How to make a hilt

[Mr. Woolery]

Off the top of my head, I would suggest three books. Tim McCreight's book "Custom Knifemaking" is excellent for a beginner. Covers a lot of information, but isn't really all that great once you master the basics. Bo Bergman's book "Knifemaking" is all about Scandinavian knives, where the long tradition (dates back to the middle ages, at least) is that the bladesmith only makes blades and the knife maker does the rest. So, he covers everything but the blade. This is with Scandinavian styles, so not all of it will be relevant to you, but he does not make a single knife in the book with a full tang. All narrow tangs. Wayne Goddard's book "The $50 Knife Shop" has good coverage of a narrow-tang project knife. It is a hunting knife, not a sgian dubh, but still a stub tang into a block.

In essence, you will be dealing with a block of wood with a hole in it to accept the tang. The simplest way to make to make the hole is to drill it. A guard or bolster will cover the unsightly hole when you assemble the knife. A good high-strength epoxy will hold things together. Then you have to shape the wood. Not really all that complicated once you understand the steps involved. Any of those books will show you what you need to know.

Good luck! And have fun with it! That's what DIY is all about!

-Patrick