What would you do with this knife, a thread for green river knife blades.

Hickory n steel said:
The heavily beveled front and back ends of the handle mostly, the wood blowout around the front and rear pin holes, and I radiused the front of the scales too much.
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It’s very good that you recognize these now make the necessary changes.
Try starting with thicker scales so if you do run into blowout again there is enough material there to grind/sand down past it.
Take care to remove these scales, trace them out and make changes on paper. Make a template if you want but have a reference for where you want to end up.
Keep after it.
 
bluecow said:
Looks just fine. Please do not distress the knife. Fur trade era knives where not 100 years old during the fur triad and looked new. Just use the heck out of it, it will get enough honest looks of its own.
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If I wanted a knife that really looked like it was original to the period I would just take the old 6" butcher I have and give it a quick sinew wrap to hide it's more modern birds eye rivets.

like you said the idea is like a new knife of the era and not a well worn original I found today at a flea market.
 
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I did a quick single scale test with a scrap of poplar.

My approach to this is just completely wrong, I've been trying to make a set of scales that are done and ready to slap on the knife like they do at the factory.

I can cut out and rough shape a set of scales then attach and profile them, but I was trying to do it this way for some reason.
 
How are you going to finish the wood? Also- in my experience it is MUCH easier to fit oversized handles on the knife and then grind them to size.
 
Ernie1980 said:
How are you going to finish the wood? Also- in my experience it is MUCH easier to fit oversized handles on the knife and then grind them to size.
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Yes I decided to do that and it was much easier, for finish I just used the same boiled linseed oil all my axe and hammer handles get.

I decided to go with the red oak because I figured it would look more appropriate than a more exotic wood, and I had more in case of failure.

I am quite happy with how it turned out, the overall f&f came out great.
I'm happy with the file work too, it's just imperfect enough to have the look I was going for.

I'll get some better pictures tomorrow.
 
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Hickory n steel said:
Yes I decided to do that and it was much easier, for finish I just used the same boiled linseed oil all my axe and hammer handles get.

I decided to go with the red oak because I figured it would look more appropriate than a more exotic wood, and I had more in case of failure.

I am quite happy with how it turned out, the overall f&f came out great.
I'm happy with the file work too, it's just imperfect enough to have the look I was going for.

I'll get some better pictures tomorrow.
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Looks great! If you are not already using this tip...when drilling through material (wood, bone, etc), have something behind it (wood, leather, etc). Clamp together if necessary. This will minimize blowout from the drill bit coming through the back of the material.
 
glennbad said:
Looks great! If you are not already using this tip...when drilling through material (wood, bone, etc), have something behind it (wood, leather, etc). Clamp together if necessary. This will minimize blowout from the drill bit coming through the back of the material.
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Yes I used block of wood underneath, and used multiple layers of masking tape on the scales.
I don't even know how long it took me to learn that, but it was way too long.


The issue before was that the edges were aggressively beveled where the holes were and I couldn't get anything behind them to really support the wood.
 
Nice!! I've done a handful of those myself and want to do a couple more this winter. I never thought of drilling out additional holes for pins, great idea. :thumbsup: The swedge is a nice touch and your handle decor gives it a period like look to me. Fun project isn't it? And you get an inexpensive knife with a good blade to boot. :):thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
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sunknife said:
Nice!! I've done a handful of those myself and want to do a couple more this winter. I never thought of drilling out additional holes for pins, great idea. :thumbsup: The swedge is a nice touch and your handle decor gives it a period like look to me. Fun project isn't it? And you get an inexpensive with a good blade to boot. :):thumbsup::thumbsup:
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Thanks.
Yes they're definitely a fun project, and it's not too hard or time consuming either.
When I did it right the 2nd time I only had an hour or so in it.

One thing to keep in mind of you want to drill different holes is you'll either need some kind of carbide bit , or you'll want to wrap the blade with a wet rag and anneal the tang.
I do not know this would effect the strength of a knife you wanted to use heavily and bash on and such, but for this I am not concerned at all.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Thanks.
Yes they're definitely a fun project, and it's not too hard or time consuming either.
When I did it right the 2nd time I only had an hour or so in it.

One thing to keep in mind of you want to drill different holes is you'll either need some kind of carbide bit , or you'll want to wrap the blade with a wet rag and anneal the tang.
I do not know this would effect the strength of a knife you wanted to use heavily and bash on and such, but for this I am not concerned at all.
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Thanks for the tip Hickory n steel. :thumbsup: I think I'll also find a friend with a drill press since I don't own one and I could see myself messing up trying to bore those holes freehand.:)
Ya got me inspired to order up some blades and make a few more of these.
 
Scott J. said:
Wow!!! Nice work!!
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Thank you.

To be honest I wasn't going to swedge it.
I had wanted to but was afraid to mess up, then yesterday when shaping the scales I made one minor slip and nicked the spine right there on the belt grinder.
I decided to go for it and almost messed up big time, but I took a deep breath and was able to fix all my mistakes.


Now I just have to put the knife through some kitchen duty to get a good patina rolling.
Some steak and potatoes should do nicely.
 
sunknife said:
Thanks for the tip Hickory n steel. :thumbsup: I think I'll also find a friend with a drill press since I don't own one and I could see myself messing up trying to bore those holes freehand.:)
Ya got me inspired to order up some blades and make a few more of these.
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I'll be looking forward to see what you come up with.
 
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