Cholla handled Knife

[Bigblue17]

This is my second knife. My first attempt can be seen in the last photo. The blade is thick and heavy, and it has blade-heavy balance making it a great chopper - which was desired. There are a number of faults (some blatent)... the soldering job being the worst of all. I had never used solder before this project so I read every post and tutorial here on "how-to-solder", I used Stay-Brite low-temp silver solder w/ flux with a propane torch and immediately encountered lots of problems. The solder just beaded-up and never really "flowed" into the gaps. I thought I was doing it right, but.....

This is also the third "real" sheath I ever made and it also shows I have a lot to learn - measuring screw-ups, stitching errors, staining problems, woodworking tools used as leather tools, etc, etc....

All in all though I'm pretty happy with the result. I drilled and cut the brass from a large plate, shaped it with files then polished it(?) on sheets of sandpaper. All of handle pieces were cut with a hand saw then shaped with minimal tools or on a drill press fitted with rotory drum sander. And, along with my clamping system consisting of a number of C-clamps a pieces of scrap wood, the stitching and accent lines on the sheath were carved in with a woodworker's V-gouge. So, I guess I need a few new tools to do this stuff right?

What I got out of this project, along with a pretty cool knife and sheath, was the great satisfaction of creating something functional and of my own image.... with my own two hands.

-Blade: Unknown "Sweedish steel' forged, shaped and heat treated by a local blacksmith. Bevel ground by the Grohmann Knife factory of Pictou, NS. (still needs final sharpening). I may get the Grohmann factory to grind a false edge on the top edge of the blade tip to adjust that balance a bit and also to remove some of that bulky look.

-Handle: Cholla Cactus, moose antler, Lignum Vite, brass, leather, Old Town Canoe "Diamond Head" bolt, slow cure epoxy w/ fine brass filings. And yes, I actually forgot to add one leather spacer when doing the final build.

The epoxy-filled cactus has been textured by carving indentations in the epoxy at each of the gaps in the wood matrix. The embedded brass filings shimmer in the sunlight through these transparent gaps.

Thanks for looking:







Sheath:
-Pouch-style sheath and integral belt loop harness
-Wet-molded and baked, 9-10 oz veg tan leather
-Full contoured welt and fire steel holder
-Braided leather lacing with wood bead and seashell
-One coat each of Fiebring's Dark brown and Mohogany dyes applied to damp leather.
-Neutral shoe wax applied with hair dryer
-Neutral shoe polish for final buffing

*For some reason both dyes reacted strangly when applied to the knife pouch part of this set-up. The belt-loop harness dyed just fine and the desired red color and lustre has come thru quite nicely. The sheath, however, developed a powdery coating over the entire surface which was wiped off when dry leaving a coloring effect that lacked the red and has a dull, matte look to it. Frustrating!!









Fire steel: Lignum Vite, leather, moose antler


The two brother and sister knives below their sheaths.

[NJStricker]

Bigblue17,

That's an ambitious attempt for one of your first knives, and I think you did a good job.

As for soldering, have you looked at the tutorial for using J.B. Weld?

Nathan

[Terry_Dodson]

Looks like a darn good user to me. Sheath lookes pretty darn good also. Does the blade work well with the firestarter?

[severtecher]

Great looking use of the cholla. Handle colors a perfect match.

[Bigblue17]

Thanks folks!! It was a fun project and sorta' got me hooked on knife making.

Terry D. - Although I've read some warnings about strength and durability of multiple piece handles, the knife was made to be a user. I used a high quality epoxy, all contact surfaces were well prepared, and the Diamond Head bolt is screwed into a barrel nut welded to the end of the hidden tang. It ain't commin' apart!! I do a lot of bushcraft and wilderness traveling and I also wanted a usable knife/firesteel combo..... it works great, although I'll be attaching a piece of a hack saw blade to the firesteel with a short lanyard to use as a scraping tool.

Severtecher - Several years ago I picked up about 20 feet of that cholla while on a 10 day backpacking trip in the Kofa NWR up by Quartzite. I love this stuff!! I've seen what great knifemakers like Tai Goo do with this stuff and I get inspired.

Nathan - I've thought about JB Weld. I've used it for other projects and I've seen how effecdtive it can be for that chore. But, I just wanted to try my hand at soldering. I'd really like to get my hands on some Acra Glass bedding compound used in firearms repair/modification.

[Paul Gibson]

Superb!

[Doug Lester]

Second knife, huh. You really know how to hurt a guy. I've seen knives at shows that didn't look that good. I think that you might have a future doing this.

Doug Lester

[NJStricker]

Originally Posted by Bigblue17

Nathan - I've thought about JB Weld. I've used it for other projects and I've seen how effecdtive it can be for that chore. But, I just wanted to try my hand at soldering. I'd really like to get my hands on some Acra Glass bedding compound used in firearms repair/modification.

Check with Brownell's for the Acra Glass. . .