All About Pocket Knives

I purchased one of the Premium Knife Supply knife blanks to experiment with. It's the S8 model, and here's what it looks like:



I've rough sanded two pieces of spalted maple for the scales, have drilled pin holes, and epoxied the handles to the tang.

Question 1: Looking at the Texas Knife Supply website, is appears I have several choices for the 3/16" pin holes. Brass rivets (two piece), Corby fasteners, or screw type fasteners. Considering I have zero first hand experience with applying the fasteners, what would the experienced folks here suggest? Rivets, or something else?

Question 2: Once the maple handles are shaped and sanded, what would you put on the wood? Tung oil? Linseed oil? Some stain? Nothing? Suggestions?

I'm hoping this will work out to be nice enough to serve as a Christmas gift for one of my sons. Thanks in advance!

This is how I do it:
I use solid brass (or nickel if you prefer) pinstock, cut it a little long, epoxy it in, let it dry and grind it flush with the handle (don't get it too hot) on micarta I peen it to help hold the scales, on wood that isn't such a good idea. After sanding to 600 grit lightly go over it with #0000 steel wool.

I would then do one of the following:
1. if I like a lighter colored handle apply several coats of boiled linseed oil then rub it down with #0000 steel wool and VERY LIGHT pressure to help polish. Also, be sure to use a clean piece of steel wool becuase maple is famous for taking on dirt and black emry from wet/dry paper and metal sanding dust and trust me when it does; it looks like crap.
2. if I prefer a darker handle that does not show dirt as well with use I would then stain it with a medium walnut stain, let it dry, lightly steel wool, the do the oil.

Not the only way to do it, just the way I do it.

muskrat man wrote: I use solid brass (or nickel if you prefer) pinstock, cut it a little long, epoxy it in, let it dry and grind it flush with the handle.

Okay, so the pins aren't peened or pressed in any way? Just pushed in , epoxied, and ground smooth. Okay, that's easier than what I thought I'd be doing!

muskrat man wrote: 1. if I like a lighter colored handle apply several coats of boiled linseed oil then rub it down with #0000 steel wool and VERY LIGHT pressure to help polish. Also, be sure to use a clean piece of steel wool becuase maple is famous for taking on dirt and black emry from wet/dry paper and metal sanding dust and trust me when it does; it looks like crap.

The spalted maple is really pretty, sort of a walnut color with black lines running through it.

Is there a reason you'd use the boiled linseed instead of the tung oil as a finish? I've used boiled linseed oil, and I have plenty of it, I've just noticed a tendency for it to become sticky/gummy at times.

On wood scales I like to use my own recipe. I buy small blocks of bees wax and melt it down. Then mix in tung oil , or mineral oil till it's about the consistency of vasoline. I usually put on a heavy coat and just let it sit for a day or two. If it's soaked in repeat again , if not wipe off the excess and then buff it lightly by hand or with a buffer.
Protects the wood and gives it a bit of a shine. Also works well on sheaths.

AllenMcB wrote: I'm hoping this will work out to be nice enough to serve as a Christmas gift for one of my sons.

Well, thanks to y'all's kind contributions of your knowledge, i got one finished for each of my sons.

Here's how the knives came out, as best as I could make the photos on this grey, cold day.

Here's the knife blank I showed earlier, with handles, homemade pins, and a handmade leather sheath. I made my own sheath pattern, and used spalted maple for the handles.

This is for my oldest son, who is 15, and a Life Scout.








Here's the one I made for my youngest son (he's 12), and a First Class Scout. Birdseye maple for these handles.






On behalf of the boys at home, and myself, thanks to you all for your help and suggestions on this site.

I learned a lot doing these two, which were the first I'd ever done. I've also never sewed leather before, never owned a belt sander, and never handmade my Christmas gifts, and never worked with wood.

The next ones will look much better, and maybe I'll be able to make better photos, too. I've learned some of the pitfalls in doing these, so I can dodge some of the mistakes I made here.

Merry Christmas!

Hey Allen,
I'm sure your sons will love their new knives.
What a great gift, a knife made by their dad!
You did a great looking job on both of them.
Those boys of yours will have something to use and chreish for many years to come.
Phil

Congrats on a livelong heirloom for your boys! Those look great!

Great gifts ,they will both be cherished for a long time.

Looks great Allen!!! Surely something to get passed onto the Grandkids someday!

D

Diligence wrote:Looks great Allen!!! Surely something to get passed onto the Grandkids someday!
D

I sure hope so........ I also hope they don't come in long-faced after a Scout trip, and say "Dad, remember that knife you made me for Christmas that time.........?".

Man,,, you're on your way now. You're hooked! Once you've done it it just gets in your blood somehow. Welcome to the club. Just one piece of advice... try to push yourself every time to do something just a little bit harder the next time. Before you know it you will be doing things you never even dreamed of or thought possible. Good luck and keep on keeping on.
mike penn

pmike5869 wrote: Before you know it you will be doing things you never even dreamed of or thought possible.

You know, I'm kind of there now. I'm not a guy who has ever been a craftsman sort. Meticulous hand work has always been something that I wasn't very good at. As a kid, my model airplanes always ended up with clouded windows because I couldn't keep the glue off the clear plastic.

But, these came out okay. I found out just how magical tung oil is. I've sewn leather for the first time, and got a nice, even double stitch. I learned that a combination of Feibing's dark brown leather dye, cut 300% with denatured alcohol, makes a beautiful, vintage looking color on saddle leather. I now own a leather awl (with a built in bobbin, no less). I've seen how neutral leather wax turns the flat look of recently dyed leather into a richer tone with a light shine, and a finished feel. I wet molded leather for the first time, and the process worked. It worked.

The only two teachers I've had for this have been the forums on BladeForums.Com and the forums on AllAboutPocketKnives.Com.

Today is Christmas Eve, and I'm sitting here thinking about all the good people who took the time to write tutorials here, answer questions, and share what they know. I'm really appreciative to the users here, and to the administrator of the site for making all of this possible.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

You got some good advice from some good knife makers.

Great job.........................those boys will be thrilled! When they learn Dad made them you may have a couple of "helpers" in the shop!

Take care.......................................

Allen, looks good to me! I know exactly what you mean; I gave up on the models as a kid for the same reasons. I've never been great at detailed work either; my fingers seem to get in the way. But dang you've made; me want to give it a try. Thanks and MERRY CHRISTMAS and hopefully a better NEW YEAR; to everyone.


Luckypaul777

Luckypaul777 wrote:But dang you've made; me want to give it a try.

Do it Paul. Just get something to work on and do it. I'm kind of taking the view that if someone else can do it, then I can do it, too. The only difference between the quality of my work and theirs will be what they've gained by experience and time. The experience I gained on these two has just encouraged me. I never expect to produce knives on par with a lot of what I see here, but I expect I can turn out four or five a year that won't embarrass me, and that's enough to satisfy me. Nobody around here makes knives, far as I know, so it's kind of novel among the folks I know. The next one will be from a worn our bastard file I've had for over 30 years. The heat treatment furnace is already built (two scrap steel wheels, some rebar, a surplus small electric blower, a bag of charcoal, and a five gallon bucket of lime).

Just do it, man. If the first one bombs, well, so what? Set it to the side, and do another one. Later you can turn the failed attempt into another attempt. Ain't much that can't be fixed with epoxy and patience.