Damascus and redwood burl

[J.Lec]

Hi guys, this knife is my first of two damascus knives. this one is my first commisioned piece. it is 10.5" OAL with a 6.5" blade length. it's made from 1084 / 15N20 random pattern damascus (thanks to Dan Seaver) Handle is Stabilized redwood burl from Burl source with stainless pin and tube. Heat treat by Rob at knife maker.ca blade has a Rc of 59-60.
enough talking lets get to the pix.

[Crex]

Turned out pretty nice.
Couple of suggestions - Prefinish the front edge of the handle/scales before mounting and you can eliminate the micro scarring at the handle-blade juncture.
Move the front pin back a little more, placed that close to the front edge invites an expansion crack to develope over time. Organics move, even if stabilized.
(Did you get her flowers?)

[J.Lec]

I had the scales pre finished. the "scratches" are from me trying to remove the epoxy that squeezed out when I clamped the handles on. I used a piece of popsicle stick that I beveled on the grinder. Ive used the same method on most of my knives with no problems. I think it just removed some of the etch coloring.

[Bob Hatfield]

use Q-tips to clean up the epoxy before it sets. I even dip my q-tips in acetone to completly clean up the epoxy that oozes out the front of the handle scales.

[J.Lec]

The epoxy was still quite gummy when I scraped it off. I might try to spot some vinegar onto the affected area to try to fix it. I now have been informed the customer would like a sheath as well. So I have some time with it yet. Just wish I would have been informed of the sheath before I went ahead and sharpened it.

[Crex]

It's a timing thing with the epoxy. There's a certain point when it just gets paste tacky and is still rubbery that it will peal away with no residue. Just got to be there at the right time (not always possible, I know). The acetone/Qtip works well, if you don't take the finish off your handle material while your using it. Gotta be careful there.
Yeah, hate making a sheath for a sharpened knife. I usually dull the edge on a stone and resharpen afterward.

[Doug Lester]

I find that a little WD-40 on a cotton tipped applicator works well with taking of epoxy before it dries.

Doug

[dbalfa]

WD-40....who'd a thunk it? I'm gonna try that! The uses for that stuff are endless-

I've been using slivers of cotton t-shirt material soaked in acetone, the edge gets down in there real well and you can all but eliminate a glue line.