One of my Bird and trout blades handled

[mereside]

I've been thinking about what i could use for handles to make them suitable for deer work as regulations say it cant be anything absorbent and must be food safe according to the chap who owns a gunshop near me, so unstabilised wood is out, not sure on stabilised stuff. Was thinking corian, but its heavy and slippy if its covered in blood or fish slime. Carbon fibre? might have to give that a whirl. Any other suggestions would be good, micarta? G10?

anything that can be stabilised would be ok i know a chap has used a antler handle stainless job for years it goes in the dishwasher and has been fine
i will post up my knife i have which is wood but has been sealed and its great too. for deer work the blade shape is critical because you need to be able to core the anus which is a triangular shape so the blade needs not to be too wide otherwise you wont get in on smaller deer ,no worries on reds and sika as obviously they are alot bigger than muntjack or roe,atb wayne
ps that was lucky with the capacitor

 

[HillBill]

Careful Mike. On a knife corian is solid enough. But its actually quite brittle in thinner pieces, banging a corner can cause it to chip. Thats why i use it with double bolsters. It protects any edges that could be knocked. The exposed sides of the corian on the top and bottom are carefully rounded as to avoid the issue.

Melted corian? Hmmm, not too sure, i used it with stainless pins once and over heated them shaping the handle. One scale to be removed due to discolouration and that melted plastic look. Its amazing how much care and attention you take after a foul up like that

Corian with a texture finish? You could melt a pattern onto it? Going to experiment making cavities in Corian to lighten them a little too.

 

[HillBill]

Antler would be good, but its difficult to find in suitable sized pieces for scales these days. Its why they started producing jigged camel bone as a substitute for it. But again, it only comes 6mm thick so not perfect if hard use is the intention.

anything that can be stabilised would be ok i know a chap has used a antler handle stainless job for years it goes in the dishwasher and has been fine
i will post up my knife i have which is wood but has been sealed and its great too. for deer work the blade shape is critical because you need to be able to core the anus which is a triangular shape so the blade needs not to be too wide otherwise you wont get in on smaller deer ,no worries on reds and sika as obviously they are alot bigger than muntjack or roe,atb wayne
ps that was lucky with the capacitor

 

[HillBill]

Aye, i see the benefits of all synthetic and that is the way i feel i should go. I'm changing the name of this knife from bird and Trout to hunter. I think the Hill Hunter has more of a ring to it

I'll have a sniff about and see what i can get in bulk. Never buy individual stuff if i can help it. Too much cost.

I'm sure G10 would be fine....micarta probably but the fibres are absorbent if linen etc. However I guess they should be saturated and sealed in resin. Easier to go "all synthetic". Sheaths are the same - leather or fabric absorbs and retains all manner of of claret ...kydex on a Tecloc with stainless fiiting would mean, with your stainless, you put the whole lot in the wishdosh on hot cycle and forget it. Surprising how few quality game knives exist that meet the regs for commercial game work

 

[HillBill]

Thanks Hamish

phwaw those are something else Mark very nice

 

[mereside]

im planning on using it for mine and pass on a source if its suitable, atb wayne

 

[British Red]

i will post up my knife i have which is wood but has been sealed and its great too. for deer work the blade shape is critical because you need to be able to core the anus which is a triangular shape so the blade needs not to be too wide otherwise you wont get in on smaller deer ,no worries on reds

<gulp>

Do you mind if I worry just a little?

Red

 

[mereside]

<gulp>

Do you mind if I worry just a little?

Red

ha ha my wife has just stopped worrying now i think, we have been married 11 years . im a softie really ,atb wayne

 

[mountainm]

Melted corian? Hmmm, not too sure, i used it with stainless pins once and over heated them shaping the handle. One scale to be removed due to discolouration and that melted plastic look. Its amazing how much care and attention you take after a foul up like that

Yeah - I read that you have to bevel all edges for that reason - I wondered about heating up an old file with a blow torch and pressing it into the surface of the corian to get a grippy surface. I have plenty to experiment with...

 

[mereside]

just another thaught for you if you are doing them for deer work the blade length could do to be 130mm long as this is also critical for bleeding out, sorry to be gory but after a deer is shot its best practice to bleed them and the blade needs this length to achieve this . i think this style of blade is a real winner for all hunting /fishing work , atb wayne

 

[Silverback 1]

I've been thinking about what i could use for handles to make them suitable for deer work as regulations say it cant be anything absorbent and must be food safe according to the chap who owns a gunshop near me

This is correct, it is one of the stipulations in the DMQ2 exam, and wild game handling regulations, that a stalker uses a stainless and non absorbent handled knife (and sheath) for deer processing, this all obviously takes a back seat when you have passed the exam and a lot of stalkers (myself included) will use knives of their own choice.

 

[Silverback 1]

I think the design has a few possibilites. Bird and trout, hunter, bushy (with a scandi), kitchen, fighter ( with a longer blade).

Or 3-3 1/2" handle and 3" bladed neck knife (2-3mm steel) and agree with Red, would be great with Kydex.

 

[mountainm]

What about Delrin as a handle material?

 

[HillBill]

If your quick, and just texturing the surface then that might work ya know. Not too hot or it'll stick to the file and i expect it'll need a light sanding afterwards. Let me know how it goes Mike if you do please mate

Yeah - I read that you have to bevel all edges for that reason - I wondered about heating up an old file with a blow torch and pressing it into the surface of the corian to get a grippy surface. I have plenty to experiment with...

 

[HillBill]

Aye, you did ask for the longer blade, so any feedback would be good

just another thaught for you if you are doing them for deer work the blade length could do to be 130mm long as this is also critical for bleeding out, sorry to be gory but after a deer is shot its best practice to bleed them and the blade needs this length to achieve this . i think this style of blade is a real winner for all hunting /fishing work , atb wayne

 

[HillBill]

I'll have a play with perspex and see how one looks

Or 3-3 1/2" handle and 3" bladed neck knife (2-3mm steel) and agree with Red, would be great with Kydex.

 

[HillBill]

Another possibility. I'l have a look and see what the costs are like in comparison to the other materials mentioned.
Tuffnel is another.

What about Delrin as a handle material?

 

[mountainm]

If your quick, and just texturing the surface then that might work ya know. Not too hot or it'll stick to the file and i expect it'll need a light sanding afterwards. Let me know how it goes Mike if you do please mate

Will do - just got to find a file I don't mind annealing. (which, I guess, could in turn lead to another project.)

 

[HillBill]

I'd use a round or half round file, to get into the contours

Will do - just got to find a file I don't mind annealing. (which, I guess, could in turn lead to another project.)

 

[mountainm]

I'd use a round or half round file, to get into the contours

Ah I see - my intention was to leave "flat" areas on the handle in which the grip would be embossed. Thought this would be neater than trying to work the pattern around the handle matching it up.