What was is your AhHa moment?

opaul

opaul

KNIFE MAKER
I’ve had several but today’s was so relatively simple I couldn’t believe it’s taken seven years before it dawned on me.
I’ve C- clamped many scales and they would always stick to the scale material. I was using some wax to help clean up epoxy run out at the ricasso and it dawned on me - spread a little wax on the C-clamp pads. Amazing- the clamps came free without any issues.

I’m slow in learning but can’t believe it took me this long to figure that out.
 
mike miller said:
Mine was liner and scale not being aligned correctly. I finally figured out to glue the liner to the scales and then glue up the combo to the knife.
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Yep. That’s the sure way. Really easy to screw up if you don’t. How do I know that!?
 
Both good points ya'll make, I surely had a "Ha-Ha" moment a while back. I got the idea of using masking tape to make strips of sandpaper for sanding knife handles - use them like a shoeshine cloth. That works good, but the masking tape does still break sometimes, especially when wet sanding. I now use duck tape to make the back the sandpaper strips - they just last 'n last. That really works good.
 
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KenH said:
Both good points ya'll make, I surely had a "Ha-Ha" moment a while back. I got the idea of using masking tape to make strips of sandpaper for sanding knife handles - use them like a shoeshine cloth. That works good, but the masking tape does still break sometimes, especially when wet sanding. I now use duck tape to make the back the sandpaper strips - they just last 'n last. That really works good.
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That’s a good tip. I cut and rip used sanding belts most of the time for that job.
 
Dennis Morland said:
My ah-ha moment was the first time I used a Bruce Bump file guide. Made plunge lines so much easier to match.
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I agree DeMo. Every knife maker should have one. The carbide faced ones are expensive but worth every cent and keep going and going.
 
Getting the scales to line up when doing hidden pins. Attach the first scale, then drill pin holes/glue pins, when dry put a little paint on the pins touch the second scale and it marks where to drill on the second scale.
 
I've had so many! One of the newer ones I read somewhere and tried (worked fantastic) was to use masking tape on tang and handle material. Super glue scale to tang on the tape then drill your pin holes attach the other scale same way, drill the second set of holes in other scale, pull the whole mess apart and remove tape! Perfect pin alignment, remove the tape and no super glue to remove! Another aaahhhhhaa moment was couldn't stand cutting sandpaper straps with scissors, knives etc... Bought a paper cutter at a tagsale for $2. Now it takes seconds to cut and you keep nice straight lines and can make various width cuts easily!
 
Gliden07 said:
I've had so many! One of the newer ones I read somewhere and tried (worked fantastic) was to use masking tape on tang and handle material. Super glue scale to tang on the tape then drill your pin holes attach the other scale same way, drill the second set of holes in other scale, pull the whole mess apart and remove tape! Perfect pin alignment, remove the tape and no super glue to remove! Another aaahhhhhaa moment was couldn't stand cutting sandpaper straps with scissors, knives etc... Bought a paper cutter at a tagsale for $2. Now it takes seconds to cut and you keep nice straight lines and can make various width cuts easily!
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Another way to do that is to use two sided scotch tape. Just be sure to clean the scales with alcohol to get a good bond. Assemble and light press in the vice and you have a scale sandwich. I’ve been doing this for over two years any it works better than a drop of super glue for me.
 
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