Some WIP's are very in depth and detailed. This is not one of those. What I want to do is to show you the concept drawing and the progresive developement of the parts and their fit. I am waiting on some pictures to load. These are from my iPhone so thay are ok but not pro quality. Give a me a little time to get the photos sorted and I'll start with the sketch of the knife. This might take a few days so I'll bump it as I get the pictures up.
This should be a good thread Lin!
:campfire:
This is going to be good, I learn alot from these. :campfire:
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6443100229_69e9cee622_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6443451659_68705621af_z.jpg)
This is a dry fit to get the roughed guard up and tight. The hole looks loose from this angle, but the front is tight. I bell out the back to make the fit easier.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6443451735_9556a93384.jpg)
Lin,when you make a Damascus blade,do you know what the pattern is going to be or is it pretty much "you get what you get"?
David
Always enjoy your WIP's Lin.
David,
I have a 90% chance of knowing. I'm supposed to know. That's as close as I can get.
In this picture, I am sanding the backs of the guard to the smooth shape it needs to be. Notice the flat area. Eventually, I have a small allignment hole drilled into, but not all the way through the back of each side the guard on the flat. These allignment holes will line up with holes in the ferrule, using pins, so it can be taken apart and reassembled over and over again. The shape of that flat area sets the shape for the handle since it will carry through the ferrule.
This is where a person could get discouraged because there is so much tedious sanding and alligning. The tendancy is to let well enough alone and do a "so so" job. But this knife has particular points that need to meet up at the right place and the subtle curves are there for a reason. It would not be the same without them.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6443451803_4f5b640c1d_z.jpg)
This next photo shows the ferrule arrangement attached to the guard. It's just sitting there with the temporary allignment pins keeping it together. I had to sand the sides flush creating 4 "corners". It's important to get all of these points to meet up in some form of graceful fashion. This is a damascus guard and part of the ferrule is damascus, so it's best to get everything fitting and predictable before taking it all back apart for the etch.
As a side note, I want you to notice the relative size of the tang where it comes out of the ricasso and through the guard and ferrule. I believe it ought to be substantial as you can see.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6443451967_fc070e7424_z.jpg)
This is a side shot showing the profile better. Notice that I increased the guard length by a percentage over the drawing. I think it looks better. I knew it could be shortened if I did not like it.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6444126483_f6df02fe21_z.jpg)
The next step is to disassemble the whole thing and etch the parts that are damascus and to filework the stainless spacers and then reassemble it.
Another side note: I got up early Thursday and went to my shop where the damascus bar stock was annealed and waiting for me to cut out the guard and ferrule parts. I had to grind out the general shape and heat the ends and hammer them to the right curves, let it cool and start in on it with files and sand paper. It was Thursday evening after dark when I got it all assembled for good. So, this guard/ferrule took all day to make and finish. I worked a long day only taking an hour or so to make some progress on another knife. I say this to let you know that this kind of knife making is real work, for me at least.
Yet another side note: In the above picture you can see curves going different directions. The choil, the guard bottom, the guard top, the plunge grind, etc. When all or most of these form a complimentary relationship, the knife is more pleasing to the eye. Sometimes it's not as good as it is on other knives. That's just the way it is. But, by keeping this fact in my mind, I intend to more and more use this when progressing along though the construction, but it's especially important when designing it to start with. It should not be an accident that it looks good.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6443452039_5f53850072_z.jpg)
The cell phone shots are not very good, but you can get an idea of what it will look like when it get's done. The glare makes it hard to see the filework all the way around the spacers.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6443452195_4bcb83bdd7_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6443452281_8026780caa_z.jpg)
I have to hold off on this knife for a few days and do some other things. I will have some more shots later as well as a pro photograph of it when it's finsihed.
Thanks for taking the time for these build alongs. You'll never know just how much you inspire and help those of us who build knives for a hobby. Sharing your knowledge is a very unselfish act! I love how you instill that 'good enough' is not good enough!!
Hey Lin lookin good!!!
Thanks guys. I got the handle material on but have to finish the pins and have it photographed. Might be a couple more days.
Looking great as always Lin!
Thank you Ray.
I borrowed some Corby bolts from Chris just to get it done. Seems my supply ran out, but I ordered more.
First, I drilled the central hole all the way through the handle. This hole intercepts the tang as well. This hole is the size of the smallest diameter of the bolt.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6476757025_ae09bfaf15_z.jpg)
Then, using a step drill, drill down into the handle material just enough to allow the threads to make good contact and apply some pressure to the handle scales.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7171/6476757103_ef3822559f_z.jpg)
This pic is a little blurry but you get the idea. The two halves attach onto each other through the handle applying pressure and the slot disappears when the end is ground off and finished. Some apply super glue or loctite to the threads or to fill in around the pin when it calls for it.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6476816111_7915d2d587_z.jpg)
I love Corby bolts. They really do the trick, assemble easily, and give you peace of mind. Thanks for sharing, Lin.
Lin, would you share how you measure and mark the equal spaces on your filed spacer? Do you use a v-shaped file to get the coined edge?
Lin, I liked that comment about working all day on the guard. I'm sure you can work carefully a whole lot faster than a lot of us can work and only accomplish a sloppy job. At your level of work, you know what perfection is and try to get as close as possible. A lot of the time, I see something turning out better than the last one and tend to settle for that. Guess that's what separates the big dogs from we little mutts:-)
And that damascus pattern is fantastic!
Never get tired of waiting to see what's coming up next.
Ilove following your work,great job.
Thank you very much for your comments.
Gabriel, I used a checkering file to do that. It is a rectangular file with 10 teeth per inch. (correction: 20 tpi) It is simple but tricky on some shapes to file. In addition to some shapes being awkward, I always try to file all of the spacers at the same time, by pinning them together and cutting through all of them, in this case just two. That way all of the teeth match and line up. On multiple spacers that are not the same size, I find a starting point that is common to them all, start there and flare both directions. That doesn't sound very clear, but once you see it, you'll know.
The point of this picture is to show the notches. The spacers are slightly different in size due to the handle taper. By starting the pattern in the center and going both ways, they look in alignment with the flow of the knife.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6481603263_daed04856c_z.jpg)
This is a checkering file. This one is 1/2 inch at it's widest direction.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6481636931_eed0f17c55_z.jpg)
Thanks for showing I live this stuff.
Awsome knife Lin!
Thanks Lin. Do you use a standard size Corby bolt? I have a few in all the sizes and have been trying to get the right combination of drill bit and/or reamer to make my holes and shoulders. I haven't been able to find a step drill bit for smaller than 1/4" corbies.
Do you go to peaned straight pins for 1/8" or smaller?
Yes, for smaller pins, I pein or manufacture something.
Lin, I like WIP threads but your killing me, hope you get finshed soon, I'd like to see the knife
Dana
It's finished Dana. :goldtooth:
working on photo now.
Here is the finished photo by Chuck Ward. All done.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6489854607_72ed3d4b3a_z.jpg)
Man, that is great!!! Your an artist, a great one!
Geeeeeeeeeeeeezo Crimineeeeeeeeeee !!!! ANOTHER masterpiece........ :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:
I gotta stop...........looking, to poor to afford such things right now. :banghead:
Winterhawk1960
Just Beautiful Lin :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Lin Lin Lin
That's one of my favorites in your portfolio
I definitely want to be you when I grow up!!!!
Thanks for helping others through your threads- you, Karl, and Doug are really special people for unselfishly sharing expertise with us
Lin, that has got to be my favorite, outstanding, thanks for doing the WIP
Dana
Lin that is amazing. You are a artist with a hammer and file.
Thank you. I enjoy seeing it come together myself. The knife is a by product of the process. To my way of thinking, the process is the real point of interest.
Lin, many thanks for sharing the process and answering questions. One of my biggest struggles when doing guards, spacer, ferrules and handles is the sequencing for rough grinding, final grinding and assembly. Can you share some of your process? How much did you rough grind and finish grind before glue up? Is everything final ground before you start the handle? Did you glue on the guard and then grind the spacers and ferrule, pull apart and notch then final glue before starting the handle? It appeared your handle was rough ground before the corby bolts were added. Do you use temporary corbies?
Lin do you cut off the tops of the corbys or use a belt sander to bring them down? It looks like that sit flush the scales and yet I don't see sanding marks around them. Fantastic knife!!
Barry,
I grind them off, but have to be easy with the heat. You can burn the horn. Then sand with 1000 and a hard backing stick. If you scratch the horn, you just have to re sand and lightly buff. I said lightly because that will also burn it.
Gabriel,
When I put the horn on, the guard and ferrule was completely finished and I made the mortise in the horn tight with no slop. Then I just had to lightly draw the back of the ferrule onto the end of the horn and start shaping. A lot is riding on this so you just have to be very careful. At some point I resorted to hand sanding allowing material to finalize at a very small grit.
Looks great Lin. The perfect amount of refinment and brute. The Damascus of the Blade, Guard and Spacers with file work with the roughness of the Sheep horn makes this one of my all time favorites. Balance in form and function as well as perfect fit and finish. Outstanding Sir.
Chris
great stuff as always!
Lin, thanks so much for letting us come along during the process. The knife is indeed proof that it's all about the process.
That is an absolutely gorgeous knife, Lin! Your skills never cease to amaze me.
Allan
Thank you guys. I honestly feel like I am just beginning.
Nicest knife i've seen. Wow!