Dymond wood knife is done.

[Shankmaker]

Well here is the knife with the dymond wood scales.
It was the best stuff I have used so far.Thats not saying much though.LOL. Yes the handle is as fat as it looks. I was scared to try and shape this dymond wood to much.

My hat again goes off to you guys and the details you put in your knives. I sanded and sanded this blade but couldnt get rid of the scrathces.

The rope file work is a result of having to cover a screw up on the spine.....im glad I did it now other then when I went to use my cheapo task force half round only about two inches of the end of the file would cut....the rest of the file was smooth as a babies bottom.Junk.

Its my first time using kydex. Its fun to work with but the fasteners were a nightmare.I found it not quite as easy as most tutorials say but it is forgiving. Again... I need to order the right fasteners.

Thanks for all the tips.
Any advice or tips for me are always welcome.

[Ray Rogers]

The pictures are far too large for me to load on my wimpy dial up 16k connection so I didn't get to see them. From your description though, I'd say why not shape the handle some more? Dymondwood is as easy to work as anything else and finishes more easily than most.

As for the kydex fasteners, try using Chicago screws. They add some class to a kydex sheath and they are much easier to use than the compression style fasteners...

[NJStricker]

Shank,

I think you know already what I'm about to say, the handles are too square and wide. Dymondwood is tough stuff for sure, especially if you are hand filing. But, if you can hand file annealed steel you can file Dymondwood. If you have a belt sander that should help. To get scratches out of handle material you use the same process you use to get them out of the blade.

Nathan

[Doug Lester]

The shape of the blade and the file work look great. I see that you worked the bevels farther back towards the spine and the plunge line looks pretty good too. The outline of the handle is fine but I agree with Nathan that you need to work on the contours a bit to keep the scales from looking like slabs. Contouring the scales will help show off the layering of the material better. The less abrupt you make the changes in the contour, the wider the bands of the different wood will be.

Doug Lester

[calharkins]

I have made a few handles out of dymondwood. It shapes real well if you have a belt sander. I like your blade.

[terence]

i made a kneck knife for my brother and used kydex, but for fasteners i used spent .22 shells and mushroomed the back side to hold the kydex together the front looked really cool the back wasnt the prettiest but he liked it

[chiger]

Hey Shank,

Don't chicken out man...you're doing great! That is far and away the best job you've done on handles yet. Not chipped out pin holes or anything. ;~) And the silhouette/shape is great. Really fits the blade.

The guys are right about needing contouring, but if you can do what you've done there you CAN take it to the next level.

If you're worried about chipping or delaminating the dymond wood, file or grind from the outside of the ply toward the layers like you would with end grain in natural wood. It's tough stuff though, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Oh, and do finish sanding with the grain just like natural wood and the scratches will disappear easier.

Scratches on the blade huh, ain't it a pain? Using coarse belts to shape the bevel of the blade makes deep scratches that don't show up till later if you don't take the time to get the worst of them before heat treat. Then they really are a pain to get out. Just be sure to use the old palm sander and sand it to a 220 grit before heat treat. Of course you have already found out how hard it is to get soft steel really shinny! ;~) Really hard steel is just as big a pain.

But the REAL trick is...there is no trick! It just take patients. You just have to keep after it. Finishing a knife is more about determination and persistence than even technique. There are 20 techniques to do everything. We just have to be more stubborn than wood and steel.

To tell the truth though, blade looks great man. Love the file work. And the blade shape is excellent.

Way to go Shank. Can't wait to see what's next with the progress you're showing. You've definitely got the vision.

chiger,

[maddogrecurve]

Thank you Chigar.