Thread: Knifemaking photo-essay (7) Shaping the handle

The previous post in this series was: https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....-slabs-105271/

Shaping the handle.

1) Cutting off protruding ends of the bolts.

My knives have flat-sided handles.

2) A jig is held by the magnetic vice, and the blade is clamped in the jig. The butt is supported by the cylindrical brass screw (pink arrow).

3) Sanding away excess handle material with the belt sanding surface grinder. I sand each side, raise the work table, and again sand each side. I do this until the handle’s final thickness is 16.2 – 16.5 mm.

4) A view showing the close fit at the timber-guard joint.

1) Cutting away excess timber.

2) Sanding the timber flush with the steel.

3) Squaring off the bottom of the guard.

4) Sanding away excess timber in the finger grooves.

Side, top, and bottom views.