WIP - 1st knife looking for feedback

[Tiiiiiiiim]

Wow, what a first knife and excellently documented WIP. Nicely done. Keenly watching.

 

[seionage]

so, got some time to putz on the knife.

The plan was to sand down the epoxy, and put the bolsters on.

Well, i pulled the tape off. Everything looking good

Started sanding everything down...still looking good

Then, as I got closer to the metal, all the epoxy flaked off.

Any suggestions? Different epoxy? I wonder if the red paint weakened it up that much. Maybe try some different paint?

help!

 

[SBuzek]

Could have been several things,but epoxy has no shear strenght so it just probably pulled out from being grabbed by the paper.
Wait till you have your handles ready to be attached and just color your epoxy and
glue everything upthen sand down to your spine and the file work will be filled.
Stan

 

[David Schott]

I agree. Get some dye made for epoxy and dye up all the handle glue at once. That will fill the filework and also give a cool liner-like effect. Try not to get too many bubbles in the epoxy or they will show when you sand.

 

[suddeth]

Looks good I really like the shape of the blade.

 

[Tiiiiiiiim]

I haven't done anything like that before but i agree with Stan. The epoxy will have more to hold on to with the scales on either side and you wont get any rounded edges.

 

[aHippieWithKnives]

most adhesives have trouble sticking to smooth surfaces, I know it defeats the purpose, but maybe rough up the filework a bit.

 

[SBuzek]

Oh forgot to add.Get it clean,scrub the file work with some dish soap and a toothbrush,(preferably not your own) and then with acetone or rubbing alcohol,any dirt or oils in the file work will keep the epoxy from sticking.
Stan

 

[seionage]

I did hit it with laquer thinner and acetone before I mixed the epoxy.

going to try and round up some T88. I want red, but if not, I'll go for black.

 

[seionage]

sanded the rest of the red epoxy off of the knife.

decided to put the bolsters on. First, I wiped everything down with acetone in prep of using this:

I mixed a bit up (I must be getting sloppy because I could have swore I took more pictures).

and put 1 side on.

After that side was, and the pins through, I put some on the other side.

First mistake I made. I shouldn't have put so much on, near the front of the bolster.

 

[seionage]

Here is a pic, just before I start to peen the pins down.

and another one.

The one thing I wish I would have had, was a reamer. I wish I could have reamed the holes, just at the outside of the bolsters (maybe 1/16 down). this would have made them more secure.

 

[seionage]

So, I start smashing away. I'm using both sides of the hammer.

flat side

and round side

And a pic of when I'm done.

I then used acetone to clean everything up, so there wasn't any JBWeld visible.

(wish I would have took a few pics of the bolsters, all the way around)

 

[seionage]

Just for good measure, I put a c-clamp on the bolsters, and tightened it down pretty good.

Don't know if I dented the bolsters or not.

Looking back on it, I made 2 more mistakes.

a)I should have used a piece of wood when I clamped.

And
b)I should have looked closer (these pics are actually better than when the knife is in hand). I didn't realize that much JBWeld came out.

Any suggestions on cleaning that up? I know it's going to be pretty hard.
I'm hoping I might be able to take a sharpened wedge piece of wood to scrape it off. Maybe that in conjuction with some acetone.

 

[Atama]

seionage,

Great work! I check this thread every day for your updates. Thanks so much for sharing this with us!

 

[Shawn fu]

Hey seionage,I've been following your progress for a while and you are doing great!As far as the jb weld clean up;obviously cleaning while it is still setting up is optimum ,but I have had good luck with grinding a tiny chisel out of pin stock you may have or a nail or something, heating it(I use one of the ten bazillion tea light candles that my wife has around the house!) and then carefully scraping away the excess glue-and finish up with acetone-maybe not the best way but it has worked for me...
Shawn

 

[seionage]

Thanks for the kind words.

I will try that candle trick with a needle.

I would like to be able to work on the knife but I'm not able to every day, due to scheduling conflicts.

--Dave

 

[flatgrinder]

Try using a 4" x 1\8" brass rod, sharpened to a chisel point -use it like a chisel with a small hammer, chip along the top of the bolster aiming for just the jb weld. You're less likely to scratch the ricasso if you use brass. Oh, and clamp the tang of your knife in a vise.

Good work.

 

[seionage]

Great! Thanks for the tips guys! Will try that next time.

 

[seionage]

So, got to work on the knife earlier today.

Took the C-Clamp off. You can see some of the JBWeld that squeezed through. I'll try the suggestions above.

One side:

The other side:

 

[seionage]

so, I put the scales on the tang to see how they would line up.

There was a little bow on one of the bolsters, where I didn't sand it flat. screwed up somehow. oh well.

So, I decieded to try and take it down a bit. I colored the bottom side of the bolster (tip of the knife is pointing down in the vice).

And, I gently touched it with a file. Being careful to keep it flat, and only
hit the high spot.