Handle Modifications... The Complete Guide (Hopefully)

DunkEm said:
How did you make the holes for the nuts?
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Drill the holes with a 3/8" Forstner bit to the depth you want, then chuck a bolt with a nut the size you want the holes to be, heat it to glowing red, then plunge it into the hole. It'll burn the corners out. Once you sand he handles to shape it won't look burned anymore.
 
Blackhawk45hunter said:
Brown and navy blue canvas micarta (home brewed)

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Damn man, you done did good.
 
Thanks man! I'm pretty happy with it so far. The only complaint I have is that the scales get really dark when wet or I get any oil on it. I'm actually thinking about treating them with scotch guard or something to keep them looking dry even when it's in a wet environment.


The Machax is such a beast though, it's the only knife ill ever really need in the woods, though the rest of the Becker lineup wouldn't hurt ;)
 
Blackhawk45hunter said:
Thanks man! I'm pretty happy with it so far. The only complaint I have is that the scales get really dark when wet or I get any oil on it. I'm actually thinking about treating them with scotch guard or something to keep them looking dry even when it's in a wet environment.
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Naw man, don't change them just to keep that dry look. The resin you used to make the Micarta won't allow water to penetrate very far , so they'll dry out pretty quick. Plus if you go and add something to the surface to keep the dry look you might sacrifice performance. Maybe they aren't as grippy any more maybe they get sticky from some chemical interaction or maybe they get permanently dark (likely).
 
Blackhawk45hunter said:
Drill the holes with a 3/8" Forstner bit to the depth you want, then chuck a bolt with a nut the size you want the holes to be, heat it to glowing red, then plunge it into the hole. It'll burn the corners out. Once you sand he handles to shape it won't look burned anymore.
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Awesome info. Thanks.
 
QUOTE=Cannikin;13682487]Just finished the custom scales for my BK10! I stripped the finish but left the steel as-is for now. I'm not looking forward to week's-long path to shining it up. Looks kinda cool as is...

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I was able to shrink down the inside grip area to fit my smaller hands. I'm 6 feet tall but apparently have small hands. :( This thing hugs my hands like a glove now, it's great.

For the shaping I first routed the corners with a 1/4" roundover bit, then went to them with a couple rasps. I didn't do such a great job on the recess for the nuts on the back...next time I'll have to be more careful with those.

The wood is Sapele (a cousin of Mahogany). For the finish I just soaked it in hot Boiled Linseed Oil for an hour or so, wiped and let it try. Then polished with 0000 steel wood and applied a coat of Burt's Feed & Wax. Although both sides came from the same piece of wood, one looks a lot darker than the other. The grain was pretty twist at that part and a lot of it ended up being endgrain.

Next is a leather sheath![/QUOTE]
 
 
Before I go down the drafting rabbit hole, has anyone done an EPS or PDF file of the BK7 handle shape? I'm going to be working on my handle modifications soon and it would be really helpful to have the shape already planned out. Thanks!
 
I'm thinking about using some of this ipe I got from my uncle. He built a longbow and it broke so he gave me the pieces for knife handles. This stuff is HARD!!

 
Oh boy, major man points if you succeed at making ipe scales.
 
This project is definitely going down tomorrow. I'm got the handles shaped and drilled. I've got some brass rod for pins and epoxy ready to go. It's just too cold to mess with it tonight. :)
 
Almost complete. A little fine sanding and a few swipes on the buffer and I'll be ready to go.
 
I finished up the ipe! I'm pretty happy with the results. I added a little water based leather dye to darken it some and finished it up with several coats of Formbys tung oil.

 
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