new martindale golok handle! pic heavy

[tom57]

hey everyone. basically i visit this site alot but have never really contributed much so have decided to share with you guys a little project i set my self. ive been working hard the last few days... sanding for hours . i was planning on making a sort of tutorial type post but the the imbetween stages look so bad that i gave up on that idea. but heres what i started with.

first of all taking the old handle off took alot more effort than i first expected and was a lot better built than i was lead to believe having read reviews about the martindale golok. so i immediately questioned my decision to start this project, considering the only powertools we have is a hand drill and electric sander. anyway the black 'card' is vulcanised fibre and the other sheet is green linen micarta. i kept the old handle to use as a template. so it went from this to this.....

my first impression of working with micarta was that this was going to take a very long time. especially without a clamp or vise. the design on the third piece of micarta was supposed to be the spacer i was going to put between the scales where the tang doesnt reach. i gave up on that as i was struggling with hand tools and used a stack of vulcanised fiber glued together instead. cut and glued the scales with araldite epoxy glue and added the pins.

as you can see there is a lot of sanding that needs to be done. but after a very long time of sanding and filing and stress. its finished. so here is the final product

with the nylon sheath it came with
and a few other shots.

i still need to sort the blade out and tidy up a few bits but thats it. just goes to show what can be achieved with a little hard graft. hope the photos are ok. quite a long post but i hope you enjoyed reading it. ive got a bit of leather heading my way in the hopes of making a sheath so will post an update with a photo of it once its made.
thanks
tom

 

[Magentus]

Looks really good and shows what you can do with perseverance. Nice one - you should be proud.

Thanks for sharing it. Great pics too.

Magentus

 

[tom57]

thanks! also i have no idea whether to leave the micarta as it is ie sanded or if i have to coat it in something? tips would be great.
thanks again
tom

 

[lannyman8]

leave the handle as it is and it will be fine, you could go down to a lower grit and polish if you really wanted to....

good work, im thinking of doing some "big" blades soon.

regards.

chris.

 

[stekker]

Nice work!
Don't coat the micarta, leave it like it is.
Coating will come off after heavy use and some years.

Gr. Theo.

 

[copper_head]

Nice work!

 

[Angst]

hey m8...good job...got a golok myself so might have a go as well sometime....ive just recently finished making my first ''woodlore clone'' (pictures v.soon) so i appreciate your hard work.......blisters?.....understatement!!!!....my left thumb is now a bloodied stump lololol! e-z!

a

 

[tom57]

thanks. you should, the micarta looks much better than the wood did i think. @angst survived fairly injury free, only sawd into my hand a little, lol. if you do the golok definately put up the photos.
tom

 

[Angst]

yo....if you want any advice on this stuff let me know m8 and i'll point you to a guy who knows just a little bit about micarta and handling etc....

respect

a

 

[tom57]

hey everyone. been a little busy studying lately but have had time to complete the sheath i was talking about in my first post. the leather came from ebay and the dye is fiebings dark brown leather dye. here are some photos....

basically its been made so it can be worn normally on the belt, thats why there is a loop of leather at the bottom to pass paracord through so it can be tied around the leg also. the other carry option is over the shoulder as shown in the photo. overall i like it, the only imperfection in my eyes is the stiching on the back isnt really as neat as the stitching on the front but it doesnt really bother me.
anyway i hope you like it
thanks
tom