Need advice from the knife makers please.

[rabjr]

I got a nice piece of Mule deer antler from Gman that fits my hand real good and am in the process of making a knife that I want to attach to my possible bag thats also in the works. I've never made a knife before, this is my first attempt.

I figure on epoxying the blade in place, then drilling and pinning it with two 1/16 brass rods. Not sure how to dress the hilt area or the butt end though...

 

[chipper]

I like to use pewter. I buy it cheap at garage sales, melt it down in a soup ladle that I heat over a coleman stove. I prop the blade up in a vise, I wrap paper tape around the handle and attach a small wrap of manila folder for a dam. I usually Drill a few small holes to catch extra pewter as an anchor. Pour the hot pewter into the dam and cool with water. I then use a dremel tool sporting a wood bit to trim off the excess pewter and sand until finished. I use the same technique on the other end too. Just drill some small holes at different angles into the antler to act as anchors. It's incredibly easy, if you got this far, and you choose to use pewter, you won't have any problems.
If you've ever melted lead to run ball, this is no different.

Regards
Loyd Shindelbower
Blacksmith
Loveland Colorado

 

[rabjr]

Thanks Loyd, once you said that, I realized I had some pewter stashed away. That would be the simplest way to finish this off I think. :thumbsup:

 

[Nifeman]

Swamprat, just to add to what Lloyd said, you can also do a little filing on the butt end to add to the effect. It's not hard to do and looks pretty neat. Just clamp the knife in a vise and with a round file, file little grooves long ways around the end of the handle. Then once you wrap the horn and pour your pewter it will leave it in the filed marks as well. Hope you can understand my explanation...Bud

 

[LRB]

Or, if it's not too pithy, you can carve a face in it. :winking: :grin:

 

[Goldhunter]

+2 on what Lloyd said. :thumbsup:

Also, another option. On one of my knives instead of using pins I used the same pewter I poured for the bolster to pin the knife.

OK, let me try to explain. I drilled the pin hole thru the handle and tang. On the inside of the handle, where the tang fits, I took my handy high speed tool and cut a channel on each side of the tang hole (which from your pictures will be kind of rectangle shaped) This makes the tang hole look kind of + shaped. I then did the same steps Lloyd did but I extended the dam farther down the handle to cover the pin holes. Or you can tape a separate dam around that part.

I like to use a bit heavier card stock, more liek the card board that cereal boxes are made out of. This seems to be heavy enough that the pewter doesn't burn it or need water to cool, but YMMV. I also make a recess around the end of the handle, maybe a 1/16th deep, all the way to the end of the handle and on another knife the blade. But by your picture you won't need to do that since the handle is bigger than the blade.

I pour the pewter into the dam at the top of the knife (remember the knife is being held vertical by a vise). The pewter flows down the channels cut inside the handle, fills in the pin holes thru the tang and handle, and also fills in the bolster. After it cools there is a solid piece of pewter that pins the knife to the handle and also creates the bolster.

I can then, after it cools, carfully file or sand the new pewter pins flush with the level of the handle and do the same to the bolster. After some use the pewter pins get tarnished from dirty hands and look similiar to tarnished iron pins. Hope that made sense.

 

[oldarmy]

as an alternative you can use brass. Either a oblong piece for the bolster if you want a guard with it, or round if you don't.
for the end/butt
A piece of round bar stock drilled and blind taped for that tang along with epoxy will make a strong knife and you don't need the pins.
Have you tried to drill through that tang??
if it's hardened like I think it is... it is really tough to put a hole in.

 

[rabjr]

Well shoot, that makes sense Goldhunter and wish now I had thought of it before getting this far. I had a hell of time drilling the tang, it's supposed to be tempered for drilling but sure didn't seem so. Ended up using a thicker rivet than I wanted to pin the blade. I filed and drilled holes all the way around the handle, about 3/4" wide and poured pewter for the first time. It seems good and solid and should clean up nicely after some filing.

 

[Nifeman]

Good job, now if ya do the other end the same way it should come out pretty good...Bud

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you find that the tang is hardened, or even one of those laminated blades, heat the tang up to red hot before you drill it, and drill it while its hot. Just hold the blade in the jaws of a vise, and the vise will act as a heat sink, protecting the edge and blade from being heated and annealed. YOu may need a help to hold the torch to the tang while you drill the holes with a hand drill, but when the tang is red hot, it cuts like soft wood. And you can use a stand High Carbon drill bit, and not the more expensive carbide bits some use. The tang doesn't have to be hardened for any reason, and the only reason they are is because the mass production techniques use to make those blades cheap involves hardening the entire blade, tang and all. I use nickel-copper brazing rod to pin my antler handles to the tang. I do like the pewter casting, but it does add weight to a handle that is already usually heavier than the blade in front of it, making the knife unbalanced in the hand. For a working knife, I like a balanced blade. Having said that, I use many knives that are handle heavy.

 

[rabjr]

It's cleaning up pretty good. I'm pleased with it anyway. Nothing fancy for sure but then it wasn't meant to be. I need to order some more pewter before I can tackle the other end.

 

[tom hargrove]

great job on the pewter :thumbsup:

 

[Nifeman]

Swamp Rat, that-un cleaned up real good...Bud

 

[oldarmy]

I think it looks great and I am very tempted to try it myself.
Can you make your own pewter?? Is it a mix of lead and tin??

 

[Packdog]

It's looking great to me. Nice job on the pewter. It really compliments the antler.
Ken

 

[Goldhunter]

That's a fine looking knife! :hatsoff: Great job. Pretty easy, huh. :winking: I was nervous the first time I tried it. But I love the way it looks.

I'm kind of liking the idea of doing it on the other end as well. :hmm: I may have to try it.

 

[laffingman67]

Looks like the bug bit Swamp-Rat! Great lookin blade! :thumbsup: The pewter looks great!

 

[rabjr]

Still waiting for more pewter to come in. I started shaping the hilt area.

 

[PitchyPine]

Say that`s lookin real nice. :thumbsup:

 

[rabjr]

Finished the butt end, came out ok.

It has some heft to it, you know you have something in your hands when you pick it up lol. But it feels good, it's one of a kind and it's mine, I made it. Thanks for the advice guys. :hatsoff: