bending jig for blacksmith knives?

[Jason Fry]

I'm thinking about building a bending jig to help with setting the handles on a rat tail blacksmith knife.  Maybe a piece of 3/4 round stock at the end, with a couple of pieces of 1/8" mild welded into a wedge.  Anybody ever built similar, or seen one?  Ideas?

[Frosty]

A bending jig is easy enough but I can't visualize the wedge. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

I've always found mine easy to use, it consists of a hammer and anvil...and practice. I prefer to not have all my handles come out just the same as different people have different sized hands and so there needs to be a range of handles so they can pick up the one that is "just right" (and they are more likely to buy if there is one that fits them *perfectly*, the "I'm not going to let go of this one; shut up and take my money from my off hand..."

[Daswulf]

There are plenty of bending jigs out there to base an idea off of. If you are just looking for a uniform curve at the butt of the handle, have you ever seen pliers with a piece of pipe welded to one jaw to make uniform bends?

[Jason Fry]

I've done five of these knives so far.  Using the vise jaws, the horn, a hammer, and pliers, I can get them done to my satisfaction.  What I'm thinking more about is a jig to make the process faster and more repeatable.  If I end up doing classes, I'd like to have a jig to help someone with limited skills come up with a usable knife that doesn't suck. 

I came at this hobby from trial and error.  There's a lot I haven't seen, that's why I ask.

[ThomasPowers]

OK have you thought of taking a pipe section and heating and squashing it till it assumes the inside shape you want for your handle. Weld it to a section of angle iron so you can hold it in the postvise and put in a rod to hold the end in place as you bend it. (note this can also be done with no welding by cutting tabs on the pipe to bend out and rivet to the angle iron and using a bolt and two nuts for the rod section...)

I understand getting students through in a reasonable amount of time!

[Jason Fry]

Great idea with the pipe, Thomas. I see it, makes good sense. 

[Jclonts82]

I took a piece of 1 1/4 square rebar about 80 years old and hammered it until it fit the hardy hole with a little shoulder left on it. Then I hot-cut the end of it and drew out the two pieces and made them round and sheped it into a fork. they are about 1.5 inches apart, and about 3/8-1/2 inch round and about 2 inches long. paralell. hardened them then tempered it. I use it to make the handles, you can adjust your pull or pivot points to get more custom shapes, or it can be very repeatable and make the same bend time and time again. 

Its really just a simple bending fork.  And works well for me. you could fabricate easily with mild steel too, I just wanted to make my own from a single piece... more hammering the better for me, its therapeutic. 

[templehound]

Tai Goo makes (IMHO) the most beautiful knives of that kind, ...actually no jig needed.

A jig might giving You less freedom in the size and design of the knife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jugsVIhKr8k

 

Cheers

[MotoMike]

Templehound, thanks for that link.  I am starting to get the urge to make some knives.