Project Information
Yet Another Marking Knife. I posted one a couple of days ago, but I was really not happy with the quality of the build. I had to compromise because the sawzall blade I used was too short for a full tang, and then to cut the slot narrow enough for the blade I had to use the band saw - I don't have a very good one, so the slot was very rough.
This time I used an old Makita saw blade for the blade stock and was able to make the blade long enough for a full tang knife. This solved the problem of having to cut a slot, instead I just used two pieces of wood.
The blade was first fabricated by marking the shape with a fine magic marker, rough cutting the shape out with a 4" cutting wheel on a pneumatic angle grinder, then using the bench grinder to achieve the final shape. I also ground the initial bevels for the sharp side on the side face of the bench grinder.
After that, I used a rotary shaping sander to remove all the old saw blade scratches, printing, etc and give a nice texture to the sides of the blade.
Then the wood ( I used Wenge again ) was cut to a lengthof 5 inches, just right to fit my palm, and a little oversize on the width so I could sand everything down flush with the blade later.
I then marked and drilled 3 equally spaced 5/32" holes in the blade with a carbide bit for the brass handle pins. I then used the blade as a template to drill the holes for the handle, this works out much better than trying to drill through the two handle halves with the blade sandwiched in between, it's too hard to control that way.
After that, I cut 3 slightly oversize pieces of 5/32" brass rod, chamfered them on both ends to make the insertion easier, and then drove them through the handles and blade.
Then I sanded the brass down flush to the wood, and proceeded to sand and shape the handle to its final shape, relieving all edges so it would be comfortable in the hand.
The blade was then finished on a progression of diamond stones to razor sharpness.
The handle was finished with 2 coats of marine spar varnish.
This time I used an old Makita saw blade for the blade stock and was able to make the blade long enough for a full tang knife. This solved the problem of having to cut a slot, instead I just used two pieces of wood.
The blade was first fabricated by marking the shape with a fine magic marker, rough cutting the shape out with a 4" cutting wheel on a pneumatic angle grinder, then using the bench grinder to achieve the final shape. I also ground the initial bevels for the sharp side on the side face of the bench grinder.
After that, I used a rotary shaping sander to remove all the old saw blade scratches, printing, etc and give a nice texture to the sides of the blade.
Then the wood ( I used Wenge again ) was cut to a lengthof 5 inches, just right to fit my palm, and a little oversize on the width so I could sand everything down flush with the blade later.
I then marked and drilled 3 equally spaced 5/32" holes in the blade with a carbide bit for the brass handle pins. I then used the blade as a template to drill the holes for the handle, this works out much better than trying to drill through the two handle halves with the blade sandwiched in between, it's too hard to control that way.
After that, I cut 3 slightly oversize pieces of 5/32" brass rod, chamfered them on both ends to make the insertion easier, and then drove them through the handles and blade.
Then I sanded the brass down flush to the wood, and proceeded to sand and shape the handle to its final shape, relieving all edges so it would be comfortable in the hand.
The blade was then finished on a progression of diamond stones to razor sharpness.
The handle was finished with 2 coats of marine spar varnish.