i finally got around to making, installing and finishing the red oak handles for a coupla helle blades. the smaller blade is standard helle stainless and the larger is an all carbon helle blade. nothing at all fancy, just a coupla utility work knives.
i started off drilling appropriate sized tang holes in rectangles of red oak i sawed off a board i had lying around the shop. i cut off the blade tangs with a dremel carbide wheel and then cut in small notches along the top and bottom tang edges, to better hold in the epoxy,
shaped the handles with a stationary belt sander and sanding wheel, epoxied in the blades with slow set nhp epoxy, finished the wood with gloss clear min-wax wipe on polyu,
cut up some six ounce leather for sheaths and stitched 'em up with waxed B50 dacron bowstring fiber, cinched the string knots and leather edges with thin cya. just awaiting a kme sharpener to sharpen these puppies up.