My first knife, a bog oak and Karesuando mix!

[MertzMan]

So, having seen some simply amazing knives posted up here on Bushcraft I decided to have a go myself. I've never made anything like this before, and I'd welcome any constructive criticism and general feedback

I brought a 10cm Stainless Steel Karesuando kit, but made such a mess of the included curly birch block that I needed a new one ! Having lost the battle with that I decided to get my hands on some Bog Oak from the Fens and got stuck in

The nice bit of Bog Oak:


In progress:


The finished knife.


If I was to make the same knife again, I'd invest in a much larger clamp to keep everything square and in line when drying, as it is I've managed to make the handle a few degrees off being aligned to the blade. I think I'd ditch the antler spacer too and just use bog oak all the way, possibly with another leather spacer. Next step is the sheath!

All in all, for my first attempt, I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out.

 

[Dave]

Are you gonna do a sheath too?

 

[MertzMan]

Are you gonna do a sheath too?

Thanks, Dave

I've still got the leather from the kit so I'll have a go at that at a later date when I have some more time.

 

[Perrari]

That is an excellent first knife ! Well done !

 

[MertzMan]

That is an excellent first knife ! Well done !

Cheers!
I hope to make another soon

 

[crosslandkelly]

Great first go.

 

[Albus Culter]

They are great kits for the money and was my first knife too.

Great job on it

 

[MertzMan]

Thank you all for the comments.
What oil would be best to seal the wood and make it waterproof? Linseed oil?

 

[Niels]

Very nice for a first knife. If that bolster is antler I would refrain from putting any kind of oil on it, as it could turn it yellow. I always treat the wood with a 50 50 mix of linseedoil and turpentine, but there are many other options as well.

 

[Paddytray]

very nice . I agree with Niels but I don't use turps just linseed oil. I wipe it on with a smooth cloth as fibres will stick to your work

 

[Biker]

Very nicely done. I am amazed it's your first, that sort of quality work and finish shows some serous skills! Well done!

 

[Paddytray]

Agreed my first efforts are rubbish in comparison . I look forward seeing more knives in the future.

Sent from my LT15i using Tapatalk 2

 

[Macaroon]

I think that's a fine knife indeed, well done! All my projects that require oil now get Walnut oil as a matter of course; no chemicals, dries nicely and protects well, no clean-up, great on leather too, smells good and won't yellow anything.................and it's cheap as chips and available in most supermarkets; what's not to like?..................atb mac

 

[Dannytsg]

It has a lovely look about it. Nice work

 

[MertzMan]

Thank you all for the kind comments I've seen the work a number of you have made yourselves so it's especially good to hear such encouraging feedback from you.

I didn't know linseed oil can turn antler yellow, so thanks for saving my knife there! I'll investigate some Walnut oil when payday swings around and see where that takes me.

I've been well and truly bitten (or should that be cut?!) by the knife making bug! I'll have a stab at an enzo necker as the next project and use some more of the bog oak up.

 

[MertzMan]

Finally got around to doing the sheath. Now to the next knife...

 

[Macaroon]

I think you should be well pleased - I've still got the first one I did and it'll always be special....................atb mac

 

[2trapper]

Great work. I hope to make one like this very soon and I'll be very happy to achive such result. Can you tell me the size of the boag oak you used?

 

[MertzMan]

Great work. I hope to make one like this very soon and I'll be very happy to achive such result. Can you tell me the size of the boag oak you used?

Thank you for the kind comments. I used a 41*41mm square section that was off a much longer half metre bar. Fair bit of shaping involved which took ages tho. Its hard stuff to work by hand.

 

[Dreadhead]

nice work! that bog oak is beautiful stuff