Ticonderoga knife blank.

I got a twofer from @BillinOregon about a week ago that included a haversack and a knife blank.
I was really more interested in the sack, but I told him I'd work the knife into something usable and show some photos. Here are a few shots of the beginning of the build. Before anyone jumps my bones I know most Ticonderoga knives either had steel hardware or none at all. I'm using what I have on hand which is brass.
The handle is a very nice piece of maple that I cut to an octagon and tapered. the pommel is just a lightweight piece of brass tacked in place to protect the wood at the end. I'll be using three brass pins to hold it in place when I get to that point.

Looking great so far, that maple handle is very nice! Beautiful piece of wood.

That will be a good-looking knife! Is it period correct for the 1700's?

Jaeger said:

That will be a good-looking knife! Is it period correct for the 1700's?

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With the exception of the brass hardware which I already talked about yes it is.

To me the guard is way too thick. I would cut in in half.

Mighty nice work. Your finishing the handle before installing seems to me to be a very gutsy approach. But, each to his own.

nhmoose said:

To me the guard is way too thick. I would cut in in half.

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Already working on that.

Rifleman1776 said:

Mighty nice work. Your finishing the handle before installing seems to me to be a very gutsy approach. But, each to his own.

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The handle is only partially finished, it's only got two coats of oil on it if it gets scuffed when I put the pins in, and a little touch-up stain should do the job. I'm a very patient person and will be very careful when installing the handle.

I ran into my Ticonderoga knife blade like yours the other day and said to myself I really have to do something with it. I purchased mine about 20 years ago and stuffed it into a draw in the garage back then with the intent to make it into a complete knife. After seen yours I am getting the "itch" to finish mine. I see you are going to use 3 pins to secure the handle to the tang. Have you drilled the tang holes yet and if you did how hard was the tang to drill?
I like your handle and the shape of it

ZUG said:

I ran into my Ticonderoga knife blade like yours the other day and said to myself I really have to do something with it. I purchased mine about 20 years ago and stuffed it into a draw in the garage back then with the intent to make it into a complete knife. After seen yours I am getting the "itch" to finish mine. I see you are going to use 3 pins to secure the handle to the tang. Have you drilled the tang holes yet and if you did how hard was the tang to drill?
I like your handle and the shape of it

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I haven't done much with the knife other than start to thin and shape the cross guard. My intentions on the handle are to drill the slot for the tang and place the handle on with good epoxy. Then I'll drill through the epoxy and tang all at the same time using the holes in the handle as a pilot. Fortunately, I have a very good drill press with very little runout and a machinist vice to hold it in place when drilling.

Check that tang for hardness. If they harden the whole blade you will not be drilling holes in it unless you use a carbide drill bit (or three) no matter how good your drill press is