First I make my drawing on paper. Then I try to make the pieces the same size as on the drawing... not as easy as it sounds... ;-)
Handle mainly out of curly birch, combined with artificial ivory and some blue/white spacers. Pieces are sawed, sanded and ready for some precision work.
That is making the holes for the tang. Iīll be drilling the bolsterpiece with small holes and using tiny files to get the hole up to the right fit.
Same procedure goes for all parts, just not the same precision.
I usually mark up my parts like this. Then drill well inside the outer limits. In this case I only drilled the outer holes.
I think itīs easy to get one of the middle ones to wander off a bit and I prefer the files to get the hole finished.
Takes a bit longer though, but with better result for me anyway.
Take your time while doing this! If youīre doing this in a hurry, I find it very easy to make a mistake,
like slip with a file or poking a file onto the front of the bolster, which is polished when working on the hole.
Hereīs the boster piece ready! Spacers are getting the same treatement as the other parts. Small drills and files.
Oki, Iīve done all pieces now. Some glueing is about to take place. Epoxi, 24 hours.
I first glue the bolster and let it harden. Then the other pieces some other day.
This is my DIY glue press. Its very easy to make instead of bying an expensive one, and works well.
Thereīs a hole in the left piece of wood for the tang to go when glueing pieces inbetween and the right piece, (where the tang goes at the moment) has a hole for the blades.
This setup, which is not the normal way, is for clamping the bolster. I apply glue to it with a needle to have control over the ammunt of glue Iīll use,
and itīs easy to get it just where you want it, and not all over the place....
When glueing the rest of the parts I use it like this.
Next I have drawn the contours of the handle on the side of it. Then using rasps and files take the profile almost down to the markings.
Some are left to adjust the final shape. BTW, this flexible vice is my best buy ever. All categories!
And after a while (some days) of rasping, filing and sanding this is whatīs left of it.
And this is how our table looks after final sanding, lots of small bits of sanding paper.
My next step is to wet the knife with a damp cloth. Then a hairdrier to get it dry. When dry,
I take steelwool to take off the wooden fibers thatīs rised. I do this at least 3 times.
Finally, I add my oil and sand it off lightly with some wet use sandpaper or steel wool.
After some time, depending on oil I add another layer and wipe the extra off.
Finished knife here!
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