knife scales

I've made a couple of the kits sold by Rockler. I chose not to use epoxy. I planed the material to desired thickness than traced the knife outline o n the wood. I also transferred the location of the screw holes. Counter b ored the screw holes and then trimmed the shape to almost final. Assembled the skins on the knife and "final" sanded the edges to my liking, careful to not scuff the steel. I can't remember if I removed the skins to apply ei ther Bush oil or BLO. It only matters if you want oil on the bf the skin.

BTW, the blade in these kits comes reasonably sharp (i.e., hard to get the blood off the skin). :-)

Bill

i will use epoxy and screws the epoxy is good for waterproofing

what kind of screws does the kit have

yes i think getting the shape close to final is the way to go

i did watch some videos and the knife making subculture likes to use the thin and long variety of belt sander to remove material very quickly and then buff metal as needed

wrapped my blank blade with two layers of masking tape as i saw in the videos

Not sure why you need to waterproof, but OK.

The kit had tiny socket head (internal hex) cap screws. The kit also supplied a hex key for tightening. Oh yeah, now I remember. Don't pay attention to the drill sizes in the instructions. Just measure the screws and select the sizes yourself.

I never watched any videos. I think the belt sander your describing can be had at HF for $19.95 less 20%. Good reports on its performance.

cross purpose knife and had longevity in mind

perhaps it lasts long enough to get handed down

funny you mention that i did end up doing that

found the right bits in my assortment

got some slot screw head type that are meant to be ground off flush once secured

well some of the videos are inspiring some are tiring some are funny lots to learn from success and failure

some are honest and forward enough to show their mistakes and others of course edit those out

will have to look at hf in the videos i saw a couple that had 48 inch belts

seems to be a lot of pride in their belt sanders

finally got around to looking at hf i see a 1 x 30 belt sander but not 20 bucks

which one do you mean