Scales help again

[tommy the cat]

Well I'm at here and not too sure where to go.

Well I'm aware newbies to knife making make the scales to thick so ......not sure if I need to slim these down a bit?

As you can see (sorry about the flash) about 20mm.
Starting to feel more comfortable in the hand but a bit like the feel of a file handle at the mo.
Now I know its not pretty at the mo and it is only for me as user so be kind!
Appreciate your suggestions. D

 

[falcon]

Have you a kitchen knife, bread knife or something which you like the feel of and which you could use as a guide for your finished width...? I've only done a few and always face the same dilemma 'cos you can't add it back on one removed . Also, if you don't want the finished shape to be too square, you could begin to round off the top and bottom edges by strapping with sandpaper strips and move towards an oval shape....then reduce the width at the centre gradually towards your chosen final width. Best of luck

 

[tommy the cat]

Yes I have got a few fav kitchen knives and they are alot thinner. I have looked at the Mora which I like the feel of but its contoured of course around the first finger a pinkie finger which I dont know if I want to do on this.
I have thought about the rounding it off but not sure....anyway I need to stop fannying around really and just do it!
Ta Falcon
Dave
Ps Did you get out for a walk with Jason the other Sat? Been 'up there' last two days and it is truly a great display.

 

[dwardo]

Get it out there and get it used, after a few weeks you will soon know if its no good or if it suits perfectly. One tip is make sure you dont make the sheath until your happy with it. Obviously that leaves you without a sheath for a while which can be a little dangerous but if your carefull you will be ok, the other thing is just knock up something very rough or pinch one from an old knife.

I prefer a large handle as i find it easier but some hate them.

Go try it is the only way you will know

 

[shep]

The thing beginners get wrong is leaving the handle too square.
A square handle can look and feel nice, but it's only after a day carving with it that you notice the hot-spots it causes. I did and went back and redid the handle of my 1st knife and then the sheath 'cos it didn't fit anymore!

Either just get out and try it out as suggested above, or my advice would be use your sander to put a sizeable chamfer on each of the right angles and then hand sand that out so you end up with an oval cross section. I found about 45degrees, leaving only about 5mm either side of the tang that is still flat, worked nicely. This way, you won't take anything of the maximum thickness, but just make a smoother progression to it.

Once you've done that, you can then decide if you need to take the overall thickness down.

I'm no expert, but I've made a few knives and this is my experience.

 

[shep]

Oh yes and for what it's worth, I have size 8 hands with longish fingers and the thickness of my main knife is 21mm IIRC, so just a bit of rounding off is all I would suggest.

 

[falcon]

...........Ps Did you get out for a walk with Jason the other Sat? Been 'up there' last two days and it is truly a great display.

Yeah...nice wander for a few hours topped off with a Peregrine...twice on the trot now

 

[tommy the cat]

Ta Shep, may do that give it a bit of smooth off then try give it a test run. Is it worth a bit of oil on it just to seal it temporarily?
Falcon good to hear you got out I hope we can meet up for a walk some time.
Dave

 

[shep]

A bit of oil won't do any harm and will give you a bit of protection while you try it out. If you have to do more sanding, you'll probably take off the oiled outer layer and get back to untreated wood quite quickly anyway.