less steel, more knife

S

soundmind

KNIFE MAKER
These are before and after pics of a knife I made. I had it out last fall and it performed well, but I just didn't like the size or the way it looked and felt. So I tried grinding away some stuff. I've also taken the antler down as far as I could.

I think the handle at the back was too wide and tended to push my hand forward into the guard - which didn't amount to much anyway. When I held the antler up to the blade it looked good, but I didn't realize how uncomfortable that handle shape was - so I turned the knife into something you'd more likely pull with.

80CRV2 skinner/game processor/kitchen buddy with caribou handle. Curly maple spacer. Brass.

Thanks for looking.
-Luke

009.jpg013.jpg
014.jpgThis last pic is just to show the abnormality of the back of the handle. I wish I wouldn't have tried repurposed brass. That cavity showed up as I sanded it down.
 
Dennis Morland said:
I am a big fan of building a knife around the horn. Rather than shaping the horn to the knife.
Click to expand...
Thanks Dennis (and Rick!).
The handle not only flares out but twists away from your palm. That compound angle gave me trouble but I would like to try again - a part of the reason for the pins in the butt plate.
BTW Dennis, I wasn't trying to cramp your style on that. I needed a little more strength than what I had with just a small nut soldered on.
 
It is very hard finding straight horns. Most bend, twist and refuse to grow perfectly straight. One of the reasons that they are so interesting. Also, some have glorious color and texture. No two knives end up the same...
 
Thanks Dennis. Your pins come out very clean. This was a repair due to the span of the back plate the small nut and epoxy were trying to hold. The epoxy gave out when we were trying to separate the head from the neck bone. Later, I could tell the plate loosened up a little. So I put those pins in and refinished around the plate. All I had in brass round stock was too big.

The other good thing about this fix was that originally the back of the handle was at an awkward angle for slamming your hand down on the knife to separate joints (and the neck joint was tough). Now you can rock the knife back a little and still get a driving piercing cut more comfortably. I'm depending on the steel to hold up to keep the tip from snapping. That's why no second swedge. It's hardened to 59HRC.
 
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