Czech Republic Visit

Thanks to the help from my great family I was able to get away and join my better half in her home country the Czech Republic. Nikki went home for a month due to the loss of her Grandmother, I joined her for the last week.

Praha (Prague): Nikki and her father met me at the airport with the traditional greeting of Pivo, Bread and Salt. "They are the physical manifestation of the guest-right tradition, whereby anyone who receives such in a castle, inn, or home cannot be harmed while under that roof."

Nikki arranged a full day and night in Prague. I had to fight off my jet lag but the beauty and history made that an easy task. We jumped on the subway and headed to Town Square. I got a quick lesson from Nikki about the different architecture styles through out history. 

• Romanesque (10 -13th Centuries)
• Gothic (13 - 16th Centuries)
• Renaissance (16th Century)
• Baroque (Catholic influence to the 18th Century) My Favorite
• Rococo (18th Century)
• Revivalist (Late 1700 - 1800's)
• Modern / Art Nouveau (Late 1800 - 1900's) Nikki's favorite

Living in the United States we miss out on the deep history found in Europe. The age and "Heavy Feeling"  of the buildings and structures have to be experienced in person to fully appreciate. I was in awe more than once during this trip.

We walked past the expensive shops on each side of the square, peeking in the occasional one that caught our interest. The snow melted last week and the weather was beautiful, there were no crowds to speak of which made it a nice stress free stroll through the sites.

 

I found this statue carved into the side of a building particularly interesting. Blacksmith?

OLD Town Square (Staromak)
The famous Astronomical clock, the skeleton on the right rings the bell on the hour. the 12 apostles appear moving through the two windows above the clock. Most amazing fact to me was it was built in the 1400's by Mikulas then made to function as it does today in 1490 by Master Hanus. 

We Crossed Charles Bridge headed towards the imposing Prague Castle on the hill above old town square.

Hrad - Prague Castle

The largest ancient castle in the world, dates back to the 9th century. Built as a fortified settlement, over the centuries buildings have been added and renovated. This explains the many different styles found within its walls.

War Monument

Sedlec Ossuary / Kostnice (Bone Church)
This was possibly the most interesting and disturbing attraction of the trip for me. After the 13th century a man named Abbot brought back soil from Jerusalem and sprinkled it on the graveyard here. Word traveled that this had become sacred ground and the site was overwhelmed with loved ones remains being buried here. With Europe hit by Plauge the tens of thousands of graves and bones began to pile up.

All monasteries were abolished by Joseph II and the site fell into disrepair. It was purchased by the Schwarzenberg family in 1870. A Czech woodcarver named Rint arranged the bones into these formations.

Bone Chandler 

Rint Family Crest made from bones

Grandma's Grave
I was not fortunate enough to meet Grandma, but the influence she had on Nikki's life is great.

On the weekend Jan and Inka took us on a whirlwind tour of all the Castles and Chateaus we could fit in. The views and beauty of the country is hard to show in photos or words.  (Humprecht, Trosky,

Birth canal on our hike up to Rock Castle

Trosky Castle Ruins

Kost

Jindra (Inka) Nikki's mom joined us for another day of touring. We meandered through sleepy ski towns and winding roads towards Jested Tower where we rode the tram and had some lunch. 

Hamon HT in Gas Forge

I had a few people contact me on a follow up to my Hamon Process when using a gas forge... Again, I have to say...

 "I am not an authority or expert on this topic, this is just what I have learned through trial and error and advice received from some amazing makers in the community. It works for me and I am happy to share it."

I used a gas forge for my first 2 years of Heat Treating and actually had more consistent results than the last year of using my Evenheat Oven. They are different animals, and require a different approach.

My Gas Forge HT Process:

My Biggest concern when HT-ing in a forge is getting too hot during my Soak TIme. It is very important to have good control of your heat and let it stabilize as close to 1470 - 1500 F  as possible. 1095 and W2 (The steel I recommend for active Hamon's) require a soak time of 6-10 minutes at austenitizing temp. 

Mike Quesenberry was gracious enough to help me when I was using a gas forge and gave me some great advice. start heading the blade by holding the tip in the tongs spine up to get everything heated up. This prevents the tip from overheating which I had huge problems with. It is almost impossible to have that tip in the forge when bringing the blade up to temp and not over heat it. 

when the Ricasso / Cutting edge reaches non-mag. (test with a magnet frequently) flip it around and heat tip first edge up, to bring the tip up to temp. Then move the blade back and forth to try and keep the entire blade the same temp. We don't care about the spine just the edge and bare spots between the clay. This is your Soak, it is important to keep the heat even along the entire edge and just above Critical Temp. 

If you have the room darkened or do it later at night you are able to see the waves move through the steel, this is what you want to happen while you are "Soaking" your blade, make sure to keep moving it in and out so you dont get the steel too hot, you can even bring the blade out of the forge during your movement to keep it cool. Don't let it drop too much though.... 

Good Luck,
Ryan Weeks

Resources:

Mike Quesenberry Knives

Low Grit Hamon

My Low Grit Hamon Process

I posted up a few photos around the intranets and had quite a few people contact me asking me how I get my Hamon's. After typing up a painfully long Email response to those that asked I thought why not share with those interested

My process for hamon’s changes quite frequently and I am by no means an authority or expert on the process, this is just how I do it right now.

Always wear Respirator and Safety Glasses!

There are two steel types that I find easiest to produce a hamon with because they are Shallow Hardening Steel: 1095 and W2. They both require precise temperature control for 8-10 minutes during HT. Not "Heat up and Dunk" steel types, you have to be very careful to not over heat.

Thermal Cycles:
After I have the blade rough ground I Normalize it through Thermal Cycles. I thoroughly heat to 1600 F then air cool to Black, Heat to 1475 F Cool to Black, Heat to 1425 (Sub Critical) and let cool to the touch. Clean the blade up again making sure to remove all scratches to at least 220 Grit to avoid the blade cracking along the scratch lines (I think of it as a piece of scored glass). Wash the blade with dish soap thoroughly to remove any oil or dirt and dry it off.

Clay Coat:
Apply a thin coat of Furnace Cement (Rutlands) or Satanite on the spine with thin fingers coming down in the same place on both sides of the blade. Do not go all the way to the cutting Edge. (I will attach a photo of one of my knives with the clay on it). I also thin out the cement and use a small art paint brush to wash around the edges of the already applied clay to increase the Ashi (White stuff in the Hamon when polished up). After I have applied the clay I let it air dry for a few hours, then place in the oven at 275F for 30 minutes to dry completely.

Heat Treat:
I use an Evenheat Knife Oven for my HT. I have spent a lot of time working on the process and temp control of the oven (Over a Year). My oven reads about 25-30 F degrees hotter than the inside is. I set my oven to 1470 F (Actual Temp +/- 1450 F) for 60 Min. It takes about 30 minutes to get up to 1470 F. I then let 20 minutes expire on the timer to make sure the oven heat is nice and even inside.

• Oven Timer: 40Min I place the knife in the oven on its spine, Edge up. I made the mistake of putting it edge down for quite a while. The problem with this is, whatever the blade is resting on acts as a heat sink and pulls the heat out of the steel. This will often cause your blade edge not reach critical. Which is exactly what you want to happen to the spine not the cutting edge!

• Oven Timer: 35Min Take a quick Peek at the blade in the oven. Make sure the room dark enough to see Colors, I close doors and turn all but one light off. I have a magnet on a telescoping rod (Radio Antenna-ish) that I use to check for critical on the cutting Edge, don't burn yourself 1450 F burns quick and deep.  If it has not reached critical I Close the door and Check again every 3-4 Minutes.  If it is non-magnetic I quickly close the door and start my 8 - 10 min. soak time. 

• I used to check with the magnet on the handle because it was close to the door and easy to reach quickly, but got false readings because of thickness variations compared to the cutting edge.

• Oven Timer: 27 - 25Min I pull the blade with my tongs and quench in Parks 50 tip first straight up and down to avoid warpage. Moving the blade back and forth like a pendulum. To reduce the vapor Barrier/Jacket, to ensure quick temp reduction. Leave it in the quenchant until room Temperature.  Sometimes the clay breaks off during the quench and sometimes it doesn't. Depending on when this happens in the process has an affect on your hamon.

Check For Hamon:
I scrape off the remaining clay and wipe off the oil. then lightly grind the blade edge with 80 Grit belt that will show the Hamon in the right light. This is my favorite part of the process because you get to see if all your work paid off.

If your edge did not fully harden or the hamon isn't what you want....  Don't throw the blade at the wall Haha! Go back up to the Thermal Cycling step and start over!!!

Tempering:
If you have the Hamon you like, it is important to get your blade Tempered. Right now it is very brittle and you need to bring the Hardness down. Different steel quenched in different quenchants need to be temepered at different temperatures. Do your research and follow a reputable resource, Kevin Cashen's site is always a go to for me ([URL="http://www.cashenblades.com"]Matherton Forge[/URL]).

Just as an example...
I used W2 heated to 1450 F (Remember my oven reads High - 1470 F = 1450 F) quenched in Parks 50. The blade should come out of the Quench at approximately 65-67 HRC.

* Temper 1x at 375 F for 1 Hr. let cool in oven (Slow Cool)
* Temper again at 425 F for 1 hr. Cool in oven.

This should bring your blade down to around 60-61 HRC. Great for a slicer. You can adjust your HRC for the intended purpose of your blade. Choppers should be softer (Temper at Higher Temps)

Machine Finish:
After you have tempered your blade to your desired hardness. I clean up the entire blade on the grinder getting it to final thickness, Be very careful not to over heat your blade in the grinding process now. You can ruin your temper and even your hamon if you are not very careful.

I move through the different grits as follows:
* Norton Orange Blaze (80 Grit)
* Norton Orange Blaze (120 Grit)
* 3M Gator Trizact (A160)
* 3M Gator Trizact (A65)
* 3M Gator Trizact (A45)

Hand Finish:
Now the fun part... Hand Sanding!!!
I use windex as my liquid agent to help move material, I have heard of people using Simple Green, WD40, 3 in 1 Oil, Even Motor oil...

I have a few different size pieces of thick micarta that I use as a sanding block. One side I stick something called "Felt Guard" that I got from Home Depot. It is a hard felt that people put on the bottom of their furniture legs to prevent them from scratching floors or ruining carpet.

This is how I move through the sandpaper grits:
* RhynoWet (220 Grit) Hard Side of Block (Usually takes 20-30 Minutes)
* RhynoWet (400 Grit) Hard Side of Block (20 Minutes)
* RhynoWet (600 Grit) Hard Side of Block (15 Minutes)
... This is where I Etch my makers mark on the blade and rough fit my Handle Materials

* RhynoWet (600 Grit) Hard Side of Block. (Yes 600 again - 10 Minutes)
* RhynoWet (800 Grit) Hard Side of Block (20 Minutes)
* RhynoWet (800 Grit) FELT GUARD Side of Block (20 Minutes)

Hamon ETCH:
Now time for the Acid Etch. I use Ferric Chloride Etchant (PCB Etchant from Radio Shack) Some people use Vinegar instead of FC, I have played with vinegar quite extensively and didn't like the results I got.... To each his own!

You will need: Ferric Chloride, Rubber Gloves, Cotton Make up Pads, Amonia in a Spray Bottle, 3 in 1 Oil, Face Mask, Safety Glasses...
I have my etchant diluted with Water (4:1) in a tall plastic container. I get everything set up in a safe place. I take the blade inside and Wash with Dish soap in VERY HOT water. with the blade still wet I quickly dunk the blade in the FC solution, pull it out and rub the entire blade hard with the cotton Makeup Pad to make sure the FC is making contact with steel during the etch.

* Dip Blade in FC for approx. 10 Seconds, Pull out and Rub both sides with Pad trying to remove all oxides
* Dip again for 10 Seconds, Rub with Pad.
* Dip for 5 Seconds, Rub with Pad
* Dip for 2 Seconds, Rub with Pad (I start rubbing a bit harder like I am trying to remove a bad stain on the entire blade)
* Now I do a series of Very quick dips and Rubs until I start seeing the Dark line develop along the hamon edge.
* I get a new Make up pad and dip the pad into the etchant and rub the blade with the saturated pad until I have what I want.

I immediately spray the entire knife with Amonia to neutralize the FC. then run out to a designated Dirt patch in the yard and wash the Blade off with the Garden Hose (Don't wash the blade off in your kitchen sink). Then Take the blade in the shop and Dry with a paper towel and apply a Very liberal coat of 3 in 1 oil all over the blade.

Hamon Polishing:
I leave the oil on the blade and apply "Flitz Polish". I use the Watery Green Flitz not the thick stuff in a tube. Again I use the Makeup pads to do the polishing. Sometimes I stop after the Flitz, it is a high contrast finish but does not bring out the Ashi.
[IMG]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31S1apr8t4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/IMG]

If you want some Ashi in your Hamon (Who Doesn't?) provided you have Ashi from the HT!! I purchased some 1500 Grit Silicon Carbide Powder online. I mix it with 3 in 1 oil to a thin paste. I have a Wood Sanding Block that has a piece of "Felt Guard" (Same stuff I use on the sanding block) on it. I apply the paste directly to the Felt and rub the blade with the saturated Felt. You are polishing with the 1500 Grit and Felt pad. I rub the Entire blade and tang at this stage to remove any Oxides or Color from the FC Etch.

(I am always worried about Contaminants getting into the Pad and scratching the blade finish, I have an test blade that I always use the polishing block on before rubbing on the blade i am finishing... Knock on wood)

The 3 blades on the right have been polished with the 1500 Silicon powder, the blade on the far left has only been Flitz'd

Then apply another liberal coat of Oil on the entire blade!

I am sure I have left some details out or didn’t make sense in some areas. Please feel free to ask questions or correct me where needed!

Next is the Handle!!

MY PERSONAL RESOURCES:

Kevin Cashen (Knifemaker)
Mike Quesenberry (Knifemaker)
Nick Wheeler (Knifemaker)
John Doyle (Knifemaker)
Mike Turner (Knifemaker)
BladeForums Online Forums

Turner SanMai Chopper WIP

Mike Turner Cut me a sweet deal on one of his HUGE pieces of SanMai for the real chopper. As some of you may know I am headed to the OKCA knife show this month, after the show Mike is putting on a forging clinic for a few of us. I plan on moving in that direction in my knife making endeavors.

Mike and I discussed the idea of doing a WIP for this guy.

The Design:

SPECS:

Steel: Mike Turner SanMai (Wrought Iron with Cru Forge V Core)

OAL: 15.5”

Blade: 9.5”

Handle:  Undecided Stabilized Wood

Misc: Brute De Forge Finish on Flats, Tapered Tang

I cut out the pattern and sent it Mike so he could get the billet forged to the rough shape. We are on a tight schedule due to the fact I want to have it finished before I head to OKCA the middle of this month. 

Forging The Billet: (Photos and Comments from Mike Turner)

Wrought Iron Anchor cut up and rebar welded to it for drawing.

1 1/2" round wrought Iron sitting on my 300 pound Vulcan anvil waiting for the forge to warm up, I threw this one in as Ryan's chopper is drawn on the anvil for reference while forging out the san mai billet.

Heat number 2 on the 2 Wrought Iron Bars, the first heat we straightened the bars out and managed to square them up a bit.

I have drawn the wrought iron down to the thickness need for this san mai. Not all of this wrought Iron will go into Ryan's billet, I wanted to make sure I had enough plus I always draw out extra wrought iron for future projects.  

Here we are ripping down some Cru Forge V stock for the core.

Here we have our materials gathered.

Here we have ground clean all the materials.

I Have the pieces clamped up and oriented, we have 2 pieces of Cru Forge V in the blade end and 1 piece in the handle end.

Sorry missed a few shots as it is hard to take pictures of the action shots working alone, so here we have the bar forged down to what Ryan has asked for and I have pre bent the bar to fit his chopper. Now get to work Ryan.

Profiling the Blank:

Mike was very quick and I had the billet in my hands a few days later. Here is a shot of the Cru Forge V Core sandwiched between the two pieces of Wrought Iron

I marked the pattern on the billet with a White out pen for higher contrast for my old eyes.

If I was doing this chopper by my usual method of stock removal I would need a huge piece of steel and most would have ended up on the floor. Mike was kind enough to shape the billet to my design, one of the big advantages of forging.

Mike told me the billet still needed to be annealed, I ran it through an anneal cycle bring up to 1600 F. then a  slow cool  to room temp in the oven.

I have been told a few times that I do this step out of order… 

I prefer to drill holes while I still have a square billet/stock. I hold the material in a Shop Fox Vise on the drill press so it makes the “helicopter of death” a rare occurrence. The holes with the cross marks will be pin holes Drilled with “F” (1/4” Pin) and #30 (1/8” Pin)

I then take the billet to the saw and remove the excess material.

I then profile the blank to its final dimensions on the KMG with an old 36 Grit Belt. I also use files and wheels to make the appropriate curves in the design.

I used my center scribe to mark the center line of the billet. I do this around the entire blank because I am going to be tapering the tang and distal tapering the blade.

I noticed some high points on the flats that I wanted to knock down so I did a little flat grinding. I didn’t get a photo of this, but you will see in later photos the clean portions on the ricasso and spine where I want to have Forge scale and marks (Brute De Forge). I will have to address this a little later on.

I made a template to mark the planned plunge line on both sides to help keep them  as even as possible during the rough grind.

Here I have done my primary grind with Blaze 36 grit belt down to approximately .030” on the edge.  In this photo you can see the removed forge marks mentioned earlier. Upon close inspection I can already see the CruForgeV core along the edge. Looks great Mike T!

Now I want to get those beautiful forge marks back for the finish I am going for. Off to the forge and anvil, as many of you may know I don’t have a lot of forging experience. I made a quick phone call to Mike to get some advice, then took the plunge. Brought the billet up to temp. making sure to keep the billet flat on the anvil began hammering.  Also ran it through a few normalizing cycles to relieve any stress during forging.

Now to taper the tang, I hog out the center of the tang to make the taper easier to flat grind.

I wanted to make sure the handle scales would line up nicely but need to keep that forge finish in the ricasso.  I also took the belt grit up to 120 so she is ready for HT!

Here is a before and after comparison photo to show the Brute De Forge finish.

 A quick photo of the blade fresh out of HT. The CruForgeV called for 1500 – 1550 F and quench in Oil, I am using 11 Second which should be just right from my research.  I took it up to 1535 F and soaked for 5 minutes then smoked up the place! It came out pretty straight, made a few small adjustments on interrupted quench.



Here is a close up where you can see the Core peeking through the Wrought Iron.
 I have Hand sanded up to 600 Grit, I have experimented a little bit in the past and I find that my Makers Mark blurs a little when grit is less than 600. My theory is the etchant runs through scratches a little? Your guess is as good as mine.

My Etch Process:

1. Wash blade with HOT water and Dish soap, dry with paper towel, wipe down Mark area with Acetone
2. Tape Mark in place with Electrical tape, make sure to cover any area that may come in contact with the current. Making sure to press the tape firmly around the stencil Edges.
3. Attach Ground (Red Wire) to one of the holes in tang, I like to have the blade lay flat on table to avoid any wobble.
4. Apply appropriate etchant fluid to Felt, rub with finger to spread evenly along the pad, dab with paper towel to remove any excess fluid.
5. With Etcher on “Etch” Setting hold on mark for 1 minute. This time varies depending on the hardness of the material you are marking. Where this is Wrought Iron it is fairly soft.
6. Switch to “Mark” Setting Hold on for 5 seconds off for 5 seconds, on for 4 seconds off for 4 seconds and continue to 0
7. Turn off etcher remove stencil and spray blade (and stencil) with Windex (W/ Ammonia in it). Rubbing with Windex soaked paper towel.
8. Take blade inside and wash again with HOT water and Dish Soap
9. Light coat of gun oil over entire blade

Knife ready to be etched

Right after the etch

I then get the 600 grit paper again and sand the mark until it is crisp and clear.

I then continue up through the grits until I am to a Clean 1000 – 1200 Grit finish. I have had some success with only going up to 600 grit on Hamons.

Time to Etch this thing! Patrice you ready?

I use the Ferric Chloride found at Radio Shack Labeled “PCB Etchant Solution” this is full strength stuff. I keep a solution diluted 10 parts water to 1 part FeCl in a large plastic container. I also have a stronger solution (2 H20 / 2 FeCl) in a small bowl with some Dish Soap added (Thanks Mr. Wheeler).




My FeCl Etch Process: (Hamon’s I do a little differently)
This process is a mix of other maker suggestions, personal experimentation and flat out superstition. 

1. I wash the Hand sanded blade with HOT water and dish soap, on the side I have a container with Super hot water ready to place the blade in to keep the steel hot.
2. I then place the entire blade in the bottle of 10/1 solution for 30 seconds. Remove blade and rub with a cotton makeup pad saturated with the soapy solution.
3. Allow blade to sit in air for 30 seconds then place in hot water container to warm blade up again.
4. Repeat process until you have the look you want. With Damascus and SanMai (Especially Wrought Iron) I increase the time in the solution each cycle.
5. Thoroughly spray entire blade with 50/50 Ammonia and rub with paper towel
6. Wash hands and entire blade with Hot Soapy water
7. Dry off and apply thin coat of gun oil
8. Flitz  polish with a cotton makeup pad

This is the blade after one of the Etch Cycles

This is the blade after etched and cleaned with Ammonia and Washed. The dark on the core is still covered with Oxidation so the contrast is more than it will be after Flitz polish. This always disappoints me. Haha

Here is the oiled up finished Etch

I am working on the handle design and materials.

In my haste I contacted Mark From Burl Source and he (As Always) said he would find some stuff that might work and throw it in a box for me.  As well as some pieces I ordered for some other projects in the works.

Mike Davis also stepped up with a beautiful piece of Ironwood he had, and he would send it my way for consideration as well.  I am always amazed at the generosity found here in the knife community.

Yesterday This showed up in the mail from Mark:

Mikes Package hasn’t shown up yet, No fault of his I am just running short on time. So I looked through the pieces and found the absolute perfect piece. Mark Nailed this one!  The bottom left piece is Black Spalted Maple Burl with a perfect EKG line running length wise down the block.

I didn’t have a lot of room to play with, I lined the tang up how I wanted the line to run. The scales are book matched so I wanted to keep them even.  I clamped them together, and put them in my drill press vise, making sure the scales were flush with the top of the vice.  This will keep everything square during the process.

I don’t like drilling through thick material, the bits tend to grab and heat up more. I drilled 2 alignment holes.

I then separate the scales and insert assembly pins into the alignment holes. Using white out pen outline the tang and again clamp the tang to the scale.

I take each scale to the drill press and finish drilling the remaining holes. Leaving the Assembly pins in place.

Here we have both scales drilled and the tang outlined with white

I am using ¼” and 1/8” Pins, I drill the pin holes a little bigger to allow for easier assembly and better epoxy adhesion.  I drill the holes again with #F (1/4” Holes) and #30 (1/8” Holes)

I then drill shallow Epoxy holes to assure Glue will remain in contact with the tang  when clamped up.
I decided to add a G10 Liner between the Steel and the Spalted Maple so I Epoxied them up… Normally I do this before any drilling.

here I carefully drill through the Existing holes with the F and 30 bit to punch through the liner material.

I reapplied the White marker to the liners

and Drill the shallow Epoxy holes again, making sure to just reach the Maple scales to increase strength.

I then use the band saw to cut just outside the lines, that way the Epoxy will pool around the tang filling any voids and cracks.

Now I need to make sure the Front of the scales are finished exactly as I want them because I will not be able to work on them when they are attached to the Blade.
Sorry for the blurry photo

I am ready to Epoxy the scales to the Tang. I sand all the surfaces that will be glued with 100 Grit sand paper. Then wipe the surfaces with Acetone to remove any dirt or oil. I use Acraglas from Brownells and love it.

Once I have the pins cut to size I always do a dry run, nothing worse than getting the glue spread everywhere only to find you can’t get it to go together.

I mix the Acraglas (8:2) for larger knives (Or 2 smaller knives) or 4:1 for a small knife. Stir it lightly for 4 minutes then I added Black Dye

I spread the epoxy evenly over both scales making sure to fill all the holes.

I then twist the pins into the appropriate holes to evenly spread glue around them.

I then Slip the tang into place over the pins, and fill the voids with Epoxy

Then I slip the other scale on to the pins, and clamp them in place. Using Acetone I remove any glue that is in the ricasso area, then apply a very light coat of Oil in that area to ensure it is clean.

Now the Acraglas needs to cure….

I really appreciate the support everyone, this has been a fun project for me. Bruce I had heard that in the past about the liners but it seems like there are a few opinions out there (As Always). I will be using liners with any natural materials from now on, thank you!

Mike I expect to get the Ironwood in the mail today. I am absolutely positive I will love it. How about I make a Kitchen Knife in the near future? If you are not familiar with Mike Davis work make sure you check it out. He is putting out some crazy kitchen knives!  Thanks brother.

I have almost finished everything up...

Here is what the scales look like after a 24hr epoxy cure, pretty nasty but I am pretty sure more glue is better than not enough.


I then hit the flat platen and even out the scales and make sure I have nice clean pins without any blowout or missing epoxy. Here you can see that EKG line that I wanted to match or compliment the SanMai pattern. 


I than carefully take the scales down flush with the spine, and butt with the flat platen (On the finger section I use the 2" wheel, to keep the curves right.)



I then take the 10" wheel and start contouring the handle making the palm swell. I actually have a photo of one of Nick Wheelers handles above my grinder as an example of the contour I am trying to achieve. 




I then put the knife in the knife vise and begin hand sanding with thin strips to round the corners and blocks to make sure everything remains flat, especially around the pins and spine. Moving up through 150 the 220 Grit. I then liberally apply 100% Tung Oil, I got this stuff from the local wood working store, it was not cheap but it finished extremely well. 


After 10-15 minutes the Tung oil has time to soak in, I sand with the last grit I used (220) then move to 400 and apply another coat of Tung Oil and wait. and continue up to the final grit. This actually fills any small voids and polishes nicely. I took this handle up to 1000 Grit. 






Mark, the spalted burl is beautiful, but as with any natural material it changes as you work with it. The EKG line is pretty much gone, but I am not upset at all on how it turned out. Looking at the overall package it all blends together perfectly IMO. 

SPECS:
Steel: 3/16" Wrought Iron and CruForgeV Turner SanMai
OAL:  15.5"
Blade: 10"
Handle: Stabilized Black Spalted Maple (Burl Source)
Sheath: Leather With Multiple carry options
Misc: Tapered Tang, G10 Liners, Stainless and Nickel Pins

Here are the final photos. Thanks to Mike Turner for the beautiful SanMai Billet, and Mark @ Burl Source for the beautiful wood.






Here it is with it's recurved Brother!


Thanks for making it to the end of this LONG POST!

Resources:
Mike Turner SanMai
Mark Farley Burl Source (Stabilized Wood)
Mike Davis Knives