Stone WIP

S

soundmind

KNIFE MAKER
Stone handles have been an interest of mine for a while. I decided to get started building experience with a few inexpensive diamond abrasives. For materials I'm using rocks that I find so again - not a huge investment on it. I'd recommend buying slabs if you're interested in trying. It saves a lot of time and takes out a lot of guesswork. Where I live it's easier for me to make my own than to buy them. I can find reasonably nice material to work with just to build experience.

Some shots of something new I found this year on the river.
outer shell:
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I'm having a hard time nailing down what this is but it seems to be the calcedony family - jasper, agate, chert...idk what it really is.
What I caught my eye was the semi-gloss and semi-transparent surface. It looked like something that might polish up.

Here's the inside:
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Definitely some nice brown, grey, and blue. The next post will show how I got to this point with raw material.
 
I don't own a slabbing saw but would like to buy or make one at some point. It'd be nice to make a setting for our wood stove,too, so there'd be more reason to do it besides knives.

I did these slabs with a 4 1/2" angle grinder with diamond cut off wheels and cup wheels to get close to flat.

You can use water or stone cutting oil which isn't as hard on your tools. I'm using water and it has already cost me one angle grinder. I'm pretty sure I got slurry in the motor. I haven't tried protecting the motor but will next time. Not only to protect the tool, but also from electric shock.

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Next thing I did was lap them. I used a couple aggressive diamond laps for sharpening stones.
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Slow progress on the first lap. Again, I'm using water. The grooves catch the water and help create a slurry that you can continue to use.
I think I remember hearing that the slurry helps cut.
 
I hit them with another lapping stone just to get more of an idea how they'll polish out. When I actually make the knife, I'll cut away what I don't need so I won't have as much surface area to flatten. But for now, this gives me a look at the colors and any fractures I want to cut away.
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The final product for now. I'm hoping for a pair of scales, a "block" for a hidden tang, a dressing stone, and a display mount not showing - all matching.
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Just want to comment on this last piece. I'm not sure if this line is a weak point. But since I've been learning about stone, it seems one desirable feature can be landscapes that come out in the banding when you cut a slab. I learned about these in souvenier shops in WY and NE (?) with the red sandstone(?). "Ocean picture stone" is pretty nice too. Anyway, it'd be nice to incorporate that into knives somehow, but if they are going to crack, then these harder stones could be set in epoxy to be used as natural dressing stones.

I like this one because it's got a dark shadow over the mountain. But honestly it doesn't have full landscape appeal in my opinion.
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My computer isn't showing if the last picture loaded. Ignore the title, I don't know if it's jasper

jasper with mountains.jpg

I haven't decided on a knife type yet. Something with a hamon.
 
That's awesome! Wonder if you've seen Kyle Royer's latest knife with a stone handle? Some ideas in it could help you

 
REK Knives said:
Wonder if you've seen Kyle Royer's latest knife with a stone handle? Some ideas in it could help you
Click to expand...
Yep, that is a good video. I subscribed to his channel awhile back and was excited when this video came out. I've only come up with a few knife related threads online so this was pretty fun to watch. I think he did right to go to a show and buy what he wanted. That way he can say what it is. Lots of help in the comments, too.
 
Still thinking about how I will attach the scales.

No front and rear bolsters this time. But I will relieve the edges of the scales away from the spine.

I would like to go with no visible fasteners, in order to avoid drilling all the way through the stone. If not, I’ll use screws so the scales can come on and off. I think an epoxied liner and locating pins will help hold it together if it’s dropped - enough to allow for repair.

Hopefully I’ll end up with a slick little EDC.
 
You should buy a cheap tile saw for cutting them up. My dad was a flooring installer, I always used his old tile saw for cutting up agates. I think you can get a water cooled one from Home Cheapo for like a couple hundred bucks.
 
Edwardshandmadeknives said:
You should buy a cheap tile saw for cutting them up. My dad was a flooring installer, I always used his old tile saw for cutting up agates. I think you can get a water cooled one from Home Cheapo for like a couple hundred bucks.
Click to expand...
I had wondered if a tile saw would be the same thing.

There's a used tool shop nearby that has wet cutting saw for $275. It looked like it had a 6-7" blade that would make nice slabs. Better than an angle grinder for sure. Dukats are slim at the moment and it probably won't last long.
 
These are going back into heat treating at the moment.

I heated up the edge on one. The hamon wasn't high up as I wanted on it anyway. And the hamon isn't distinct near the tip of the other.
 
I was able to get these heat treated again, but lost the edge on one due to over grinding again.

I either ground too high or we are having long days so I may not be judging the color right in the evenings. I'm done the forge until I can get out of the natural light.

The other is in process. I chased the grinds on it. Will do a quick 800 and test etch for the hamon. If it's good I'll do the handles. If not...

I'd just like to have get decent hamon out of this steel, especially for this kind of handle.
 
I agree, I do think finding and using them can be rewarding. People also like buying something sourced locally. The drawbacks are identifying it for sales purposes and the time it takes to process usable material.

I will be researching the process for accurate identification.

This was the nicest stone I've ever found. I was surprised when I opened it up and thought I'd share this one.
 
starting at about 6:00

- about the difficulty of telling the difference between types of chalcedony.

I do a scratch test when I'm rockhounding.

I'm hoping it's a rare color of jade.....
 
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