Tutorials:
Hidden Tang Knife: Page 2
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We'll need to hollow out the insides of the knife handle halves to accept the hidden tang. My favorite tool for this is a Mototool inverted in a vertical stand with a small carbide rasp ( Click here for picture) . The tool remains stationary while you move the knife handle. |
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Clean up this hollowed out spot with a sharp 1/4" chisel. In the absence of a Mototool, you could use the 1/4" chisel for this entire operation. Fit doesn't have to be super precise and should actually be a trifle oversize to allow for the epoxy. | ||
Mix a batch of a good 3 hour epoxy and coat both inside grooves liberally and one of the inside handle sides. |
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Clamp and let cure overnight. Kind of messy, but if you don't have some epoxy squeezing out, you didn't use enough. |
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I use a disk pad sander with a rough grit for initial rough sanding. It's fast and the disks are cheaper than belts |
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Back to the belt sander. Start with a rough grit belt for shaping. For a final sanding, switch to a fine or worn belt. This is especially true for the brass guard | ||
I use a small rotary sanding drum for tight inside curves such as found on the brass guard. | ||
Final step is to buff the brass guard. Notice the protective tape to keep buffing compound and residue off of the bare wood. | ||
I like an antique oil or tong oil finish to really make the wood grain detail pop out. Easy to apply ( wipe it on and let it soak in for a minute before wiping off ) . Several coats polish out to a beautiful, durable finish. Tape residue ( soldering is going to melt some of the adhesive from the tape) needs to be cleaned up with acetone. Check the header on page 1 or 2 of this article for a better picture of what the finished knife ended up like. I like the way two-tone wood handle turned out and plan on doing this again. |
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