October Project - Stag Hunter

[BrokenolMarine]

For what it's worth, I like the wood inlay at the bottom better. In my eye, it has a better balance. Love the project, regardless.

Miss T agrees with you. I can't decide yet.

[RetiredSeabee]

Have you consider the antler inlay at the pommel? if you can shape it to match the diameter of the pommel.

[BrokenolMarine]

Have you consider the antler inlay at the pommel? if you can shape it to match the diameter of the pommel.

I'll switch it around tomorrow...
Option 3.

[Hatchdog]

I’ll chime in but it won’t help….. I like the balance of using the wood but I also like the “flow” of using the antler. Okay, I’ll commit, the flow of the antler is calling out to me.

[BrokenolMarine]

I like both, but option 3 was looking good to me so I went out this morning and played with the parts. I took the larger piece of wood and put it on the bottom, but it was CENTER drilled for the top. But wait, I had the jeweler's bow saw. I took one side loose, fed it thru the center hole and cut a slot. This allowed that larger wood piece to move more to the side on the guard.

28 to move to option 3.jpg

Now we are cooking with gas. I marked it and shaped it on the disk sander. Oh yeah. Looks like option three is the winner. I fit all the pieces and parts in place, used the awl to mark the G10 pieces and rough shaped them on the disc sander. After a break, I'll go back out and polish the wood piece to about 600, then glue it up. Then I can start more formal shaping, polishing, and finishing.

29 option 3 it is.jpg

Miss T said it's fine, but the WOOD portion needs to be blended down to the guard, and the G10 pieces need to be blended smoothly into the stag. Well duh... this is the rough assembly. She was sewing a quilt together... I DIDN'T say, "All those ragged edges need to be trimmed..."

There were sharp scissors and scalpels laying all over the Sew Shed. I may be old, but I'm not slow.

[BrokenolMarine]

Watch this space... eventually I'll make it pretty. Or not.

[BrokenolMarine]

So, back out to the shop as planned and started by polishing the wood insert to 600 grit. 120, 240, 325, 400, 600. Looks pretty good, and ready to glue up.

30 polished to 600.jpg

Each piece was marked with a reference line on the side and a dot on the top edge during DIS-assembly to make re-assembly easier. But, before I began to reassemble with five minute epoxy... I needed to insure that the top pieces wouldn't keep slipping out of place. About an inch from the top, the tang drops from 25/64ths, to a threaded 9/64th rod.



I had given this some thought in my downtime, and went out with a drill index card in hand. In the boathouse, where I store the wood, I have a large 8" piece of PVC on end that contains a large number of dowels, and dowel scraps. Low and behold, Tah Dah, one that neatly fits the 25/64th hole in the file card. I cut the length I need to neatly fill the gap in the end of the assembly, and secure it in the drill press vise and drill a centered 9/64th hole. Now, the remaining pieces will center on the dowel and not slide around. Let's get gluing.

31 glued up.jpg

Boom... glued up. A close look at the pic above and you can see the reference pencil marks at the junctions of the Stag and the accent pieces. One is a hair off, but not enough to cause me tears. When I start shaping and blending the components of the assembly, those marks will go away. Looks pretty good for an old guy with bad vision.

[BrokenolMarine]

I should be able to start shaping the build this afternoon or evening, as soon as the epoxy cures. The critical thing in this situation is NOT to overheat the knife while shaping, as the epoxy can be broken loose by excess heat. I'll keep a cooling bath beside the sander for the first stages of shaping. Won't be an issue in later stages when I'm polishing by hand. I'm nowhere near that fast. (Only on the draw.)

[BrokenolMarine]

Out this afternoon and began shaping. I am pretty happy with the shape, it fits the hand very nicely. I need to do some final polishing of the entire thing, the metal and the accents. It should turn out nice. I won't be tossing it in the trash... at least.

Sheath, I'll make a sheath, put it in the box with the rest of them, then put the knife in the display case.

32 began to shape the knife.jpg

[daytime dave]

It's looking great!

[BrokenolMarine]

Thank you Sir.

[Hatchdog]

It looks awful, better send it to me as I have a nice collection of trash bins to throw it in. I agree, the shape is great.

[BrokenolMarine]

Will be back in the shop today with more polishing.
I am always my harshest critic, other than Miss T.
I'll think... "I'm done, oh wait, just this little... "

[BrokenolMarine]

Out this morning after coffee, I could hear the knife calling. I went right to work shaping and polishing. But first, I re-taped the blade and this time I folded a squared of scrape manilla folder used to cut holster patterns in the shop, and put that over the blade tip. I would be doing a LOT of work on the sanders, turning the knife this way and that in this final polishing, and I respected that razor sharp edge and more so, the needle sharp tip. (Do you need to ask why? )

33 safely retaped.jpg

First to the 1 x 30 belt sander without the backer... I wanted the flex in the belt. I put on the 240 grit belt and with the knife at a 45 degree angle to the belt, I was able to polish out the rough transitions and get more of the smooth look I wanted. There were some rough gouges where I made early mistakes trying to polish areas and held too long. Rookie mistake, but anesthesia memory.




After the initial reshape and corrections. I worked my way up thru the belts, 240, 400, 600, 800, and 1000. Then I moved to the bench and used 1000, and 1500 grit wet dry sandpaper for the areas that needed individual attention.

Once I finished there, I moved to the pencil Dremel and the pin polishing rig to work up thru the polishing sticks to fix the scratches in the guard. Five levels and the guard shown like a new dime. I was good there. All that was left was the hair dryer and wax. Three coats and I called it good, buffing between coats. Tah Dah!

Looks pretty good today. I'm sure when I go out and build a sheath later, I'll find something that makes me say, "I'll just buff that out."

34 done.jpg

Yes, I see that scar in the stag, but it's a scar.... I didn't want to take it down any farther.

[RetiredSeabee]

Now that is a purty knife! Thank you for bringing us along. It is an honor to have contributed in a small way.
You have me considering starting on a simple knife project. I have nowhere near the shop and tools you have but I do have a touch of can do.

[BrokenolMarine]

Thanks for your suggestion sir. My shop is just an old metal building with spray foam insulation. Nothing like the dream shop I had just finished when we left VA in 2020.

But the tools... Thirty or forty years worth of acquisitions. I can thank my Stepfather and the Corps...

"If you take care of your things, they will work when you need them and they will last. If you put them where they belong, they will be there when you need them."

[BrokenolMarine]

A touch of can do and a desire to try knife making so I could make one for my daughter got me started... I just never stopped.

[BigAl52]

That knife needs used at Thanksgiving dinner

[Hatchdog]

Your choice of handle materials and highlights worked out perfectly. Beautiful!