First try at a knife

[Dale Allen]

No handle yet. This is 6.25" long and the blade is 3.75"
It needs more polish and sharpening but my arms got too tired to continue.
This started out as a piece of 5160 that was 3/8" wide x 4" long and 1/4" thick.
Took about an hour to heat it and pound on it to get the rough shape.
Heat treated with motor oil and it is hard.
I made a rookie mistake and did not drill the holes in the tang before heat treat.
So, I got one hole drilled and that will have to do.

 

[wolf creek knives]

You really ought to try and get another hole drilled forward, glue won't keep the scales in place. Are you going to put a guard on it? If not, a pin is definitely needed or the user could break the scales loose and could cause a major cut during use. The only way to keep this knife safe is if you ground the tang down and make it a hidden tang, that's if you can't get another pin in it. That would solve some of the problem. But a very nice start for your first try. I think it might make a nice Skinner.

 

[Dale Allen]

Thanks for the feedback Tom.
I may try to use a dremmel and cut a slot in the front of the tang. Something big enough to get a second pin in but it likely wont be a round hole.
I tried a carbide drill bit and it would not bite.

 

[wolf creek knives]

You might try a machine shop to pop a hole in too. I've done it in the past and it's always worked.

 

[bsshog40]

I'll tell ya what, I bought a harbor freight set of bits and even bought some colbalt bits from home depot. I kept burning these bits up on my press. I was around 790rpms. So I had to drill a couple 1/8" pin holes out, grabbed my cobalt bit and was using my cordless drill on low speed. Wouldn't hardly drill at all. Then I remembered that I bought me a set of Drill Hog bits off ebay, along with their cutting fluid. Put that in the drill and literally took 3 seconds to drill the holes out. They have a lifetime guarantee too. Btw, I have no affiliation with this company, but these are the best drill bits I've used on hard stainless. Just fyi!!!

 

[frank123]

You can lower the hardness of the handle by putting the blade in cold water -or wrapping it in wet cloth- to keep it cool and torching the handle area to temper its hardness and make it easier to drill. Helps with toughness of the tang as well. If you have an acetylene torch, it's fairly easy to just do the area you want the pin hole in and leave the rest harder.

 

[Dale Allen]

Here is my solution and finished project.
Using a dremel I cut a slot in the front off the tang and used a thin piece of brass.
Then another pin at the other end through the wood halves.
One wood scale was notched to receive the tang.
I must be doing something wrong though. I sharpened this to a scary sharp edge and never once even nicked myself.

 

[philipff]

Good looking cutter! P

 

[wolf creek knives]

Nice save Dale and the square peg should have many asking "How did you get a square peg in a round hole"? Tape! That's the answer to not cutting yourself on the blade. I've seen many makers flashing a knife around with no protection from the sharp edge. Until after I put on the final finish on the handle, the blade stays wrapped in masking tape. One little slip could cause a trip to the emergency room. After 200 knives I've only cut myself, very small cut with no stitches, once.