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I Forge Iron

cross-texturing for stabilized wood?


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Man, I've been posting a lot for the last couple days.  Hope no one's getting sick of me yet!

Anyway, I'm making a little skinner from some 5160 for an American explorer themed set.  Because the theme is 19th century (though the knives are of a more modern design), I'd like to use wood for all the handles.  Here's the rub:  I want the skinner's handle to be very aggressively textured to make it more slip-resistant when you've got your hands deep inside a deer or elk carcass... I'm thinking something along the lines of the popular wood texturing you see on the grip of a 1911--kind of a diamond-y pattern... Any ideas?  I was thinking maybe one of those Dremel sandpaper discs without a backing would cut a thin enough line that it would work, but any of the burrs might be too thick.  Google hasn't turned up much because most "gun grip texturing" is about how to melt polymer.

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I've never thought about using it on wood, but I use a framing hammer to texture metal and it comes out looking sort of like textured wood, at any rate it's a pattern people seem to like on my steel.  I'll attach a photo I just found of the head of a typical framing hammer.  Might be worth experimenting on some scrap wood, see how it looks.  Hmmmm... now you got me thinking.  Might have to try this myself....

framing.jpg

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I'll definitely try that.  Just a thought:  hitting wood with a hammer like that will cause a lot more damage than hitting steel with it.  May be best to find a decent framing hammer at a pawn shop and cut the head off to use as a striking surface rather than the striker.  That might allow more precision and make the texture more uniform and less apt to strike the same place twice, which would have a meat-tenderizer effect and just tear up the piece.

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I know you can buy replacement wood grips for a 1911 on eBay. Depending on the size of the knife handle you might want to consider buying a set and cutting them down to fit. Just a wild idea that run through my head when I started thinking about your problem. The other would be to cut the texture in with a cutoff on a rotary tool and then come back with a flexible sanding pad to smooth and clean them up.

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Hadn't thought of that.  Don't know why.  Making it more complicated than necessary I guess.  Although, I'd like to use a piece of desert ironwood or line maple and I don't know if I could find that in a pre-made 1911 grip

Edited by BlackthornForge
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Actually when I use the framing hammer on steel I am purposely making it random, overlapping, it somehow still comes out looking "woodsy" - wish I had a photo on me to attach to show you but I don't.    And mine came from HorribleFreight, I think it was under $5. 

Dremel would work but it'd take a steady hand to achieve it.  

Another possibility, around here there is a salvage wood company that has two warehouses full of salvaged wood, some of it salvaged from riverbottoms and quite textured by water and exposure to the elements over time.  I've picked up some really beautiful, deeply textured wood from them for cheap.  Look around, search for "architectural salvage wood" in your area, you might find a similar resource. 

 

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Depends on the definition of "easily cleaned" I suppose... do you prefer a knife that is clean after a quick wipe with a cloth in the field, or are you talking about a soap and water wash without deep scrubbing?

It is probably just me, but I like to be able to remove all of it in the field. I hate returning a dirty knife back to the sheath. the inside of the sheath are a pain in the butt to clean and sterilize.

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I'll keep that in mind and look for a texturing technique that gives decent grip while maintaining the ability to do a quick and easy field cleaning.  I generally wipe my knives clean then wash them with soap later, but I like the idea of a quick rub with a Lysol wipe or something.

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I do some rough work like that for my tool handles.  I use a surform tool and then smooth the rough edges of the texture with 120 grit sandpaper or sanding sponges.  It gives a nice rustic grippy feel!  This method might be a bit too rustic for a nice knife... in which case I'd probably use a V parting gouge to texture with.  I've done kind of coarse checkering with these tools and also some pseudo wood graining texturing.  On pine I like to burn and wire brush... followed by finish then sanding and more finish.  Pine can be a bit soft for knife handles... but I can harden it to acceptable levels with a finish like Kwik Poly.  You could also try burning textures in with a wood burning pen, in the manner of decoy carvers texturing feathers.  Most any texture is possible with such techniques. 

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I'll keep that in mind and look for a texturing technique that gives decent grip while maintaining the ability to do a quick and easy field cleaning.  I generally wipe my knives clean then wash them with soap later, but I like the idea of a quick rub with a Lysol wipe or something.

would love to se some pics of it when you are done.

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Would a rough or bastard three square file work on hardwood well and leave a decent finish?  Maybe have to hit it with a file card now and again.  I know I hit my file handles like that to give them some texture and grip.  Maybe hit em with a buffing wheel real quick to burnish the wood a little afterward?

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Gun grips are "checkered" with special checkering files

 

Please search on "checkering files wood" for a ton of links to tools and methods.

I approve of grips on utility blades that don't get slippery when wet with sweat, blood, alien gore...(Tried to tell folks before that if their sword grip is a highly polished "non-positive grip" then it's not a sword it's an implement to do one's self an injury---or one's friends)   However you also need to make sure that it doesn't try to eat the hand that's using it.)

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Thomas beat me to it. Like he said, just google even 'checkering tool' pulls up lots of responses, such as Jantz knifemaking suplies and a host of others. if this is going to be something you want to repeat to provide to your customers, it worth a small investment to get a profesional look.

Can't wait to see your end product, please be sure to post pgotos!! :-)

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Good grief I had to read a LOT of posts before the magic term appeared! At LAST! Thank you Thomas I knew I could count on you.

The two real secrets of successful checkering are: First, to be effective the checkering has to provide a path for viscus stuff, be it blood, mud, grease, whatever to escape under pressure. Just like the grooves and sipes in tires provide a path for water to escape, mitigating hydroplaning. Checkering allows goop to squeeze out from between your hand and the tool grip.

The second must is it's GOTTA BE SMOOTH or it WILL hurt the user. it's the deep grooves that provide the positive grip, not sharp points.

I've never tried it but I bet a cross check pattern of hack saw, narrow saw cuts would work a treat.

Frosty The Lucky.

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I had to fight the british spelling a couple of times; but I've learned to let the words slowly rise up in my mind; no birch to blame; just age, diabetes and a well/mis spent youth.

Want to borrow my chainsaw? It has experience. Actually I'm only one great white attack ahead of you on excuses. And didn't we all have a mis spelt youth?

Frosty The Lucky.

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