Antler handled knife

Hi

I was having another one of those ''stuck at home'' days; you know, the kind where you wear a game-trail in to the carpet pacing between the fridge, TV and computer....

But then an idea popped into my mind. Maybe I was subconsciously influenced by the clever advertising on this website (the beautiful looking knife at the top of the forum page), but for some reason my life now seemed totally incomplete because I didn't own a knife with an antler handle!

Off to the man cave to butcher an old Garlands knife I've owned for about 20 years and a set of shit antlers....nek minute
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_7067.jpg


Will give it a day for the glue to dry and then finish it, a pic will come of finished product in due time.

kj

Okay, the epoxy dried a bit faster sitting under the heat pump, well enough to rough shape it anyway...so impatients got the better of me.

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_3913.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_9734.jpg

Its not 100% finished, but you get the idea. Considering it hasn't cost me anything to make I'm pretty stoked with this knife.


kj

Awesome.Well done.Amazing what a bit of boredom can do.

Genius idea to get you out from under. Good job too. My old man hunted pig over dogs for decades with a knife that his brother had made from scratch while doing his saw doctoring apprenticeship back in the forties. As kids my brothers and I were fascinated by it and learned to handle knives safely by using it with his supervision. I recall once asking him which was the best knife and still recall his answer well. He said "the best knife is the knife you have when you need a knife".

Cheers, first attempt so a bit rough...but I've already got an idea for the next one.

kj

Next step is to make the blade fiest , then do the handle. I had my grandfathers scrub slasher hung up for over twenty years - unused and decided to make something from it.
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v...Jeffery013.jpg
I rough cut it to shape then using an angle grinder got it a bit flatter and more of an even thickness. Got the shape sorted then spent about an hour every evening for a number of weeks with wet and dry to get it to a usable and even thickness for my grandads knife.
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v...Knifves006.jpg
Was given a bit of nickle silver for the fittings and again spent quite a bit of time getting them shaped up for guard and butt cap. Used a piece of African blackwood for the handles and more time to get it into a usable knife.
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v.../Knives002.jpg
I sharpened it origonally as a beveled edge but have since convex sharpened it and have never had knives as sharp as the stroping has made them, and this being good tool steel from the old slasher (I have a sneaking suspicion it was my great grandfathers before my grandfather had it) takes a good edge after it was HT.

There is nothing quite like using something that has personal meaning regardless of how much of "yourself" you have put into it.

This was on the blade so if anyone knows anything about the brand I would welcome the information.
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v...Jeffery015.jpg

Von Gruff.

mate i think you have done this before:thumbsup:, thats a sexc looking knife!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tui_man2

mate i think you have done this before:thumbsup:, thats a sexc looking knife!

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Cheers Tui but it is more determination and taking plenty of time. Besides there were a few that ended up under the bench early on:P:P

My post was more to encourage Kimjon in what he is doing as I am a rank amiteur who just enjoys the challenge of making things I want, but wont spend the few dollars I have getting someone else to do it for me.

Von Gruff.

WOW - nice work Von Gruff, you certainly have a talent.

I've done similar with this one which was an old Greenriver knife that I shortened and reshaped - then made the handle etc for. Like you I spent hours with wet & dry sandpaper on this one!
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/a...brary-4155.jpg

But yours is truly in another league! Yes I am inspired to make something better now...putting it on ''the list'' of things to do right now.

kj

Damn Von Gruff... that thing is a work of art.

That's a beautiful looking knife Von Gruff.

And nice job on that handle Kimjon. I've been wanting a real antler handled knife myself, but the only antlers I've got are a couple of cast fallow ones :(

Unfortunately for me the old man has shifted up north so I no longer have easy access to a fully kitted out tool shed (he's a mechanic/engineer).

Cheers guys. This is a few more I have done for myself over the years with the same theme.Yo can see that it takes one or two to start getting them sort of right as the early ones are a bit agricultural.
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v...Knifves008.jpg

This is the small game mate for the BG hnter
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v.../Knives003.jpg

Had a crack at a pocket knife in titainium and 440C bt had a bit of tutorage on this one one. It is my EDC and it shows the marks on the scales of continual use.
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v.../Knives001.jpg
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v...ives/007-2.jpg

Really like the look of stag but have never made one. This is a knife pic I saved into my favourites folder and look at it often. Cant remember where I got it but it is a quality of knife that we can all aspire to.
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/v...idDamascus.jpg

Von Gruff.

Now that last picture is a thing of rare beauty.

what glue/ resign do you use to fit the handles?

I have a large old hacksaw blade that someone has shaped in to a large knife...thought I might chuck a handle on to use it to track clear :)

then when time pemits I must try to make an every day knife

Nice work!


I've mocked up a prototype today for a small game/trout and bird knife (out of wood), to check sizing.

Also cut some antler scales to season/dry for a few weeks, I'll post up some photos this evening sometime in a new thread... because I have quite a few questions I'd like to ask.

Cheers, great thread.

Von Gruff if you felt like knocking together a basic how-to thread on getting started trying to make your first knife I'm sure a lot of the guys (myself included) would be appreciative. I'd love to take a crack at it. The handles look damn difficult. Must take a lot of time and dedication.

If I managed to make anything half as good as your "agricultural" knives I'd be chuffed to bits.

I've worked a lot with wood, but a wood knife is about as useful as tits on a bull :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leathel

what glue/ resign do you use to fit the handles?

I have a large old hacksaw blade that someone has shaped in to a large knife...thought I might chuck a handle on to use it to track clear :)

then when time pemits I must try to make an every day knife

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I use one of the two pot epoxy's like araldite (not the 5 minute stuff though) and run some file rings arround the pins to give enhanced hold areas.
My best little rabbit knife I made from a comercial hack saw blade. It takes a heck of an edge.
Sharpenable circular saw blades ( not the tipped ones thogh) make good blades and I have used a piece from a saw mill band saw blade that exploded when it hit a steel dog in a log.

Von Gruff.