding and sanding of the wood while it is in the final fit stage because of the Corby bolts. It seems that I will end up with a mirror polished tang on a gray finish knife, or I have to somehow put the gray finish back on the tang after I fit the handle. What is a good solution to this problem? I am sure that you artists who have built thousands of knives have had this problem and know the best solution.Gray0017.jpg
 
It looks "bead blasted". The easiest thing would be to shape the wood to the blade and then re-bead blast the blade. The finish has to be very nice on the blade to bead blast...it won't cover boo-boos....

or sand the entire blade to match the finish where you sanded to fit the handle.... before final gluing. (that can become a time sink hole...lol)
 
Another idea would be to make an exact handle out of another piece of mild steel. Make sure it is exactly like (ie matches) this knife. Then finish your handle to the copied handle. Transfer the handle materials to the knife when completed...
 
I will research the bead blast idea. I am not sure what all it takes to do that, but I have all sorts of machinery and air compressors in my barn. Thanks.
 
Dennis Morland said:
Another idea would be to make an exact handle out of another piece of mild steel. Make sure it is exactly like (ie matches) this knife. Then finish your handle to the copied handle. Transfer the handle materials to the knife when completed...
Click to expand...
I don't think I have the skill to make an exact duplicate of the knife tank. For sure, I could not do it without marring the finish on the original tang. It's a good idea, though. Thank you.
 
You could run masking tape round the tang edge and finish you handle to that and then take the handles of and run a sandpaper block round them till you remove the .004 (aprox) of the masking tape from off the wood and retry on the knife tang. It may take a few fit and try's but it should be able to be done if you have paitence and a steady hand.
 
After viewing all the alternatives, I have decided to put a bright polished finish on the edges of the tang that show and the top (spine?) part of the blade. I figured that since the entire cutting edge, the secondary bevel, will be bright polished by necessity then the integrity of the bead blast finish will be compromised anyway. I will make the very top edge of the blade, the flat part, match the finish of the secondary bevel. Then, if I use nickel silver corby bolts, the entire knife could take on a decorative two toned appearance. This may not be the best solution to the problem, but it seems like it could work and may not look too amateurish. I will post a picture of it when I am done if anybody asks to see it.
I really appreciate all the information and ideas I got from you guys. I learned a lot. I really am a novice at this art. This will be my third handle fitting.
 
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