Bark-er-ized handle

[skipknives]

Last week I got invited to go on a two week camp/fishing trip,,whee haw
then I realized I didn't have a knife that I could call my own,,,,yes there is a joke in there somewhere when a knife maker doesn't have a knife,,,,so I made this one for me.

the handle is Ironwood that has been "Bark-er-ized" (looks like tree bark)
and I didn't worry about getting out all the scratches out of the blade.
my goal was to make a good "working knife" with max grip.

now I need to make a lefty belt sheath for it.
PS: OAL is 8.5 inches with a 4.0inch blade from tip to bolsters.
the bolsters have been sculpted for my "Sheath-Latch" that is why they are concave.

[AcridSaint]

Hey Skip - I like this knife. That handle really stands out.

[spaknives]

Real nice I'm kinda in the same boat I make knives and don't realy have my own knife to use. I usually make one and take it hunting a couple of times and then end up selling it to a buddy or something for a good deal. How did you get the "barkerized look"?? Just with a dremel or similar means. Thanks, Shane

[skipknives]

Hay Cap and Shane,,Thank you,,I did this one a little different,,
you know how when you glue on the handle slabs they are about 3/8" and the bolster stock is about 1/4" thick,,,usually I blind the height difference before I shape the handle.

on this one I shaped/ rounded the sides of the handle not worrying about the difference between the slabs and bolsters. this gave me a thicker "canvas" to work with.

I chose scales that had a wondering grain instead of a tight swurl in the burl.
I dusted it with the sand-blaster to get the grain to "Pop" then I used the dremel on the grain to deepen the grooves and mimic the bark on an old tree.
then I dusted it one more time with the sand-blaster to remove the tool marks.

last step was to belt sand the spine to remove the blast marks from the steel and blind the sides of the slabs,,,oh,, the handle pins stand proud after blasting so they had to be ground down,,,then buff and clean the bark with a Q-tip.

when I concave the bolsters the 3" inch wheel took care of the height diff. of the handle slabs.