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!

This is going to be good, I learn alot from these.  

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.
 

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.

 

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.
 

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.

 

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.
 

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.

 

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.

 


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.