Square one for DIY sgian dubh.

[Tartan Hiker]

That is an excellent blade indeed, and the price seems very reasonable. It should be a dandy

[AKScott]

It should be a dandy

Thanks, I got another one. Ruminating on all the old DIY sgian threads I did open I am seeing folks getting the best results using material and tools with which they are already familiar. So I bought another blade just like the first one and got to work.

First order of business, I want my sgian to fit my hand.




The first tinme I took off way too much material and started on a second scrap of red oak I had laying around...

Background is the first handle with too much material removed and new blade trimmed to as deep as I can reach with a drill bit. Foreground is handle prototype #2 with just layout marks on it.



Instead of using some other method, what I am good at is using a drill a bit like a plunging router, so I did that. With two sets of layout marks 90 degrees apart I just blind drilled the two edges of the slot described by the marks, drilled the middle and ten cleaned up the inside durfaces. Red oak endgrain is pushing the limit of my comfort zone, but it fit the first time and not a lot of slop in it.



I have the blade soaking in degreaser now (carb cleaner), after that I'll clean the degreaser with gun cleaning solvent, rough sand the tang to improve epoxy adhesion, gun cleaning solvent one last time and then epoxy the blade to the handle.

I am planning to epoxy pin the tang. I will layout the pins, drill from the side that is going to show and epoxy the pins in, after the main epoxy load has the blade locked in. One problem with my first knife was trying to mark the tang for pinning while it was flopping around in the slot.

Expected steps are:

Finish degreasing blade
Epoxy blade and handle together.
Layout and drill pin holes after epoxy cures
Rough shape handle, leaving a block at hilt
Epoxy pins in place
Wet mold sheath
Finish shaping handle


I am afraid if I shape the hilt end of the handle before I mold the leather the sheath may end up too tight.

I also suspect my handle is going to be too big for kilt hose, but I bet my second wetmolded sheath will come out better than the first, so I'll call that a wash.

[AKScott]

I think I am going to order one of these (wow $3.99US, seriously?) for round two.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200...x-112-x-5.aspx

If you want white oak (Q. alba) keep an eye on the 36" dowels at Lowes-Depot and so forth. Every once in a while a mill somewhere will slip some white oak into a shipment of red oak and water oak (and pin oak and swamp oak) dowels. Usually the grain is suboptimal over the 36" length of the dowel, but if you can work with a round blank you might find one with plenty of straight grain for a knife handle. Just look for the tubules to be closed off by tyloses.

[AKScott]

WIP it is. Please do speak up if you have any suggestions along the way.

First I went through my knife collection looking for handles small enough to fit in a sock but big enough to be comfortable in my hand. I used a block plane and took a fair bit of material off both sides, that would be the face side and leg side, before I epoxied the blade in. I put a bit of taper in it, more narrow towards the bolster.

With blade epoxied in and well cured I drilled four pin holes through all the way through the piece, two of them through my cut down tang, the other two are just ornamental. In real time I planed one side, transfered my layout marks from the unplaned side and then planed the second side ~ that way I knew where the tang is/was when I drilled.

Then I cut a tenon at the bolster end of the wooden handle:



I made a mistake here, but I am going to be able to carry on. Joe Gondek says we ought to use 10 layers of masking tape when forming up for poor man's pewter, but my pours have never burned through three layers before, so I went with five layers of tape. I think I got away with that ~ it was on supporting the construction paper that I came up short.

I suspect I might try modeling clay next time (on top of whatever masking tape) to suport the construction paper. I formed the paper to the corners of the wood, but as the form filled with liquid tin, the top end of the construction paper form sagged towards round. I am going to have to shape an octagonal profile into the bolster:



I do have the blade face of the bolster shaped flat and took the liberty of applying 80grit sand paper to my file marks on that surface. Next I will file down the sides of the bolster, and do what I have to do to make it look like I meant to do that.

Once that filing is done I'll make the wood contour match the metal for a couple inches, then wet form the sheath, and then go back to shaping the handle.

[AKScott]

Has anyone fooled with adding dye to varnish?

I am thinking this handle will look pretty good if I can get the grain to pop a little bit.

I have used thinned varnish before, 9 parts thinner to 1 part varnish to help carry the varnish down into the wood pores. That part works good. Carrying black dye and varnish down into the pores, then sanding the black dye off the surface I have never done before.

I have read the dry powder type dyes work best, but the reference was several years old.

[Taygrd]

Yes, I have used clothing dye but it is a tricky thing to get the right consistancy that will dry properly. I have applied paint to grained wood then wiped it off quickly to accent the pores, then allowed it to dry then varnish it.
Just a few ideas that may help

[Tartan Hiker]

Fooling around with the varnish may leave you with a soft finish. Be careful.

I always use Watco Danish oil and then varnish after it dries for a week. Great grain and the varnish isn't compromised.

My father would say "Don't ruin this beautiful job by rushing the final step."

[AKScott]

Fooling around with the varnish may leave you with a soft finish. Be careful.

I have used this method on pieces of wood not related to traditional Scottish firearms with great effect. It is especially useful to seal up the inside of a gunstock from humidity changes. Very thin layer so the metal parts still fit, but provides weather protection.

With adequate drying time a few diluted coats like this sanded up between coats and covered with full strength varnish works incredibly well in the field on the outside of the stock.

I always use Watco Danish oil and then varnish after it dries for a week. Great grain and the varnish isn't compromised.

I may use just the same unscented mineral oil I use on my cutting boards. Not especially durable, but it will pick up a patina over time. I have my grandfather's cutting board in my kitchen now. It is an amazing piece of flat sawn white oak with no spilts in it yet. Someday it will end up in a firepit at a family reunion, maybe a little slippery for a knife handle; but it will look great 20-80 years from now. I kinda hope I am not alive at that fire but instead those in attendance number me among the legendary family cooks through whose hands that cutting board passed.

My father would say "Don't ruin this beautiful job by rushing the final step."

No doubt. I will certainly wet the finished handle with mineral spirits before I decide whether or not to dye the pores. We had eleven inches of snow on the ground already before Thanksgiving, it was warm today, we saw +2F officially; it won't be warm enough for short pants until June. My wedding is scheduled for May 21. Once the sgian is done I'll take on a hand cast plaid brooch and a plain brown leather sporran, in the fullness of time. Maybe a formal polished antler kilt pin if there is time. Maybe even a white fur groom's sporran for the clan side of the family, though I am willing to rent one since I'll only need it once.

PS: Thank you Taygrd as well, I'll get there in a couple weeks I imagine.

EDIT:

I did get the decadent metal filed off tonight, it will be sandpaper and steel wool from here on in at the bolster. Taking a few days off for the holiday.

[AKScott]

I got a little bit further today, I have that tingly feeling that this is going to work.

First I used a triangle file and dug a 1mm deep trench all the way around the handle at what is going to be the deepest part of the thumb notch on the finished handle.



Then I filed from the bottom of the trench up to the next layout mark in each direction.



Cleaned up I have a very shallow, very wide V groove all the way around the handle just behind the bolster.



My daughter wants home made cream puffs for the eleventh day of Christmas tomorrow, so I have a couple days to think it over. I think I am going to finish the bolster all the way out to fine steel wool next; I am definitely going to wetmold the leather before I take anymore wood off.

If I don't smooth the bolster first it may not fit the leather perfectly, if I do smooth the bolster first I'll have to be careful not to mess it up while I finish the woodwork.

The shallow groove I have that I am going to form the leather to is exactly how hard the molded sheath will grip the bolster once the woodwork is finished.

I think this is going to come out well.

[AKScott]

I sanded the bolster down to fine steel wool, the cream puffs were a hit and the Christmas decorations are put up.

At this point on I am on step 2 (of 35) for making a "knifeslida" sheath, see post one this thread.

So far it took several tries to get a good impression of the knife in paper, I finally switched to Aluminum foil. I don't feel any need to reinvent the wheel, but will only be posting tips and tricks for getting the knifeslida made, for I am guessing a couple weeks.