My dad's 50th birthdaypresent

[Gustav]

I've been blacksmithing for almost 3 years, the last of which has mostly been bladesmithing and during this time I always had in mind that I was going to give my dad a knife when he turns 50. It's my first knife I've given away, my other knives are mostly for display (to remember the mistakes each one had) except for my first kitchen knife, which I use every time I cook. They've all been pretty simple. One full-tang and the rest hidden-tang. Turns out, my dad liked the full-tang knife the most, so it had to be a full-tang.

So here it is; 80CrV2 finished to 600 grit, brass, ziricote, bocote and mosaik pins, oiled with boiled linseed oil. By far the best looking knife I've ever made, with minimal mistakes (compared to my other knives). Just a bit scared of the unstabilized wood I used. Last full-tang knife I made had wood that shrunk an insane amound, not just so you can feel the edge and the pins, but actually see how far everything sticks out. Fingers crossed!

What do you think?

[ThomasPowers]

He may want to keep repeating his 50th birthday if he can expect a knife like that!  Well done.  A few things you might have improved upon; but not many and pretty small ones!

[Chris C]

Stubby little bugger.............but I like it.   Only critique I'd offer (and it's a tiny one) is I'd have taken the blade to an 800 grit and then come back with a 3-M pad to smooth up the lines on the blade.  Other than that, I think it's really unique.  Nicely done.

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, Chris C said:

Stubby little bugger.

Is that any way to talk about someone's Father Chris? 

Nicely done Gustav! 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Chris C]

Er, Uh, I didn't mean.............................oops!  Where's the foot-in-mouth emoji, Frosty?   Sorry about that Gustav, I meant no offense.

[Gustav]

Thanks guys! You might have noticed it too, but my main problems are 1. The brass spacers between the ziricote and bocote don't line up on each side of the tang. And 2. The brass could've been finished better

Regarding the "stubbyness"; no offence taken!

 

[Welshj]

Beautiful work! Your dad's a lucky guy. Lol...

 

A trick I used often in woodworking is to glue a layer or two of paper grocery bags between layers of wood when I needed to shape pieces the same size- in opposite reliefs. Then taking a utility knife, sharp chisel... etc. You split the pieces apart fairly easy and sand the paper & glue off the backs.

I adapted this to making knife handles and scales by using a good, thin double sided craft tape. (Not the foam type, the thinner translucent stuff) I'd drill pin holes in one side from the blade, then transfer to the other in process, or epoxy.

The upside is the ability to polish the full tang and keep it so while sanding the scales. Also, you can line them up almost perfectly if you have different materials.

The down side is you have to get your tang outlines almost perfect, as you're shaping them off blade. You get them really close, then split the tape. Test fit, if not perfect, re-tape together and adjust. Takes time, but makes a gorgeous alignment.

Another thing I have done is take a scrap piece of sheetmetal, trace out and grind down to a perfect tang match... then use that to stick my scales to for sanding and shaping. Then transfer to the blade when done.

Used that method on all these ones.

Sorry for all the pics, but it gives you the idea.