Here is my latest, I am fairly happy with it as was the customer. However, I also know that I want to get better, so I would like to get some constructive critiques on this. There are certainly things I know I need to improve.
-the hidden tang width at the guard and at the opening of the handle and the fit could have been wider. I did however give it a very gentle radius to avoid stress risers.
-I used JB weld to seal the guard. The guard had no perceptible movement, but also wasn't press fit. It was more of a tight sliding fit.
-Gflex epoxy was used to bed/fill spaces in the handle itself. It is solid but, the tang into the handle fit could have been tighter.
-I had a hard time getting the handle pin to be perfectly flush to the wood. Where the pin is placed in the handle is not flat and I had a difficult time getting that right. It ended up being close but not perfect.
-I had some scuffing from sharpening the clip point. I cleaned it up, but it isn't perfect. I should have been more careful.
The steel is 80CrV2 tested to about 61Rc after tempering, the handle is stabilized big leaf maple burl and the guard and pin are 303 stainless. Heat treatment was done in an oven I made, tested on a Wilson hardness tester, and stabilized in my shop with cactus juice.
The guard had no perceptible movement, but also wasn't press fit. It was more of a tight sliding fit.
One method to fix this is to take a center punch and peen around the tang slot on the handle side. This will push small amouts of material toward the slot and tighten the fit. The peen marks get covered by the handle, so you don't have to sand them out again.
the tang into the handle fit could have been tighter.
A really tight fit is not the best for the epoxy. You do need a way to ensure the handle is aligned properly and your pin should do that.
-I had a hard time getting the handle pin to be perfectly flush to the wood. Where the pin is placed in the handle is not flat and I had a difficult time getting that right. It ended up being close but not perfect.
Sometimes less than perfect is all you get. What I usually do with this type of pin placement is doming the pin after the glue sets. If I want a flush pin, I will leave the pin a little long when I glue the handle up. After the glue cures, I will trim the ends off with a sidecutter or a pair of dykes. I keep a pad of acetate (basically the same stuff as photocopy transparencies) that is .005" thick. I cut a small piece of acetate about 1 inch sqaure and punch a hole in the center that just fits around the pin with my leather hole-punch. I lay the acetate over the pin and tape it in place with blue painter's tape. Then I file the end of the pin down to the tape with a mill finish bastard file. Then I file the pin down right through the tape with a #4 cut needle file until I just start to cut the acetate. I have a special sanding stick made from a 1/4" by 1/8" by 4" long piece of smooth hardwood with a 45 degree bevel on one end. I take a thin strip of 800 grit sandpaper, wrap it over the bevel and sand the excess pin off.
The knife looks like you took some time and paid attention to the blade finish. It's a fine effort and a good product. Keep them coming. Maybe on the next one, show some in-process photos and get some feedback during the build.
“So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.”
Domed pins: There are a couple of videos on the ABS YouTube channel by Nick Wheeler about how to do this. Most of us use a system similar to his.
https://www.youtube.com/c/americanbladesmith/search?query=Domed%20pins
“So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.”
Really good suggestions Joshua, thank you, they will certainly help. Also those domed pins look quite good, I am going to have to try them out on a future build. I have a drop point hunter to build by September, I will get some photos of the build along the way as you suggest.
