Stick tang bushcraft knife WIP

[Niels]

This will be the start of another WIP concerning one of my knives, this time a Mark Hill blade that is flat ground, has a woodlore profile and is stick tang.

All the discs, blocks and the pommel and bolster have been cut.



And I'm working on the shape of the bolster as we speak.



Watch this space.

 

[Mesquite]

I've a feeling that's going to look good Niels

 

[greensurfingbear]

Ooooh looking forward to seeing this finished


Orric

 

[HillBill]

Hurry up then Niels.......... chop chop lad

 

[British Red]

chop chop

Taxi for Mark!

 

[Goatboy]

What number knife build is this Niels? (It's important that you mention how few knives you've done along with your age so all of us in the old folks home can groan and go WHAT!).
With a combination of Mark and your skills I'm looking forward to the build, this is your birthday blade isn't it?
ATB,
C.

 

[Albus Culter]

As above, looking forward to this as your others have turned out so well before. I also love the stacked antler and birch look. I really must get one of them in the projects list

 

[crosslandkelly]

Look forward to seeing it finished Niels. I like your choice of materials.

 

[Niels]

Hurry up then Niels.......... chop chop lad

Yes boss

What number knife build is this Niels? (It's important that you mention how few knives you've done along with your age so all of us in the old folks home can groan and go WHAT!).
With a combination of Mark and your skills I'm looking forward to the build, this is your birthday blade isn't it?
ATB,
C.

It is the birthday one. The 6th knife so far.
The wood is yew for a change, as I ran out of birch and the yew is from the Netherlands whereas the curly birch came from brisa.

Just finished polishing the bolster:



No need to polish the pommel yet as I'm not going to rivet the tang on this one.
I believe the glue is strong enough to hold the handle together without riveting, besides it will look better.

 

[Two Socks]

As with your other wip-threads, I`ll be following this closely.

 

[outdoorpaddy]

From your previous successes in this area, I reckon this'll be an absolute beauty, I'll be watching the thread very closely!
looking forward to it,

paddy

 

[Dreadhead]

nice look forward to seeing this finished

 

[Niels]

Well after polishing the bolster this happened:



It meant I was drilling to close to the side of the antler.
It also meant I had to do a new bolster. Bolster fitting:





Got a perfect fit this time Never managed that before.

All parts in the right order ready for glueing:



And all glued up. The hard part is over now.

 

[Two Socks]

that is looking good this far! How do you make sure that the handle is pushed onto the tang properly with this clamping setup? Just push it on and hope for the best?

 

[Niels]

that is looking good this far! How do you make sure that the handle is pushed onto the tang properly with this clamping setup? Just push it on and hope for the best?

I put it in once, take it out to see if the bolster isn't being pushed away from the blade, and when I put it back in I always give the whole vice a few taps with a hammer to make sure. This vice is far from ideal though, I'm still looking to make a better one.

 

[Two Socks]

I`ve been trying to come up with something, but the best I`ve done this far is use a vice like yours, and then stick the blade in a workmate and weigh the vice down so the whole handle is pulled on to the tang. Maybe that is completely superfluous though.

 

[HillBill]

Coming on well Niels

 

[Niels]

I`ve been trying to come up with something, but the best I`ve done this far is use a vice like yours, and then stick the blade in a workmate and weigh the vice down so the whole handle is pulled on to the tang. Maybe that is completely superfluous though.

That's an option, but if you have a tight fit on your pieces, it can take a load of weight to actually make a difference.
Here's a better option:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103026

And there's a really smart vice in this thread too. Technically this one is even better as it doesn't put any pressure on the blade edge:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103709

I hope the inventors don't mind me linking to them.

Coming on well Niels

Thanks man.

 

[British Red]

That's going to be a sweet knife. Love the fact you make your own tools as well - that's the sign of a craftsman!

 

[HHazeldean]

This looks awesome, am looking forward to the finished article!