I am building a neck knife, I bought a blade and a cocobolo handle from Helle knives. Does anyone have any tips on working out the slot in the handle for the blade. I work in a machine shop and can drill a couple of small deep holes but our smallest round file is still a little too big. Any tips on where to buy real small files to work the slot out would be helpful Thanks!!
You are on the right track for getting the handle fitted. Look at craft stores for thin / fine files. Home Depot or Lowes will at times have mini file sets that come with multiple files in a little kit.
If you intend to get serious about knife making, I'd get a tool called a handle broach. You drill a hole in the handle and then use this tool to scrape out the hole to the size you need. I find the 1/8" one is the one I use most. It has saved me hours when making handles. You can buy one from Riverside Machine Shop in DeQueen Arkansas. Here's their tel number 870-642-7643