I thought I’d share this knife that I’ve just finished. I made it up from a blade I bought from Dave Budd at Bushmoot last year, for the fun and experience of it as much as anything. This is the third blade I’ve handled and I’ve been learning as I go on, not having done any woodwork before.
I wanted to make a “user” with a sort of rustic look to complement the forged blade. The handle came from an old table leg (oak I think). It was only when I was a fair way in to the shaping process that I noticed a little woodworm hole. I thought “oh, I’ll just keep on sanding and it’ll disappear”, but then I started worrying that I would sand right through to the tang cavity so stopped! Ah well, I can live with it!
I soaked the handle overnight in a jam jar with 50/50 boiled linseed oil and white spirit, then left it outside for another day for the spirit smell to go off. This darkened the wood up nicely, and I think it now goes much better with the blade.
It took me quite a while to work out the shape the handle should be to accommodate those “cut-outs” at the top and bottom of the blade, and knocked up a number of cardboard templates. The shape I’ve ended up with seems to work OK; it fits my hand, and thumb and forefinger sit nicely in them. (Can anyone tell me the correct name(s) for these features please?)
I don’t know if they are intended for this purpose (and I use a dedicated striker myself anyway), but those “cut-outs” work well to generate sparks from a ferrocium rod.
With the handle narrowing to meet the blade I thought a bolster might look a bit weird, so just glued the blade straight in without one. Of course this left a gap which I filled in with epoxy made a bit runnier with a hairdryer. Can’t say it looks pretty close up, but again I can live with it.
The slightly odd-looking sheath is the first (only) one I’ve made and originally it was to fit the first knife I handled, which started off with a great fat handle and slim blade. Later I reworked the handle and thinned it down quite a bit so the sheath no longer fitted. It’s a bit of luck that it fits this new knife rather well!
I haven’t done much actual cutting with my new knife yet. After a sharpen I tried it on a carrot, and was pleased that I could slice nice and thin without carrot shrapnel flying everywhere. My plan is to use it as my main blade at Bushmoot this year for a proper workout, but so far I’m very happy with it.
Maybe I’ll have to buy another blade off Dave this year…..(though NB, must remember to decline his invitation to “try a sip of this….”!!) Seriously though he makes very cool blades (& lots of other stuff) and he’s a good man to deal with.
Finally some dimensions if anyone’s interested:
From tip to the end of the handle is about 20.5cm, with the cutting edge being 9cm.
Blade is 3mm thick and 25mm wide at its widest point.
Knife only weighs about 80g.
I wanted to make a “user” with a sort of rustic look to complement the forged blade. The handle came from an old table leg (oak I think). It was only when I was a fair way in to the shaping process that I noticed a little woodworm hole. I thought “oh, I’ll just keep on sanding and it’ll disappear”, but then I started worrying that I would sand right through to the tang cavity so stopped! Ah well, I can live with it!
I soaked the handle overnight in a jam jar with 50/50 boiled linseed oil and white spirit, then left it outside for another day for the spirit smell to go off. This darkened the wood up nicely, and I think it now goes much better with the blade.
It took me quite a while to work out the shape the handle should be to accommodate those “cut-outs” at the top and bottom of the blade, and knocked up a number of cardboard templates. The shape I’ve ended up with seems to work OK; it fits my hand, and thumb and forefinger sit nicely in them. (Can anyone tell me the correct name(s) for these features please?)
I don’t know if they are intended for this purpose (and I use a dedicated striker myself anyway), but those “cut-outs” work well to generate sparks from a ferrocium rod.
With the handle narrowing to meet the blade I thought a bolster might look a bit weird, so just glued the blade straight in without one. Of course this left a gap which I filled in with epoxy made a bit runnier with a hairdryer. Can’t say it looks pretty close up, but again I can live with it.
The slightly odd-looking sheath is the first (only) one I’ve made and originally it was to fit the first knife I handled, which started off with a great fat handle and slim blade. Later I reworked the handle and thinned it down quite a bit so the sheath no longer fitted. It’s a bit of luck that it fits this new knife rather well!
I haven’t done much actual cutting with my new knife yet. After a sharpen I tried it on a carrot, and was pleased that I could slice nice and thin without carrot shrapnel flying everywhere. My plan is to use it as my main blade at Bushmoot this year for a proper workout, but so far I’m very happy with it.
Maybe I’ll have to buy another blade off Dave this year…..(though NB, must remember to decline his invitation to “try a sip of this….”!!) Seriously though he makes very cool blades (& lots of other stuff) and he’s a good man to deal with.
Finally some dimensions if anyone’s interested:
From tip to the end of the handle is about 20.5cm, with the cutting edge being 9cm.
Blade is 3mm thick and 25mm wide at its widest point.
Knife only weighs about 80g.
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