Western L66 with new bone handles
Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2023 2:24 am
So I guess today was the day to clear a few Western knives out of my project pile.
I think that I fished this L66 out of the 'Bay cheap as the leather handles were falling apart, along with a few spacers.
Rather than trying to remove the pommel, I chose to clean up the tang and just glue on some jigged bone slabs that I bought from Bear and Son last year.
I was surprised by the difference in color after sanding down the bone, but natural materials are just full of such surprises. They were also too thin, so I layered white and red G10 under the bone, to match the red and white spacers already on the handle. It is still a little thinner than the original, but that just allows the pommel to swell a little bit in a way that feels natural to me.
The last picture shows it laying atop a sheath that I made for another Western knife. Got to make one for this bad boy, too!
I think that I fished this L66 out of the 'Bay cheap as the leather handles were falling apart, along with a few spacers.
Rather than trying to remove the pommel, I chose to clean up the tang and just glue on some jigged bone slabs that I bought from Bear and Son last year.
I was surprised by the difference in color after sanding down the bone, but natural materials are just full of such surprises. They were also too thin, so I layered white and red G10 under the bone, to match the red and white spacers already on the handle. It is still a little thinner than the original, but that just allows the pommel to swell a little bit in a way that feels natural to me.
The last picture shows it laying atop a sheath that I made for another Western knife. Got to make one for this bad boy, too!
