Striped Knife

[Vaughn McMillan]

A couple of years before my dad passed away, he bought a Damascus knife blade and asked me to put a handle on it. He helped me choose what type of wood to use, and I purchased the knife scales. Only problem was, I didn't have my shop set up, so the blade and the scales were set aside for the time being.

As it turned out, I didn't get my shop set up until after he passed away, but finishing this knife was one of the first projects I did in the new shop. However, it wasn't until yesterday that I had a chance to take some good photos of the finished product. I did take a few progress pics with my cell phone as I was attaching and shaping the scales...I think I might have even posted some of them here a couple of years ago. But here's most of story in photos (I failed to get any pics of the raw blade itself)...

The initial glue-up. The scales are zebrawood that I found on eBay and the pins are simple brass rod I picked up a Lowe's. It's all glued together with epoxy.

I learned the hard way that I should be careful to clean up any glue squeeze-out where the bolster meets the blade. Cleaning up the excess epoxy without scratching the blade was tough.

This is after the initial sanding on the oscillating belt sander...

More of the initial sanding, some on the belt and the rest on the oscillating spindle...

Some of the initial rounding of the grip, done with a fine rasp and coarse sandpaper...

I decided not to cut finger grooves into the grip...

And here's a few "studio" pics of the finished product. I finished the wood with BLO. I still need to make a leather sheath for it.

I know it was my dad's intent for me to make this knife "for him" so he could turn around and give it back to me, but in my mind this will always be "his" knife. And I suspect somewhere he's pleased with how it came out.

 

[Bill Arnold]

Not doubt he's pleased with your work, Vaughn! There will always be a part of him in it. That's a beautiful knife!!!

 

[Ryan Mooney]

Good call on no finger grips imho, there's so much figure in that wood it would fight for attention with grips. I like how you carried the wood down into the bolster as well, really kind of ties the front and back of the knife together visually.

Came out really nice

 

[Brent Dowell]

Really well done, and what a piece of steel. Bet it takes and keeps a sharpening like nobody's business.

 

[Darren Wright]

Great mach of wood and steel.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Paul Douglass]

that is a real beauty!!

 

[David Johnson]

Very beautiful knife. The grain really pops with the blade contrast. Now who you gonna scalp?
David

 

[fred hargis]

Truly beautiful, and you're right about your Dad being pleased! Well done.

 

[Mike Stafford]

A treasure for more reasons than one....

 

[Pete Simmons]

Beautiful!!

 

[Bob Gibson]

Beautiful knife and story !!

 

[Jonathan Shively]

Excellent work Vaughn. That is a beauty in many ways. And I agree wholeheartedly with Mike Stafford's comment, "A treasure for more reasons than one....".

 

[Ted Calver]

She's a beauty, but she's really not done until Doug Marcaida says "It will keal"

 

[Frank Fusco]

Very fine work. Your wood compliments the knife blade. You were meticulous in assembling and shaping the handle. The grip should be comfortable and secure. When I started reading your post I suspected an "Uh-Oh!" would part of the narrative. That is because putting scales on a finished blade can often require drilling through a hardened steel tang. And that is often not possible resulting in drill bit breaks and ultimate failure. Glad you didn't encounter that issue.

 

[Vaughn McMillan]

Thanks for the compliments, all. Of all the knives I own (and I have a lot), this one will always have a special place in my heart.

Very fine work. Your wood compliments the knife blade. You were meticulous in assembling and shaping the handle. The grip should be comfortable and secure. When I started reading your post I suspected an "Uh-Oh!" would part of the narrative. That is because putting scales on a finished blade can often require drilling through a hardened steel tang. And that is often not possible resulting in drill bit breaks and ultimate failure. Glad you didn't encounter that issue.

Yeah, I've tried to enlarge existing holes cryo-treated blade blanks before, and I won't be doing that again, LOL. This steel seems about as hard as the cryo stuff, but fortunately it was pre-drilled. It was just a matter of getting the holes to all line up, but with a drill press (and using the blank as a template) that was pretty easy.

 

[larry merlau]

well done vaughn and the memories that are and will come from its use will last many lifetimes

 

[Rennie Heuer]

Yep, that's a keeper on many levels.