Carving knife handles

[Dkulhanek]

So I have a friend who makes custom knives. He starts with a piece of steel and forges the blade and puts a handle made of various materials on it. He approached me a while ago after seeing some of my carvings in the house, and asked me if I would carve his handles for him. He said that he gets a lot of requests for custom handles and his knives sell anywhere from 100 to 700 dollars at knife shows. I just was wondering if anyone had experience in this or currently do this. What material do you use and how do you carve? With knives, gouges, power...etc?

[STAR]

I think you can use any quality wood you liked to make a handle. We have had a few discussions in another thread and it appears it is ok to think outside the square and not be hogtied to using traditional carving woods.

I have made several quality Dovetail saws using what ever figured grain timber I could. You are not restricted to using a carving knife to finish them off.

A bandsaw, a quality cabinet makers rasps, heck, even sand paper will get the job done. I am now working along the idea to finish a project successfully I will do " Whatever it takes " Some of my friends use a Router, but I prefer the quality of a hand finished job rather than go that way. But heck, that is just me.

Don't be one dimensional. the clients wont care how the handle was done as long as it is of a quality matched to the price your friend is charging..

Just my two cents worth, which is possibly overcharging.

Pete

[pallin]

Just yesterday we were browsing through our local Woodcraft store. The variety of materials for doing handles for steak knives, etc. was amazing - even coffee beans imbedded in acrylic plastic. The possiblities are limitless.

[jdbcarving]

if he is getting that kind of money what handles was he using before? Doubt if all those knives are for carving.
jim

[Dkulhanek]

No, the knives he makes are not for carving. He usually makes them for show or collectors. The blades on these puppies are 6-7 inches. He was wanting me to carve designs into the handles. He has been getting requests for names or anniversaries and some pictures to be carved into the handles.

[Inadv]

Dkulhanek,

With those type knives rgw handles are usually "scales" which are thin slices of wood sandwiched around the tang of the blade. In that price range it is almost a certainty that he is using a "full tang", which means that the metal extends the full length and breadth of the handle. If I'm guessing correctly here you would be carving two pieces for each knife that will be approximately 1/16 - 3/8 thick, 3/4 - 1 1/4 wide, and 4 1/2 - 5 long. At any rate you'll likely end up with a relief carving of some fashion.

I make carving knives myself and the handles I fashion for them are solid and shaped with a scroll saw, belt sander, and rotary tool with a 3/4 sanding drum. I make the blades with a tang roughly the same length as the cutting edge and epoxy them into a a hole or slot depending on what material was used for the blade. I work the wood down with hand tools to a 1X2X6 blank and use whatever nice looking wood I can get. The pattern is then traced onto the blannk for final shaping as described above. Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if I can be of further help, and you might also want to look over old threads on the subject as there are a ton of them out there.

L.P.

[sashadoc]

Dkulhanek:
I think I understand what you're saying. Obviously he probably doesn't use a soft wood but rather one with a nice grain (for a nice knife). I don't know how you're used to carving, or more accurately what tools you use, but I'm sure you can use whatever you're comfortable with. I would practice on a small piece if you're using a power carver (Dremel or whatever) for the first time. You can do some nice detail with them but if you're not familiar with them they can be tricky at first. You say he's impressed with your carving so go with what impressed him. That's why he asked you. I'd trust his judgment and just do your normal work. He'll love it.

Tim