This project was a lot of fun! Starting with a knife blank, which is basically a piece of shaped steel, and a couple squares of material for the handle, I decided to put them together to make a functional knife!
This is a list of everything I had to use:
*Steel knife blank, skinner
*Red/black Micarta scales
*3 Screws for handle pins
*Epoxy
*Wood Rasp
*Bastard Mill File
*Bench Vise
The highlight for me in this project was using micarta as a handle material. I have never used this material before. Micarta is essentially stacked layers of a type of fabric, whether that be linen, canvas, or even carbon fiber. These layers are held together by resin. I wanted to use this material for its decorative purposes.
The layers can be stacked in alternating color patterns giving the end result a similar pattern to wood grain, but with the added benefit of extra colors. Micarta is also extremely corrosion resistant and strong, so it has practical applications as well.
I worked the micarta down as if it was wood. Filing and rasping away, the micarta was much more slick and slipper than traditional wood. The teeth of my files did not catch as well on the smooth linen. Sure...power tools, such as belt grinders, could speed up this process but first, this could melt the linen and resin destroying the handle, but also, I enjoy the intimate feeling of using only hand tools and strength to work the material.
I thought I'd flair this one up with a nice pattern on the handle to accentuate the grain of the micarta. After final sanding and oiling, just like on wood, we are done! All done using nothing but hand tools, some screws, a little time, and a pre-bought knife blank. I plan on posting some stock removal blade making in the near future, as well as some blog style and research posts.
Leave me some feedback! Let me know how you like it!