Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
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Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
I was lucky enough to get Z-Max and Z-Wear mules and had the bright idea to follow the Z theme and make myself some Zebrawood scales. It turned out to be a lot of work, and they're far from perfect, but I'm happy to have something unique that I made and I'm not afraid to use. Now, I should say I'm not much of a woodworker and this was a lot of learning on my part, so go easy on me. I just like coming up with ideas and challenging myself.
Other people have described making handles a lot better than I can (which was a big help to me), so I'll just touch on some unique challenges I had. First was that I stabilized the zebrawood myself, to make it stronger. This meant also buying a vacuum chamber, vacuum pump, and resin. It took about a week submerged in Cactus Juice, under vacuum, to saturate the resin, and they were baked to harden the resin.
Another major challenge was while gluing and pinning the scales. I used some epoxy I thought would be good (BSI), but it set way too fast and ended up being too brittle. I learned this when I tried pinning the scales in place by peening brass rod. Unfortunately the scales ended up cracking and came loose while doing this and that's where the project almost ended. In an attempt to salvage things, I researched and moved to G-Flex epoxy, which was much better for me. I was able to fix the cracks, clean everything back up, and re-epoxy everything again. I also changed to using corby bolts to avoid the shock forces from peening that led to the cracks before.
Things went fairly smoothly from there with some belt grinder, dremel, and a mind-numbing amount of hand sanding, although I got a touch aggressive with the belt grinder on a couple of the corby bolts. There are also some horizontal striations that look like scratches, but you can't feel them they don't sand out, so maybe that's an artifact of the wood somehow.
So now I can finally get to using these knives the way I want, albeit a bit later than intended. But I think I'll be happy to avoid sanding again for a good while. Thanks for reading.
Other people have described making handles a lot better than I can (which was a big help to me), so I'll just touch on some unique challenges I had. First was that I stabilized the zebrawood myself, to make it stronger. This meant also buying a vacuum chamber, vacuum pump, and resin. It took about a week submerged in Cactus Juice, under vacuum, to saturate the resin, and they were baked to harden the resin.
Another major challenge was while gluing and pinning the scales. I used some epoxy I thought would be good (BSI), but it set way too fast and ended up being too brittle. I learned this when I tried pinning the scales in place by peening brass rod. Unfortunately the scales ended up cracking and came loose while doing this and that's where the project almost ended. In an attempt to salvage things, I researched and moved to G-Flex epoxy, which was much better for me. I was able to fix the cracks, clean everything back up, and re-epoxy everything again. I also changed to using corby bolts to avoid the shock forces from peening that led to the cracks before.
Things went fairly smoothly from there with some belt grinder, dremel, and a mind-numbing amount of hand sanding, although I got a touch aggressive with the belt grinder on a couple of the corby bolts. There are also some horizontal striations that look like scratches, but you can't feel them they don't sand out, so maybe that's an artifact of the wood somehow.
So now I can finally get to using these knives the way I want, albeit a bit later than intended. But I think I'll be happy to avoid sanding again for a good while. Thanks for reading.
Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Hi IndianaTony,
Welcome to out forum.
Very beautiful.
sal
Welcome to out forum.
Very beautiful.
sal
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Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Thanks Sal!
Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Looks cool!
- standy99
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Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Great job, and thanks for posting.
You will enjoy them a lot more knowing the work that went into them
You will enjoy them a lot more knowing the work that went into them
Im a vegetarian as technically cows are made of grass and water.
- legOFwhat?
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Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Spectacular Tony! I love the ergonomics.
-Larry
Hebrews 13:6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
MNOSD #0049
Hebrews 13:6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
MNOSD #0049
Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Those are gorgeous! Great job!
Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Pretty knives, and the "Z" theme is a cool idea.
Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
I'm jealous. Great job.
Michael
48 Spydies, 44 different models, 43 different steels
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Grail knife, still to be acquired: original Tuff by Ed Schempp Feel free to help me find one at a reasonable price...
48 Spydies, 44 different models, 43 different steels
.
Grail knife, still to be acquired: original Tuff by Ed Schempp Feel free to help me find one at a reasonable price...
- WilliamMunny
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Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Looks great to me.
Endura AUS-8, Manix 2 S30V, Alcyone BD1N, PM2 Micarta Cruwear, Native 5 Maxamet (2nd), Para 3 Maxamet (2nd), Magnacut Mule, Z-Wear Mule, BBB 15V Manix 2, REC PM3 10V Satin, Dragonfly Salt 2, GB2 M4.
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Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Agreed, really nice work!
Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Nice! and very unique. Seldom do you see the grain of the wood run vertically like that! Looks more like a tiger than a zebra...!
Steel novice who self-identifies as a steel expert. Proud M.N.O.S.D. member 0003. Spydie Steels: 4V, 15V, 20CV, AEB-L, AUS6, Cru-Wear, HAP40, K294, K390, M4, Magnacut, S110V, S30V, S35VN, S45VN, SPY27, SRS13, T15, VG10, XHP, ZWear, ZDP189
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Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Thanks everyone for the kind words. When that scale cracked I may have ordered more Zebrawood, plus some cocobolo and olivewood, so someday when the memory of sanding fades there may be more. In the meantime I've been simultaneously experimenting with modifying Halpern scales and they turned out really cool too. I'll post those up soon.
Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
Wow, very nice!
Re: Z-Max & Z-Wear with Zebrawood Scales
That's a great looking pair of mules and a couple of nice steel choices as well. Well done Tony!
:spyder: Spyderco fan and collector since 1991. :spyder:
Father of 2, nature explorer, custom knife maker.
@ckc_knifemaker on Instagram.
Father of 2, nature explorer, custom knife maker.
@ckc_knifemaker on Instagram.