making a sgian dubh handle

[fortcollinsjerry]

Giving a good steel blade a new handle is not rocket science. In fact its just good sence to give it a new life rather than toss it and buy a new piece. Besides, most of us are of Scottish heritage and we know how frugal we Scotts are.

Here is a picture of an 8" bowie made of good German steel I picked up in a flea market for $5. It was in pretty bad shape - the sheath was torn in half and dry rotted, the blade was corroded and the antler scales were cracked and loose. I spent a week rehabing it. It has an elk antler handle now and I did some fancy file work on the bolster just to personalize the knife. I cut off the torn belt loops and soaked the sheath in neatsfoot oil till it was fairly healthy again and then restructured it with some brain tanned deer leather



The same proceedure I used on the bowie can be used on any blade.

It's important to anneal the brass prior to doing this work. It's easier to work with soft brass. Also, FWIW, some brass will not anneal. I think it's the kind with a lot of nickel - but I'm not sure. I know that many cast brass butt plates and tricker guards will not soften and are hell to try to finish.


First make the parts you'll need including the bolster, end cap and antler section. You can use steel but I think brass looks more classy and gives even a moderately inexpensive blade a new personality.

For the purpose of this post just imagine that key looking thing is the tang end of a knife blade. I grind a few notch's in the tang to help it grip the epoxy later. The bolster is a piece of brass I have drilled and filed a slot for the tang. I'd also clip the corners to reduce the amount of filing necessary when you finish it down.




I select the handle material and drill a hole in the end so the tang will fit and the brass bolster is flush with the antler. Then I fill the cavity with an epoxy (or thick Super GLue will also work), slide the tang through the bolster slot and shove the tang into the antler hole. It's also a good idea to wrap the handle up to the edge of the bolster with tape to prevent any squeeze out from getting on the handle. I park it in my vise till the epoxy is hard - I usually leave it ovenight.



I finish shaping the brass bolster befor I attend to the end cap.

The end cap requires some soldering. After cutting a small piece of brass for the end cap I solder a brass flat head screw in the middle. The screw threads will give the epoxy some grab and your end cap will be secure. I also rough up the brass around the screw with 80 grit or a file so the epoxy will grab that surface as well.



Drill a hole in the end of the handle material just large and deep enough for the screw to fit inside and the brass plate is flush with teh handle. Add your epoxy to the handle cavity, place the end cap and let it set for 12 or so hours till it's hard. Then carefully file the brass flush with the handle.

BE CAREFUL WHEN SHAPING THE BRASS. FILING TOO HARD AND FAST WILL CREATE FRICTION HEAT WHICH WILL SOFTEN THE EPOXY AND THE BLADE OR END CAP WILL FALL OUT. IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH FILING OR HEAT TO RUIN YOUR DAY.



I used leather dye to color the antler

Any questions?

[ChattanCat]

Um, no questions. Just want to thank you for the excellent tutorial.

[IRISH]

Any questions?

yes. many/most sgian blades i've seen have tapered tangs, with the narrow end widening as it reaches the blade. how does one drill a hole in the handle to accomodate that tapered dimension?

thanks for the tutorial. regards.

[BEEDEE]

Thank you for this. I'll be trying it on my next sgian dubh.

Brian

[fortcollinsjerry]

yes. many/most sgian blades i've seen have tapered tangs, with the narrow end widening as it reaches the blade. how does one drill a hole in the handle to accomodate that tapered dimension?

thanks for the tutorial. regards.

How I'd handle that (no pun intended) is to simply reshape the tang - narrowing it at the blade untill there is a shoulder. Lay out your line's with a scribe and hacksaw close - then work at the rest with a file. You don't have to be really precise with it because that part of the blade will be buried in the handle. It will take a little more work but in the end you'll have something useful.

[Panache]

Nice tutorial.

Cheers

Jamie

[Howard Clark]

Making a tapered hole, or even a rectangular hole, is pretty simple, really, especially in antler.

You go to the hardware store, find the sawzall blades, and pick out the one with the nastiest sharpest teeth you can find. Then you go home and fasten it into a handle. If you have a grinder of any kind, grind the non tooth side off so the blade is only about 1/4 inch wide. You start with a round hole in the center, then use the saw blade with a pull motion to enlarge it in any direction you want to. Mine has a stag handle, like my files, and many of the knives I make.

If you don't have a grinder, just buy a sawzall blade that is already narrow. And if you can't/don't want to fool with making a handle, get a long one, and wrap duct tape around it.

[ScottishShoemaker]

Nice job well done.

[The Barry]

well played

[svc40bt]

Great tutorial, and thanks for the additional tips Howard. I think a sgian dubh may be my first DIY project. Still trying to decide what I want it to look like.