Ed,

When you make a full tang damascus knife, what is the best method for attaching the slabs?

Normally on a full tang knife I attach the slabs with epoxy and pins and grind them to final shape, polish, etc... However, on a damascus knife I want to avoid grinding off the pattern. In the past I have temporarily attached the slabs and bolsters and ground to shape, removed them, etched the knife, sanded the areas epoxy would need to go and reassemble the knife with the epoxy. My problem is that there is ALWAYS something that makes me do more work after assembly and I end up sanding the pattern off. Then I am left with trying to mask the handle material and etching with Q-tips. Although it looks like most of your knives are not full tang, can you recommend a process for adding slabs without messing up the pattern?

I am considering using screws to bolt the handle and bolster on but I personally am afraid the handle material (Horn) will warp, leaving gaps and feel epoxy would hold it down better. What do you think?

I've been wondering about this same thing since i'm making a full tang damascus knife for a friend of mine.Personally I think it's a shame to hide all that pattern under the scales,but thats what he wants.

We handle a lot of blades that we cannot sand after. Damascus or torche drawn. I have found no good tricks, just this all scratches must be gone, all parts must fit before the etch. Even if you introduce a screw all parts must still be finished or the knife must be disassembled. First the finish then the fit.

One job at a time.

On pieces like that I have done the major fitting before the etch. So I had the blade up to say, a 220 or 320 grit finish, did the fitting with the scales, which included filing the full tang somewhat to make everything lined up cleanly- used pins in the scales to register the placement of the scales. Then I did 400 grit finishing on the scale/tang area, pulled it all apart, did final finishing on the blade, etched it and carefully epoxied the whole thing together again.

I think the key is to make sure you have a good reproduceable fit and get it perfect before final assembly. It was a lot of taking it apart, putting it back together, adjust, lather, rinse, repeat.

There just are not a lot of short cuts a person can take when trying to keep the pattern in tact on a full tang damascus blade. Careful fit up and finish before the etch is the best way I've found to accomplish the task. On various knives I even intentionally take the pattern off the edges..........gives a contrast that can be very eye catching on some pieces. One thing I do with those knives I want the pattern left on, is to attach the slabs with screws/nuts of the right size, then grind everything and completely finish the piece. I then remove the slabs, etch, and then put everything back together and cover ALL the exterior parts (where I don't want accra-glass to stick) with vasiline. I then carefullt take it back apart, apply the accra-glass, and reassemble. It's a tedious process, but it sure beats trying to remove unwanted glue!