Home made knife and sheath

[Josh Dabney]

Howdy Pards,

Figured since this is the Leather forum and all and this'un came back to the top I'd throw up a pic of #5 complete with shoes. 

Koyote, thanks alot fer the kind words, it's been my pleasure workin with ya to meet yer wants.  This project of ours is sure to turn a few heads round these parts 

Dr.Bob, I thank ya sir for the fer the encouraging compliment and take it to mean I must be on the right track, errrr at least ON the track if'n not the right one, LOL.



Thanks again Yall,  Josh 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That #5 is another winner, Josh. Very nice work. It's made even nicer by the sheath with the similar theme to it. Thanks for the pic.

[Kid Terico]

Great looking knife and sheath Josh. Keep it up. KT

[Forty Rod]

Josh, this may seem like a foolish question, but is there any reason the wire inlay wouldn't work on a rifle stock or pistol grips?

Can you suggest someone who could do that work using my pattern?

[Josh Dabney]

Forty Rod,

No reason at all.  As long as you dont mind sticking with Maple (curly, flamed, quilted, etc.) or walnut then doing a wire inlay is no problem.

As far as I know the most popular object for silverwire was and is muzzleloading rifles of the pre-metallic cartridge era.  Like mountain men of the 18th century may have typically used.  I'm certainly not a historian or authority on this subject   so do take the last comment with a grain of salt  

Edited, posted before I was finished  again, LOL

I would be comfortable working from your design an quoting a price with some more details. Feel free to PM me,

I'll bet Chuck Burrows could/would do it also.

I do know one other fella with the right skills by the name of Wick Ellerby I would also highly recommend.

Thanks for the inquiry Pard,  Josh

[Forty Rod]

Thanks Josh.  I got your PM, too, and I'll get with you after the holidays.

[Josh Dabney]

Sounds great Forty,

Gonna be very busy here till after the new year as is, but I'm not complaining.   

One thing to consider also is the current finish on your wood.  It really needs to be bare wood to do the wire and finished afterwards.  Stripping the finish is an option but it's important to have wood that will absorb moisture to swell the grain after the wire is installed.

Just somthing to think about,  Josh

[Gun Butcher]

  Beautiful work Josh, That knife would look great with the last longrifle I built. You are giving me some new ideas to work witj, I hope you don't mind.

[Josh Dabney]

GB,

Not at all Pard !  Go crazy 

Just be sure to share pics

-Josh

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy Josh 

     Young fella you just keep amazing me with your talent, what you've made is beautiful, the way you do the silver wire has to be a real task, I know it would be for me, and you pull it off perfectly, even the wood stands out as special, the blade looks perfect too, and then you top it off with this totally Awesome sheath, all I can say after this is my hat's off to you, keep up this great work Pard.

           Regards

         tEN wOLVES 

   

[cowboy316]

Howdy pards
im need advice on knife making i got a damascus premade blank all i have to do is put the handle on and what in doing is i split an antler inhalf and i wanna epoxy it to the blade but have no ideawhat kind to use so if you knife maker could chime in id be greatful
thanks pards
Cowboy316

[GunClick Rick]

The way i did the only one i ever made had a wide handle and i took it to a mill shop and had them cut it down and triangle it.I then drilled the hole in the antler as strieght as i could and epoxied leaving space for it to swell.It came out nice except i used to much antler. Big and clumbsy knife.Only one i ever did,i leave it to the pros now.

[JD Alan]

 Hey Cowboy 316, I'm really glad to see you posting again. I was gettin a little worried about you!

[Mogorilla]

There are rivets to use, you counter sink them and they have a slot head.  Designed to be ground off flat once screwed together and epoxide.  I bought mine through Crazy Crow, look at their website, has lots of knife making supplies.   I have done it the way GCR said as well.  Sometimes I like a full tang, then go for the rivets.  

[Gun Butcher]

Cowboy, I am assuming that the blank has holes in the handle. If it does then go the way Mogorilla said with the rivets. But as far as epoxy goes I use the 5 ton epoxy that comes in the syringe looking deal and it mixes as you push it out of the syringe.

[GunClick Rick]

The reason i had to cut mine down was it was to long and the antler had the curve in it and i could only go that far with the drill also.I should have cut the antler at the curve and used it as a strieght grip,but the antler was so pretty and flaired at the gaurd just right.I could have made two nice smaller knives.The antler looked alot nicer in real life.

[Josh Dabney]

Howdy pards.

Ask 10 knifemakers what kind of adhesive they use and you'll get 12 different answer, LOL.  

The simple answer is just about any kind of epoxy is good enough for knife handles when used properly.  Surface prep being the key to a good bond.  I've used Loc-Tite brand and Devcon 5min and 2-Ton available at walmart harware stores etc. etc.  Any how, be sure to score up the tang and antler with some 60 or 80 grit sandpaper then clean the steel well with alcohol prior to glue-up.

I agree with Mogorilla also, epoxy alone is not a sufficient bond for knifes with scale handles.  Hidden tang, yes.  The reason is the epoxy has great tensile strength but low shear strength meaning a whack against the edge of the handle may pop the scale off.

As he mentioned the use of pins, even hidden internal pins will provide shear strength to the bond.  The type he mentioned are called Corby bolts.  Corbys are about the best there is in strength and good looks but I wouldn't recommend them for your application unless your planning on sanding your antler smooth anyway.  

If you want to keep the natural look of the antler as much as posssible I'd use just regular pinstock in brass, stainless, or even mild steel.  

There are other options like Loveless bolts and cutlery rivets available also but again I personally wouldn't use these with antler.

If you want to use pins feel free to send me a message and I'll explain how to go about peening the pins or spinning the pinheads with low risk of damage to your antler.

It would help us help you if you snapped a quick pic of the materials your working with and posted for us to see.  

Good luck and don't be shy now,  show us the pics when she's finished,  Josh

[Ned Buckshot]

You got good advice from Josh. I use LocTite brand but I really don't think there is a big differance between brands.

And yes you definatly will have to use pins, I prefer the look of internal but thats just a my thing sort of decission.

Good luck and ask questions, you've got a great deal of experiance to draw on here.

Ned

[Dave Cole]

Not much I can add to whats already been said, but Ned's right plenty of help here.Feel free to ask anytime.Dave

[Mogorilla]

Bowie done with Cirby Rivets

Knife with Elk antler crown, epoxied and pinned with brass

Knife with Whitetail crown, epoxied, no pins