At this point I traced the knife body onto the cocobolo
blanks labeling them so they would get attached on the right side.
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| Cocobolo Scales Ready to be Bandsawn |
Next it’s back to the bandsaw to cut the blank a little
large to allow for some movement when attaching and for a buffer when I do the
shaping. I thought that cutting them to
the exact size before attaching while an option was a bad idea. Here is a test fit to see what kind of play I had.
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| Test Fit of Scale |
With the blanks cut to rough size I could attach
them. The kit suggested three options
for attachment – by screws, using epoxy or both. I elected to just use epoxy. The cocobolo is such a nice looking wood I
did not want the grain to be interrupted by the attachment screws. I could have epoxied both sides on at the
same time but decided that there was too big a chance for something to go
wrong. Things like the first side slides around on the epoxy while I am lining up the second side or there is a little shift in one side or another when applying clamping pressure. How do I know this can happen? Let's just say experience is a good teacher.
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| Scale Epoxied and Clamped in Place |
After I let the epoxy cure overnight I removed the clamps
and got ready to do the second side. If you look carefully you can see where the epoxy squeezed out around the liner. Also, if
you wonder what the tape is for it’s there as a reminder. In the first post I mentioned an omission in
the instructions. Well here is where it
comes into play. The tab of steel the
tape is on is the locking mechanism for the blade. When the blade is open it snaps into place
behind the blade locking the knife open.
To close it is pushed sideways unlocking the blade
allowing it to close. Now if I spread
epoxy on this whole side like I did with the first side then the tab of steel
behind the tape would be fixed in place.
If I had done that with the blade open, I could not unlock the blade and
close the knife. If it had been done
with the blade closed it would not lock when open. All and all not the desired outcome.
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| Scale Epoxied On |
Being very careful not to epoxy the tab in place I spread
the epoxy and clamped the scale on.
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| Second Side Scale Epoxied and Clamped in Place |
After letting the epoxy cure overnight, I could start the
shaping the scales bringing them down to the steel liners they are epoxied
to. I started out using a drum sander
with the large drum in place. Here I
have worked the cocobolo down close to the liner.
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| Cocobolo Scales Shaping In-progress and Drum Sander |
The process continues, removing material using smaller
drums on the inside curves until I get very close to the liner. I then change the sanding drum from the
coarse grit shown to a fine grit and remove the last little bit of wood
until the drum just kisses the liner.
Here the cocobolo has been shaped to exactly match the steel
liners. If you are wondering what the
tape is doing on the blade edge it’s so I don’t cut myself to ribbons.
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| Scales Matched to Knife |
Note that all the edges are a sharp 90 degrees, not
comfortable at all. The fix is to round
the edges and soften all those hard 90 degree edges. I do that using a variety of rasps, files and
various grits of sandpaper. The
magnifying headpiece lets me see in much greater detail what I am doing. And yes, sticking my tongue out while doing the work helps a lot.
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| Knife Clamped in Vice While I Soften the Edges |
The end result of the edge softening is a knife handle
that feels good in my hand without any hard 90 degree edges. The beveled edge adjoining the bolster is a 45 and for the most
part is outside the area where my hand or fingers rest. One other place needed a little help and that
was the inside edges of the steel liners.
The edge there was quite sharp and required some gentle work with a
metal file to add a small chamfer, just enough to break the edge.
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| Ready For Finish |
Last step is to put a finish on the piece. Typically, I use a sprayed lacquer finish but
that just did not seem right for this item.
I was concerned that because I plan on using this knife versus it being
a display piece a film type finish be it lacquer, polyurethane or anything else
would not hold up to daily use. My
instinct was to go with a penetrating finish.
One that if damaged could be easily repaired without completely removing
it and starting over. Fortunately for me
I know someone who had built many, many knives and has long term experience
with various type of finishes. I
contacted him for some guidance and he said that because cocobolo is a
naturally oily wood he just sands it smooth and lets it go from
there. I was a little hesitant to
provide no protection so ended up giving it three coats of Watco Danish Oil and
after curing for a few days buffed it out.
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| Completed Knife |
I am happy with the final product but wish one thing had been different. There is a clip on one side and I debated about leaving it off, but in the end installed it. I really like the other side, very clean and simple. To me the clip, although functional, intrudes on the design and looks out of place. It would be another thing if I needed it but doubt that I will ever use it. I would not have put it on except that there would have been three empty holes for the mounting screws. If I find that after I use it for a while I never use the clip I may remove it and see if I can just put the screws in as placeholders. My only concern is that with the clip removed the screws could bottom out without going in all the way or conflict with the blade operation.
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