Woodcraft Tanto Kit
Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 3:21 pm
I found that I liked making knives and learned to make the sheathes to go with them. The Woodcraft knives aren't TOP of the line, but the quality isn't that bad and they will hold an edge. The one I made for my daughter is about six or eight years old, she uses it every day and it's still going strong. She loves it. Last year they had a big sale in the local Woodcraft in Richmond, deep discounts on the kits and I bought a half dozen to build for fun and practice. I put them in the box and then we decided to move. I finally got a chance to start on a kit today. I chose a tanto, Big knife to go with the cocobola grips on the 1911 cocobola grips I had made for the match .45. This is the kit.
I searched thru the wood I had set aside and chose this straight grained cocobola. It's looking good, so I squared the bottom. It's long enough it will make two sets of scales.
I cut it in half, squared the bottom, marked it and bookmatched it, cutting it down the middle opening it up like the pages of a book.
Once that was done, I cut the scales to rough shape and laid them beside the knife blank.
This sounds much easier and faster than it was. Each step takes a bit of time, especially the move between bookmatching and cutting the rough shape of the scales. I had to change the blade on the bandsaw and that... takes a good bit of time to change the blade, adjust the settings and get all the tensions correct. But, I'm old, retired, and have nothing BUT time.
Tomorrow, I'll begin shaping the scales and then mount them on the blank, then more shaping. A bit of the shaping comes first. The forward end of the scales has to be shaped before they are mounted, or they CAN'T be shaped (easily) unless you use micro files and shape VERY carefully.
I searched thru the wood I had set aside and chose this straight grained cocobola. It's looking good, so I squared the bottom. It's long enough it will make two sets of scales.
I cut it in half, squared the bottom, marked it and bookmatched it, cutting it down the middle opening it up like the pages of a book.
Once that was done, I cut the scales to rough shape and laid them beside the knife blank.
This sounds much easier and faster than it was. Each step takes a bit of time, especially the move between bookmatching and cutting the rough shape of the scales. I had to change the blade on the bandsaw and that... takes a good bit of time to change the blade, adjust the settings and get all the tensions correct. But, I'm old, retired, and have nothing BUT time.
Tomorrow, I'll begin shaping the scales and then mount them on the blank, then more shaping. A bit of the shaping comes first. The forward end of the scales has to be shaped before they are mounted, or they CAN'T be shaped (easily) unless you use micro files and shape VERY carefully.