How do you shape your G10 handles?

SkagSig40

SkagSig40

Joined
Feb 1, 2001
Messages
2,671
I'm learning how to use G10 and I'm wondering how you guys like to shape your G10 handles. What kind of belts do you use and do you bother with hand files or other tools? If so what kind of files and tools do you use?
Also what is the best way or technique so shape a handle like a coke bottle with nice palm swells? I keep trying on my Northridge grinder with 60-220 grit and flexable rated belts but they coming out more rounded and I can't quiet get the nice flowing curves like a coke bottle shape. Thanks guys!
 
I haven't used g10 before, so I can't give recommendations on specific abrasives.
For shaping that sort of handle though, I've found an 8" contact wheel to work quite well. Establish the rough shape with that, and clean it all up on a 1" slack belt.
 
I rough shape them with 36 grit zirc belts. Then go to 120 belts. To get that coke bottle shape I hold the knife upright and use a 6" wheel (8" would be nicer but I don't have one yet), then twist the knife. Sometimes I'll use the work rest with the butt of the knife sitting on it to get the concave profile matched up nicely. A contour gauge is handy for checking symmetry on handles. After 120 grit I go to hand sanding. It goes fast with G10. I use WD40 when hand sanding to kill the dust.
 
Thanks! I have a 14" wheel I have not used for anything yet. Just starting out and learning. I plan on getting some smaller wheels soon. I do have some very small 1/2" to 1 1/2" wheels for finger groves, choils and the like.

What kind of sand paper do you use for hand sanding? Do you attach the paper to a tool or just sand it with just the lose paper?
 
Geoff Flato said:
I haven't used g10 before, so I can't give recommendations on specific abrasives.
For shaping that sort of handle though, I've found an 8" contact wheel to work quite well. Establish the rough shape with that, and clean it all up on a 1" slack belt.
Click to expand...

Can I run a 1"x72" belt on my Northridge that is a 2"x72" machine? I'm assuming it will work and track?
 
Yes, I have a bunch of 1x72 scalloped belts, they track just fine on a 2" machine.

For hand sanding I use a variety of sanding blocks, hard and soft, with the same paper I sand blades with. I also use shop roll in 1" width when I want to wrap around a corner.
 
I have never used sanding blocks or rolls. Where do you get yours? I'll have to learn this hahaha!
 
They're all home made. Wood, plastic, metal, padded, hard, see Nick Wheelers videos on hand sanding to get started. You'll come up with your own/what works for you.
 
I have a 1x42 I use for most of my handles, but I've split belts to 1x72 and ran them on my big grinder a few times without any trouble.
For sanding blocks I keep an assortment of pieces of MDF and dowel with leather glued on. A Gunstock maker taught me that trick, and it works better than anything else I've tried.
Ed Caffrey has some good videos on hand sanding as well.
 
i do the same as the other guys and i also use the "shoe shine method". cut off a 3/8 - 1/2" strip of sandpaper with scissors, hold each end and use a back and forth motion like your are shining shoes. works good for rounding off square corners.
 
G-10 goes fast. Faster than micarta so be careful. I use a 36, 60, 120, 220 belts then go to hand sanding. I wet sand when i go to hand sanding. I prefer to do this at the kitchen sink so i can just spray as I go. I have trouble seeing scratches at higher grits on g-10 unless I spray it off pretty often.
 
Great info and thank you for the question.

May we see some pics of some finished and maybe even not finished work?
 
Shaping handles with belts is tricky. Easy to take off too much. And wheel diameters and slack belt curves are never the shapes you really want. I like complex shapes to fit my understanding of the complex design of the human hand: handle that curves down with thin front, relief for index finger, palm swell, oval profile, relief for little finger. I use belts and wheels to rough shape handle. Then I go to rasps and files. Then to hand sanding. That allows creation of a precise, complex shaped handle. It is slower than using belts only, but allows subtler contouring. Guys who crank out knives for a living prefer using belts because it is faster. Guys who use simple handle shapes can produce them with belts only. But if you want a complex coke bottle shape to fit the human hand, it is hard to do with rasps and files.

I tried using a contour gauge to get left/right symmetry once, but found it is too crude and imprecise for handle shaping. The human eye is a much better instrument to gauge fine symmetry.
 
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