I have always been intrigued by knives. I have always admired their beauty, as well as their (seemingly) unlimited versatility and capabilities. I think that is why...I have always wanted to build one of my own. I had no idea how to get started but, I knew that I had to at least begin purchasing the materials. I was confident in the style that I wanted to achieve and so I drove down to one of the local merchants that I knew sold Knife Blanks and, eventually purchased the initial component. I knew that I wanted the handles to have an esthetic that would match the overall intent of the knife, which was to simply set around the campfire and practice basic Bushcraft tasks. I shopped on the internet until some Epoxy Scales caught my eye. I remember saying to myself "Self...those Scales look exactly like campfire smoke!!". I immediately placed them into my "cart" and hit the "proceed to checkout" button. That's when reality hit me and, I addressed myself again with "Self...now we're going to have to learn how to build a knife!!".
The accompanying photos are documentation of my journey. Thanks for taking the time to scroll thru them. If you share the same ambition, maybe seeing the individual steps that it took for "Ol' Smokey" to become a reality for me, will help outweigh any anxiety that might be holding you back from getting started.
(1) Find materials that motivate you.
(2) Wrap the Scales in tape and, trace out the handle.
(3) Sand (or cut) away the excess materials from the Scales.
(4) Drill holes, set pins, apply epoxy and, clamp for 24hrs.
(5) Belt Sand the Scales flush to the Tang and bevel the edges.
(6) Hand Sand to perfection!!!
Now then, if you are anything like me, you are probably saying "Cool, what about the Sheath?". Well, that was a whole different experience! Please join us where I share photos of the Sheath that I crafted for "Ol' Smokey" in next months "Build of the Month"!!
...was a project that had been on hold for way too long. It started with plenty of good intention but, with no knowledge nor experience, the desire had to be postponed until the ambition outweighed the anxiety.
