[Valkman]

Or "Special for John Shirley!" :D

I am not happy with this, and it's not sellable. But I learned a ton and all the mistakes can be easily corrected.

I converted my Small Skinner to a Loveless-type handle and went at it. Four main things went wrong here:

1) The guard moved when I drilled it, so it's not straight up and down. It is pinned and I used JB Weld under it. Clamping it will correct that.

2) The pin in the guard does not match the guard material (416) so it stands out. Since I moved everything is mixed up and I guessed. Wrong! But, again, easy to fix.

3) When I slotted the guard on the mill I went 3 passes with a 1/8" end mill. I used to do it in one pass but got tired of breaking end mills! Anyway, on pass #2 it went farther than it should have (someone not paying attention??) and when I shaped the bottom of the guard with a 1/2" end mill a hole appeared. That ain't happenin' again!

4) Finally, I used my old technique of holding the handle slabs by hand while drilling them for pins. Duh. One moved and I wound up with a small crack between handle and guard. Again, easily fixable.

Right side: See the pin stand out and the hole in the guard! The G10 looks great and I think I found the secret to finishing it. This side also has the gap but you can't see it.

http://usera.imagecave.com/Valkman/Silver-Gray_Guarded/SmSk_guard1.JPG

Left side: Look at that guard to handle fit - now that's how it's supposed to be! Man that pin sticks out! Ugh!

http://usera.imagecave.com/Valkman/Silver-Gray_Guarded/SmSk_guard2.JPG

Hole in the guard:

http://usera.imagecave.com/Valkman/Silver-Gray_Guarded/guard_hole.JPG

Consider this "How not to make a guarded knife" :D

Next is the full meal deal - 4", tapered tang, the toughest of the tough. Yes I'll screw it up but let's see how close I can get! :scrutiny:

[Valkman]

BTW, that's Silver/Black G10, one of my favorites.

[JTW Jr.]

Don , dont be so hard on yourself bud , it looks darn good to me.
Although I know how it goes , I am my worst critic as well.

I am sure glad to see you back at it , bud !

[Valkman]

I'm having fun for sure, especially with the mill! I need to talk to Mike some more to understand how you do this with a tapered tang - I have a blank ready to go and am waiting on 416 that's wide enough. I have a bunch of D2 coming also!

[usmccpl]

I think its purty. If you cant live with it let me know and I will give it a good home for you.

[Valkman]

I never was going to let go of this one since it was #1 of the model but now I really can't let it go. I've seen these kind of knives come back to haunt makers when someone says "Hey, look at the crap this guy makes!" but the biggest reason is it's not what I intended. It has to be right to go out! :)

[hso]

There are hundreds of knifemakers backyards that no sane person would try to mow.;)

[Valkman]

That's the truth! Lot's of stuff sticking out of the walls of the shop too! :D

[JShirley]

Thanks for thinking of me! :) I saw the thread title, and had to look, first thing. Love those Loveless-style handles, too. :D

And it was a learning experience, right? Thanks for sharing it with us.

John

[Valkman]

Glad you like it! I have a bigger one waiting on 3/8" 416, and meanwhile I started another 1/8" one and another big one like in the other thread but in D2. On the big one I added a little integral guard!

[Spinner]

I gotta say Valkman, that knife is a real beauty!!

Yeah, I know its got its "issues" but that knife is very close to my ideal hunting companion. I would prefer something like D2 rather than stainless and I'd prefer a slightly longer blade, but other than that its exactly the sort of thing I've been looking for forever.

There are lessons learnt with this knife, sure, but I just bet the next one is going to be simply stunning!!! Wow! I understand why you won't let that one out of your shop, but I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding takers for the next one .... and the next one and the one after that.

Outstanding work!! Well done Sir!

Spinner

[Valkman]

Thanks! The regular hunter would have a 3 3/4" or 4" blade, and this one is 2 1/4". I got in some D2 but it's way too thick for these - I ordered 1/4" and the stuff is.280"! Massive.

But now I know the hole in the guard was a design flaw - the way I drill into the bottom of the guard it'll happen every time. I'll fix that!

The only 3/16" I have is ATS-34 so I'll probably make a few from that.