Trad Gang
Main Boards => Hunting Knives and Crafters => Topic started by: Bodork on April 28, 2008, 09:34:00 PM
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Okay guys, because I have this unique ability to think outside the box(or inability to think within the box which has led to my 'dork' status) I thought, "hey, how I can make a helle blade look like a full tang with file work?"
Here is what I came up with.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/mikebaker/DSCF0642.jpg)
The blade is the odell blade. I cut the ebony in half to make the scales just like a full tang knife. I used a piece of curley maple for the fake tang. I got the scales and maple to shape and actually filed the maple just like I would have a tang. Then I spray painted the sides of the maple to make the file work show up good. I glued the pieces together along with some .030 bloodwood for accents.
Everything was going perfect until it all fell apart. One of the scales slid down about 1/16 of an inch when I glued the blank up. I had even drilled pilot holes and inserted toothpicks to prevent this from happening. Now I knew I would loose the file work when I sanded the scales back even again. I only lost the first two but all the others were in good shape. I went ahead and fine sanded the top of the handle. Then I brushed a couple of light coats of diluted india ink onto the maple while procting the rest of the handle with masking tape. This toned the maple down from the light natural color it has.
Then I put two coats of thunder bird laquer sealer on the entire sanded handle. I sanded the sealer off as I always do, but on the fake tang, I didn't take it all the way to the wood. Then I took my india ink and a fountain pin and re-painted the file work. Yea, I cheated even more! I left the coat of sealer so the ink wouldn't run on the maple.
All in all, I think the knife looks really neat for a dummy with very limited experience with file work. I added the brass pins to give the look a of a full tang knife. Here are some side views. Thanks for looking, Mike
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/mikebaker/DSCF0646.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/mikebaker/DSCF0647.jpg)
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Man that is AWESOME!!!!
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Bo dork, I'm not laughing at you but I think what you did was funny as hell!! Good job man! Wish I couls see it in person!! Its very hard to tell what you did in the pics! I think its great. Now get you soem scrap pieces and pratice that file work. OR OR OR i can send you some scrap pieces the actual size of a blade for file practice!!!
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Man that's a lot of work to make a fake full tang knife...but very inventive and beautiful. Doc
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Bodork, it's that kind of imagination that leads to great knives (and other things).
Dan
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I don't know how practical it is ,but it is AWESOME!
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Nice handle (shape and material)-- realistic looking filework. Show it again w/ a sheath if you get a chance. Larry
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What Lewis said. Mike ya gotta try your hand at making your own blade. Great looking knife.<><
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Great job...creativity at it's finest!!!
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Ya done good!
Mike
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Incredible.
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saaweeet
i like a man who thinks out of the box
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Hey, thanks guys. I figured everyone would either love it or hate it! I tell you, it probably would have been easier to do the real thing. Frank, I didn't intend to like this knife stuff so much when I started but I'm feeling the need to take the next step. I can't find any pre-made blade blanks in the exact shape I want so who knows? I do have to make a few more for raffles soon so I'll probably stick with the helle blades for those. Thanks again guys,Mike
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Bodork, if you did make it with that file work then you'd have to get all that darned epoxy out of the filed area. I have found that to be a real bear!! I like your faux work!
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Very creative!! I love that kind of ingenuity.
Thanks for posting.
Nathan