Ever See a Handle that Needed a Knife?

[ricky_arthur]

I have a friend who was telling me about some of the knife making supplies he put in storage 15 years ago and never used. I asked him to dig them out and among the various and sundry items was a Cape Buffalo horn. He had cut up the bases to make scales, (started but never finished) and there was about 10 inches of the tip that was untouched. I immediately decided it needed to be a knife handle. I asked if I could buy It and he simply gave it to me.

It became todays project. I was pretty excited to design something for it. and here it sits so far. Had to take a break to come into work for a while, so I thought I'd post it as a WIP.



Any input on the handle spacers? My wife liked it like it is pictured with 2 steel and one brass in the middle. I thought about taking the second steel one out and just using one of each.

If I get lucky, I will have this one ready for heat treat by tonight.

Any input at this stage is welcome as well as suggestions about working with this type of horn as it is my first time. I did cut, sand and polish a scrap piece and it appears to take a pretty good shine.

[Ray Rogers]

Looks like a great start! Be sure to work the horn only with fresh, sharp belts and sharp drill bits to avoid heat build up. If you buff it, be very careful about heat. It doesn't take much extra heat to cause that stuff to split - it's basically fingernail material ....

[ricky_arthur]

Good to know, Thanks Ray.

[metal99]

That's awesome Ricky! I would leave the spacers the way they are.

[Doug Lester]

I think that I agree with your wife. Use the two steel spacers with the brass one in between.

Oh, ya, and pictures when yer done.

Doug

[ricky_arthur]

Thanks every one for the input.

here it is after blade grind and profile. I'm about to start working on the Handle parts.

I could use some more input here if anyone has an opinion. My plan is to do a simple blade on this one. This knife is about the handle, No swedge, no filework. I'm having a hard time now. I have never done just a plain ol blade. Can simple be elegant? I do plan on doing a Hamon, so maybe that will be enough?

[metal99]

I think that simple will be great on that knife. Just the way everything looks on that knife right now is awesome. A hamon would definatly set it off.

[Ray Rogers]

For me 'less is more' has always been the way to go. That knife would have looked very good with a nice sabre grind but, as a full flat grind, I think a hamon would dress it up perfectly.....

[ricky_arthur]

normalizing 3 cycles before I coat the blade for the hamon.

[metal99]

Looks good Ricky when I did my hamons I wish I would have normalized before I coated the blades. What do you use to coat yours?

[ricky_arthur]

Just furnace cement from the hardware store. The cement is drying now so I will probably heat treat in the morning. Waiting to see how a Hamon will turn out is my favorite part of making a knife.

[Crex]

Simple is elegant in it's own way. Just remember a flaw or goof really shows up more on a "simple" piece of work. If you want a subtle bling in the mix just gimp the brass a little before final assembly.
Pay attention to what Ray said on the horn....it's just compressed hair and can be very finicky to over heating with dull belts or buffing. I usually just sand to 600 and then wool with 0000 finish with a good hand buffing and wax. Gives a soft lustre which will not detract from your blade.

[ricky_arthur]

I owe thanks to Ray for the wire Idea on the clay.

Hows this hamon?

I had it all ready for heat treat this morning and the Clay popped off as I was heating it. Wrapped it in wire and redid the clay. Cost me the whole day waiting for it to dry. The wire worked like a charm, the clay stayed on good.

As I started to etch the blade I was thinking I didn't have a very good hamon, but the more I etched and polished the better it started to pop.




Now to start finishing the handle.

[Brad Johnson]

Horn responds well to stabilizing. You have invested a lot of time and energy into a fine knife, it would be a pity for the handle to start "walking" or moving in response to the ambient tempratures.

[ricky_arthur]

Thanks for the tip Brad, unfortunately I read it 2 minutes after I had epoxied the handle. I know the horn is at least 15 years old so I hope it doesn't do much settling.


It is starting to come together. I need to break the edges of the filework on the guard. It is a little rough on the hand.