What a project this one turned out to be. It was supposed to be reduce the full bolster and seal up the cracked handle and thin the bottom part of the blade but it turned into a much larger project as these things often do.
I'm pretty much happy with how it turned out with the exception of the handle finish and shape. This wood (kingwood) is real dense and oily (in comparison it makes ironwood look like balsa) and just wouldn't accept any oil and I mean tried everything! In the end I just waxed it and called it complete. BTW, this wood was a gift from Mark @ BurlSource who said that it came from the estate of the late knifemaker Ted Dowell who apparently was very talented and sought after for his work. I wish I could have asked him how to finsih this wood. LOL
In hindsight I can see how some curves and thickness would have been better suited (it's too slender as is) but I followed the stock ferrule thickness when shaping forgetting that the manufacturers originally left the wood proud of the ferrule which supplied the appropriate thickness. Live and learn!
Oh and speaking of the ferrule, I had to replace the factory one since it was only a thin band of steel that quickly disappeared on my belts. I went with a nickel silver ferrule for the replacement, soldered it in place along with a nickel silver spacer to fill the whacky fit up. It looks OK now but again I wish I had thought about the handle thickness before hand.
So this one is ready to sail away to Australia....
I'm pretty much happy with how it turned out with the exception of the handle finish and shape. This wood (kingwood) is real dense and oily (in comparison it makes ironwood look like balsa) and just wouldn't accept any oil and I mean tried everything! In the end I just waxed it and called it complete. BTW, this wood was a gift from Mark @ BurlSource who said that it came from the estate of the late knifemaker Ted Dowell who apparently was very talented and sought after for his work. I wish I could have asked him how to finsih this wood. LOL
In hindsight I can see how some curves and thickness would have been better suited (it's too slender as is) but I followed the stock ferrule thickness when shaping forgetting that the manufacturers originally left the wood proud of the ferrule which supplied the appropriate thickness. Live and learn!
Oh and speaking of the ferrule, I had to replace the factory one since it was only a thin band of steel that quickly disappeared on my belts.
I went with a nickel silver ferrule for the replacement, soldered it in place along with a nickel silver spacer to fill the whacky fit up. It looks OK now but again I wish I had thought about the handle thickness before hand. So this one is ready to sail away to Australia....
