A little weekend BIG Bowie project.

Bawanna

Bawanna

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A member here who can feel free to identify himself if he so desires, sent me a Big Horn Handled Bowie. Really nice.

He wanted me to knock off the horn and hang some Zebra Wood on it. My first reaction was the horn was really quite nice, it felt good. Perhaps I could round off the corners a bit, and perhaps checker it for a more solid grip which he seeks.

After a bit of pondering he decided to stay the course with the Zebra. Wanted to extend the wood a bit further and leave a 1/4'' exposed tang. Shortly after that we abandoned the exposed tang and decided on full coverage.

So today after a trip to the local gun show I began the mission.

Pre Mission picture.




I managed to get the horn off unscathed, didn't crack. Might be able to reuse them for a smaller knife.





So we cut out some Zebra Wood. A bit challenging with a dull band saw blade especially ripping it down from 3/4'' to 1/2''. Smoke and smoke detectors do not get along well but we got r dun. I put in a new blade to rip but it was junk and gave me a crummy cut that will take some effort to clean up. Need a better saw and for sure some better blades.

Here I used all the holes to install blind pins. Super strong with plenty of sheer and you don't have to look at pins. I don't mind pins but sometimes prefer to avoid them, especially nice when the plan is to checker the handle.



All glued up and clamped in the vise. Used extra care to make sure everything was lined up properly as I didn't leave much extra material. I think I got it clamped perfectly. Hope so anyhow.



Now to exercise patience weedhopper and not mess with it till tomorrow mid day. Guess I'll work on the rifle stock in the background. More checkering and sanding. Giving it a makeover for an officer at work to give to his son for his birthday in a few months. Especially enjoy projects like that. Good incentive to make it real nice.

Back to the bench.

Oh another Mini Spear Vala Auction coming up in a bit. Different approach this time. I'll post it up here pretty soon.
 
Long as I'm posting projects, another fella sent me his Opinel folder to refinish the handle. Bubinga. Again I thought it was real purty right out of the package and just weren't sure I could make it any better.
Anyhow I started off with 400 grit and sanded all the original finish off and a tad bit more. I'm thinking they might use a little color in their oil originally because when all the old finish came off it kind of popped. The natural wood grain and color became more vivid.
I myself think it looks even nicer and feel plumb lucky that it happened. I got several coats of linseed on it now and it's drying horribly slow but it did seem dry today. Course I put on another coat for good measure so the drying wait begins once again.

Photo evidence.






All I got for now. The dinner bell is fixing to be wrung and I'm late for my nap. Until next time.....................
 
Nice projects! I predict the bowie will come out awesome. Looks like the handle could have a secure "knob" or "swell" at the end, like a good axe handle.
 
That thought crossed my mind as well. I really don't have a plan yet in my head. But there's plenty of room to get creative on that end.

I'm open to any and all suggestions.
 
So are you doing this with hidden pins like what you suggested for my karambit?
 
I don't recall a hidden pin karambit conversation but yes, this would be what I was talking about. Memory is a terrible thing to waste.

They go into each side about a 1/4'' or in this case with large handles a bit more.

The acraglas would hold the handles on till the cows come home, adding the pins hidden or all the way through is just insurance and adds great sheer value so they wouldn't peel off if you snaged them on something.
 
Bawanna said:
I don't recall a hidden pin karambit conversation but yes, this would be what I was talking about. Memory is a terrible thing to waste.

They go into each side about a 1/4'' or in this case with large handles a bit more.

The acraglas would hold the handles on till the cows come home, adding the pins hidden or all the way through is just insurance and adds great sheer value so they wouldn't peel off if you snaged them on something.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what you suggested I do with my karambit, acraglas included. It was back in Recent Additions when I posted a picture of my new karambit with the paracord wrap removed. I'll be watching this thread to see how the Bowie's new slabs turn out.
 
Great posts beautiful work. I'm saving walnut over here to try my first handle job someday! What kind of blind pins are those? Oh...this old poor cracked broken A5 humpback foreend replacing should be a thing.

You're inspiring!

The bubinga looks outstanding, I knew there had to be some beauty under the surface it just looked so flat. I'm learning about oil finish dry times, they really are something!
 
Fantastic work so far:)

Pretty much every AKB of mine needed the corners rounded a bit for my tastes. I always knock them down a bit.

The kamis have gotten a little more subtle over the years. Back in the day, it was like grabbing the barrel of a .60 octagon barreled muzzle loader. Really round without much in terms of ergonomics.

I'm interested in this project. I love seeing handle mods. Mostly because I'm not talented enough to do em myself.
 
These pins are actually for fixing broken rifle stocks. You can get 1/8" which I used in this case and 3/16" I think is the next up. I have some of those.

I've used them as exposed pins too so they will work either way.

Scara, I remember the karambit now, popped into my head in my sleep last night. Not an HI karambit, the cord wrap is what clicked on.

This would work perfectly for that and the acra glass works for most everything.

I knocked the wood handles I just put on the R6 Santa Gunz sent me, it didn't sing. Might try to hang the horn from the big bowie on it to see what I end up with. I guess I should ask the big bowie owner first though huh? Didnt' think of that.
 
Looking forward to the end results! Zebra wood makes beautiful handles and risers, always wanted to try some.
 
The brass pins from Brownell's? I've used them for broken stocks, especially at the wrist. Great product, work great!
 
Yup, Brownell's the ultimate candy store for all things guns and a lot of other things too.
 
Oh man cant wait to see how this turns out. Your are killing these handles brother!!
 
Geez - I liked the horn :rolleyes: Seems that it set the bar high for your zebra wood version but I think you'll win the game :thumbup:

Wonder how you are doing the checkering on the rifle stock? All hand cut or do you have some kind of pattern tool?

Nice way to spend some time - woodworking and knives - all good. :cool:

Ray
 
I hand checker. It's tedious and time consuming but real checkering.

The rifle originally was impressed checkering but they did a decent job of it. I'm cutting it so it's real hand checkered now.

It's actually a great way to learn how to checker for anyone that might want to try it. The lines are basically already there, you just have to complete them where the impressed checkering didn't if that makes sense.

The bar is real high, the horn handle was nice and had great potential. I spent all of today shaping and filing and have a long long way to go, wish I had a few days off work so I could stay on it but alas, back to the sweat shop for me tomorrow.

I'll post up a picture shortly.
 
Well here's where I'm at Jan 22, 2017 Sunday evening.






I think I'm done for this weekend, got a couple auction knives to package and send off to Pugs.
 
Looks very comfortable!
Great work. We should talk to the boss and convince him it's in his best interest to let you do this fulltime on the job :D
 
Really nice projects, Bawanna. Thought you might like to know that Brownell's has opened their new, giant store twenty minutes away from my shop. Maybe you want to come to Corn Patch and play toys, eh?
 
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