Latest Progression II folder..with upgrades

EdCaffreyMS

EdCaffreyMS

"The Montana Bladesmith"
Just finished this one up for a client. 52100 blade, Ti liners, 416 bolsters, and carved/textured Walnut burl scales.

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nice lines Ed.
I like how most of the blade tucks away into the handle. very pleasing to my eye.
 
A couple questions to Ed about the scales.
Are these natural or stabilized scales? Being so thin with a portion carved, how are they attached? CA, Epoxy? How did you finish the wood?

I hope you don't think I'm nosy, just trying to learn.
Thanks, Mark
 
About the scales: They are Walnut Burl....and your 100% right, those super thin woods scales are a real pain to work with, and I worry so much about how fragile they are, along with shrinking and expansion issues. The scales are finished out with 6 coats of Tru-Oil, after the carving. The only thing holding them on are the screws. I've tried gluing on folder scales in the past, and it usually turns into a train wreck in one way or another. The worst part about gluing scales on a folder is that the glue will often get somewhere that you don't want it, and mess something up (usually the lock). There's also the problem that once scales are glued on, there generally no way to take the knife apart for cleaning/repair (if ever needed), without totally wrecking the knife.

Over the years I've discovered that even stabilizing will not stop wood that thin from shrinking or expanding......minimizes the movement, but it still moves. It took a lot of talking from the client to get me to do the scales.....in my experience there is just too much to go wrong with wood that thin/fragile.
 
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