Crook Knife Case

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THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
Hello, Bushcrafters. I'd like to share with you a little project I finished a week or so ago. This is my fifth wood carving, but it's something a little bit different. It's a case for my Ben Orford crook knife. I had it in mind to post this and other projects in one big thread possibly after Winter, but I've decided against it and feel it's best just to start posting my work here again. I created a new blog and there is a post specifically for the construction of the case and you can see images of it in that latest post. However, I'll just paste the explanation of how I made it below for convenience's sake. Once again the photos of its construction can be seen by following the link below.

SojX4MP.png


http://thwoodsman.blogspot.co.uk/

I took an off cut of wood and sized it down with a saw and knife. I purchased a dowel rod, which was cut in half, and a metal skewer. I then took said metal skewer and heated it over a log fire in the house until red hot. I then shaped the metal by eye to fit the profile of the crook blade. That was tricky. I eventually went to the gas cooker and used that as it was faster at heating the metal. With the help of my brother and after two hours or so the metal had made its way through the wood. The problem was that it wasn't a strong metal and it was very susceptible to bending so we had to be careful. It eventually got down to where it needed to be. I then shaped the wood case and lid to a sort of hexagonal or angular design. The lid was made by tracing the shape of the case, then hexagonal, to a bit of mdf board and cutting it out. The lid was a bit thick so I split it down the middle. I then drilled a hole in the main case block. When sanding I decided to just make the case and lid round as it was more aesthetically pleasing. I then super glued the dowel rod to the lid and it all came together.

Although this was another wood carving project and it was on a smaller scale than the utensils, this was an interesting experience because it was the first time I've ever heated and shaped metal. It's really nice to have created my first craft project with multiple components.

I now have to decide what I'm going to make next. I think I might try creating a birch bark tray, give wood working a rest, perhaps.

Thanks for reading.

Edit: I forgot to mention I made the case by following this great tutorial. http://www.jonsbushcraft.com/Crook knife case.htm
 
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Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
27,892
2,942
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~Hemel Hempstead~
Thanks, Crosslandkelly. I wasn't sure about oiling it as it's just a case for a blade and didn't think it needed it, but I might just do it. I could do a bit of kolrosing on the back with that "THON" design I used on one of my spoons. We'll see.

:)

Just because it's a 'case for a blade' doesn't mean to say you can't be nice to it and give it a bit of oil :) Also the oil you use will go some way to help protecting the blade itself.

Nice work by the way goodjob
 

THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
Kolrosing complete and both case and lid are soaking in a bath of walnut oil ready to be left to dry tomorrow. Feels a bit strange using food safe oil on a blade case, but I had nothing else and what else could've been used?
 
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THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
Raw or boiled linseed oil.
boiled takes less time to dry
I do have Raw Linseed oil, but I chose walnut solely because it's a bit darker. Let me rephrase. I meant to ask what other oils could I use because Walnut oil and Linseed Oil do basically the same thing, and I didn't have any "non-food safe" oils, if that's the term for it. And what would be the difference had I used a "non-food safe" oil? Nothing really. I guess it doesn't really matter? It's just for the aesthetic.
 
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crosslandkelly

A somewhat settled
Jun 9, 2009
26,305
2,245
67
North West London
Kolrosing complete and both case and lid are soaking in a bath of walnut oil ready to be left to dry tomorrow. Feels a bit strange using food safe oil on a blade case, but I had nothing else and what else could've been used?

I look forward to seeing the finished crook knife case. Have you thought of doing some matching kolrosing on the knife handle itself? That would really personalise it.
 

Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
27,892
2,942
62
~Hemel Hempstead~
You can use just about any oil to finish wood including motor oil.

Some take longer than others to dry and aren't designed for treating wood like motor oil but won't do it any harm.

Most common used are things like linseed, teak, tung, danish, food oils like walnut, vegetable, sunflower etc. It's just personal choice as to what you decide to go with.
 

THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
You can use just about any oil to finish wood including motor oil.

Some take longer than others to dry and aren't designed for treating wood like motor oil but won't do it any harm.

Most common used are things like linseed, teak, tung, danish, food oils like walnut, vegetable, sunflower etc. It's just personal choice as to what you decide to go with.
I just decided to give this little crook knife case a coating of Linseed oil instead. I washed off the walnut oil, to which the wood wasn't exposed for long, and then reapplied with linseed oil. I wanted to experiment, to see how it would react with the wood having just been coated with a different oil. I think I like the distinction between using walnut oil for utensils and linseed oil for other craft projects. I don't know, finishes seem sort of subjective to me and a bit arbitrary, so I've chosen that system.
I'll post pictures tommorow :)
 
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THOaken

Native
Jan 21, 2013
1,299
1
30
England(Scottish Native)
Complete. 1 coat of linseed oil and kolrosing attempt.

EBpZXkj.jpg


I still need to get the hang of kolrosing as you can see the lettering is a little bit off. Also, the cuts are a bit wider and I've noticed the coffee powder I used actually liquidized due to humidity. It's not a problem as it's contained in the lines.

Thanks.
 
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