Hidden Challenges

[Bigblue17]

This is a knife I've been planning for some time know and it represents my most ambitious project yet. I have been assembling the necessary pieces and parts, and I've drawn up a simple diagram of what I hope to acheive with the finished piece. In doing so, I have realized several challenges with this build that I've been able to think through and resolve, but, I'm sure there may be other "hidden challenges" that, as novice maker, I have not realized. This project has already cost me and unholy amount of $$'s and planning time so failure is NOT an option, and I'm hoping for a finished product that at least closely resembles the drawings and the image in my head.

I'm hoping that by posting a few (poor) pictures and a build discription, some of you experienced makers will be able to identify these hidden challenges and provide the needed solution(s).

So far... I know that I will need to bend the end of the tang and, as a result, the drilled hole thru the largest handle section will need to be slightly enlarged to accomidate the insertion of the bent section. I also now know that soldering the guard may not be the best/easiest process (with damascus), so I'll be using JB Weld. The pommel is being turned for me by a local machine shop and I'll be hand shaping the guard.

The blade: hidden tang, 7 3/4 inch, cable damascus with a 6 inch threaded tang
The handle: (will be) stabilized spalted Box Elder burl for the two large sections, African Blackwood for the next to the guard and pommel, spacers/guard and pommel of stainless steel. Additional spacers of thin cuts of Blackwood surrounding the ss spacers.

So, what challenges do you foresee?

Handle profile:


Handle profile with overlaid knife tang:


Handle profile and blade:

[logem]

I'm also a novice maker and have never done an integral tang knife before, but I'd suspect that you may want to install 1/16" pins through the spacers to assure that they're properly fastened to the adjacent pieces of wood.

Other than that, I'm interested to hear what the more experienced makers have to say, so that I can learn more.

Don't forget to post photos of the finished product. It looks like it will be a nice knife.

Mike L.

[Ray Rogers]

Cool design. If I were doing it, I'd bend the tang in a large gentle curve and make square holes through all the wood parts. This can be done by first drilling a series of small round holes (I usually use 3 1/8" holes) and then play connect the dots with a Dremel that has a Roto Zip cutter chucked into it. On the larger section, you may have to do this from both ends.

The advantage to having square holes is that there is virtually no chance any of those pieces will ever break loose and rotate. It may take a little more effort but it's still far easier than using pins. Of course, all sections of the handle will be completely filled with epoxy.

My preferred method is to assemble the handle as explained but using just rough blocks of wood. The handle would be shaped after the epoxy has set. That way, alignment issues are avoided and there's no worry about how messy I get with the glue as long as I keep it off the blade (which is covered with masking tape the minute its finished and stays that way until after the knife is sharpened).

One more thing, African Blackwood can be very splintery and has a tendency to crack and can do so long after the knife is finished especially if it isn't stabilized and it doesn't often stabilize very well. So, if it seems a little delicate when you cut it consider replacing it with Paper Micarta or thick black knifemaker's fiber board....