Ok.. school me now

[razorsharptokill]

I'm really ignorant to the whole knife making thing. I know very little of the terminolgy so I'm counting on you guys the get me through this. I bought a damascus blade today at the gun show in Tulsa for $30.00. Seemed kinda cheap to me. Hope quality isn't too bad.
 
I have plenty of wood for the handle so I bought only the screw type handle pins. Hope I got the right thing.

I'm assuming that I take my handle stock and drill the small diameter holes first, then counter sink the screw head holes so that they fit flush.

Then scuff handle portion of blade (tang?)and inside of handle stock with sand paper so it will make a good bond with epoxy?

Then glue/screw stocks to tang and let set up?

Once epoxy is dry I shape and sand handle? I was planning on Cocobolo for the handle.

[sticshooter]

Yep sounds good to me. But I am not a pro knife maker. Great looking blade . Is it tempered already or do you still have to do it?<><

[OconeeDan]

Yep, you pretty much have it down.  Make sure you shape and sand the handle scales at the front end before you glue up.  After the handles are on, it's hard to work on them where they meet the blade.
Don't torque on the rivet pins too hard, or you can crack the wood.
Protect the blade with tape while you work on the handle.
Those blanks usually come treated.
Dan

[imskippy]

beautiful blade. goodluck and take pics and update us along the way.

[LC]

"Make sure you shape and sand the handle scales at the front end before you glue up. After the handles are on, it's hard to work on them where they meet the blade."

Good advice I might also advise if your planning on staining the wood, stain the same area as above. If not your glue will ooze out and seal   up this area and not take stain.

[razorsharptokill]

All good points, thanks guys. How do I tell if it is already tempered?

I'm really looking forward to getting both my knife projects underway.

[LC]

One way you can get a idea of if it's tempered enough is do the "brass rod test". Sharpen the blade till it's reasonably sharp. Then clamp a 3/8" brass rod in a vise so that it sticks above the vise jaws then lay your blade on it at the angle it's sharpened and apply some pressure. Some say you should be able to see the knife blade edge flex and then return to it's original shape. Personally I've never witnessed the "flexing" but if it's too hard the knife edge will chip out! I have witnessed that. Then it needs tempering.

I don't do the above test but use a cermaic rod, lay it on a flat table lay my knife edge on it and roll it along the edge to see if it chips out.

[OconeeDan]

Try drilling in the handle where it will be hidden.
A hardened blade will be difficult to drill.
For reference, take a piece of known mild steel, use a drill press if you have one, drill a hole.  notice how easily it drills.
Then take your blade, drill in the handle, if you put pressure on it and the drill bit doesn't drill easy, then it is probably hardened fine.  No need to actually drill a hole, but you can get an idea of the hardness.
Not a scientific method, but hardened blades, while you can drill them, will burn up drill bits fast and are hard to drill.
If you can drill into it "not easy, but not hard", then it may have been tempered but be a cheap steel that won't ever get real hard.  It'll still work but won't hold an edge as long as good steel.
Dan

[razorsharptokill]

Ok thanks OconeeDan, makes sense. $30.00 seemed cheap to me when I see damscus blades for $250+.

Either way, I've always loved the Old Timer skinner style blade and this was damascus to boot!

[skullworks]

Nice blade, can't wait to see the finished one!

[LC]

Just keep in mind some knife makers, myself included, only edge quench the blades. That means the only part hardened and then needing tempered is the blade edge. The handle section could be drilled at anytime then.

[razorsharptokill]

Well went to put handles on and noticed that the screw pins are a little wider than what my total handle width will be. Back to the shop for more material.

[skullworks]

Make sure you tape up the blade BEFORE you start any drilling! If the bit sticks you're gonna get cut! I speak from 31 stitches of experience! LOL!

[robtattoo]

When you say 'screw pins' do you mean these.....

 

....on the right of the picture?

Reason I ask is, you mention that they're wider than your handle material. The idea behind them is that you can cut them down to length & then profile them as you sand your handle down.
I see a lot of guys using Corby bolts like this & leaving their handles ultra-wide & frankly, out of proportion, instead of sanding them down. Don't be afraid of taking the heads of 'em, that's what they're designed for!

[razorsharptokill]

Ya know.. I thought of that. Mine are just like the silver one second from the right. Should they be flush with the handle surface or recessed?

[robtattoo]

I've always made them flush with the surface, but generally, that means having to sand 'em flat, once theyre fitted (ie; take out the slot)

Here's an example....

 

These are actually nickel silver bolts, like yours, not just round bar.

[razorsharptokill]

That's cool!

[OconeeDan]

Rob is right, they'll always be wider than the handle, until you grind everything smooth.

[razorsharptokill]

I have a lot to learn! I was thinking of doing a cow horn and cocobolo handle will epoxy bond these two?

[razorsharptokill]

Went with just coco. Got the scales epoxied to the blade and screw snugged.