I went out of town over the holiday weekend, but I did manage to sneak out to my shop for a couple of hours before I left. I did make some good progress on the knife in the short amount of time I had available. Here's what I was able to get done.
Last week I got the hollow-ground bevels done on the knife, so this week I took the time to do a nice 600 grit hand-rubbed finish. It turned out really nice. I also got the filework all polished up and looking good, but I didn't get a photo of that.
The next major step in the build is to attach the bolsters. In the above pic the bolsters have been pinned together temporarily so that I can finish the front faces. The fronts have been hand-rubbed to 600 grit just like the blade. The bolster faces have to be finished before being attached to the knife since it's very difficult to finish them once attached.
The pin holes in the bolsters get tapered with a tapered reamer so that when the pins expand they will lock the bolsters permanently in place without fear of them loosening over time.
The pins are in place and have been peened to fill in the holes. The secret to a good fit is to clean the holes and pins thoroughly and then beat the stuffing out of them. The pins and bolsters are both made of 416 stainless, so if done right, the pins will just disappear into the bolsters.
I did a quick grind on the bolster to see how they turned out. I must have done it right since the pins have disappeared completely. Nice!
The next step will be to attach the scales and begin shaping the handle. It shouldn't be long now before this knife is complete. Thanks for following along with me on this adventure.
- Brandant Robinson