Project: Snakewood Dragonfly - Work in Progress Thread

[DCDesigns]

Whats up yall? So Ive had my G10 Dragonfly for a while now, and I have grown tired of the green G10 scales. They havent worn too well, and are getting dirty. I decided I'd like to dress it up a bit, and make it my dedicated gentlemen s knife. I actually bought the g10 'fly with the intention of re-scaling it from the get go. I was originally planning to use some Afzelia Xlay Lace, but I no longer have enough to spare for this project. I decided to go with snakewood, well, because I have a couple hundred pounds of the stuff :) . This snakewood is the same stock that is inlayed into Chris Reeve's Sebenza's and Mnandi's as of last month (CRK Buys it from me. :) :) :) )

I went ahead and broke the knife down, dissasembly was pie. One thing I noticed though, I only have a phosphor bronze bushing on ONE side. I thought I had lost the other, but I looked all around the floor and where I was working, and didnt find anything. (I always dissasemble knives on my kitchen counter, on a napkin, over hardwood floors) I assume this is an oversight, do yall think spyderco would be able to send me out another? If not, where might I source one myself? It seemed to work fine with just the one, but Im sort of OCD about this kind of thing, so Id really like to get it sorted with another bushing.

Anyways, I went ahead and selected some of my finest stock, cut a block off, and started cutting thin pieces for the scales. The stock g10 scales are .082". Im starting with slightly thicker as I know it will get worked down. The pieces i cut are .095".

Pic: The block the D'flys scales came from over some gorgeous pre-cut snakewood knife scale sets (Im tempted to keep them all for myself!)

- The pieces cut for scales (non-bookmatched) sitting on some Spalted Tamarind. I colored out the negative space for some pre-visualization.

Here they are rough-cut, ready to be drilled and shaped.


-This is as far as I have gotten tonight. I will keep updating with pics as I have more time to work on it. Thanks for looking!

[krislacy]

Thanks for the post. Can't wait to see more.

[jackknifeh]

Keep us posted. I've made a few sets for my knives and enjoy it. I've been wanting a D'fly for a long time and have decided to get the G-10 model when I do get one to make scales. I'd like to see what you come up with.

Jack

[Blerv]

Cool :) . Thx for sharing.

[phillipsted]

Nice, DC! This will look fantastic when you are finished.

Were you planning to offer some of the thin stock Zebrawood for sale? I'm sure there are a few folks who would like to attempt a similar project!

TedP

[jackthedog]

Looks great. Snakewood is a beautiful looking wood.

[DCDesigns]

Thanks yall, Im really looking forward to finishing this one out. Might be my dad's christmas present. (I can finaly get that **** kershaw out of his pocket). I will probably end up etching and stonewashing the blade as well now that I have it apart. This is a fun project!

[cosmo7809]

Wow, those are going to look great once all completed!


Cant wait to see more.

[wquiles]

Nice project - looking forward to future pictures/updates

Will

[toomzz]

Cool, that is the best looking and most expensive wood I know. Give it time to get used to your climate; snakewood is sensitive for cracking. You have a good piece of snakewood there my friend. Not every part of that wood has that fine striped pattern. Show use more!

Tomas

[hunterseeker5]

Let me offer a word of advice/caution. You might want to back those pieces before you apply them because in my experience working snakewood the stuff LOVES to split along its length. Then again you probably don't need me to tell you this...... food for thought anyway. A hint of a black behind your snakewood might look gorgeous no? :P

[defenestrate]

DCD this should make for one beautiful handle.. looking forward to more pics.

[pmbspyder]

Eagerly awaiting more pics!

Also, do you just do this as a hobby, or are your services available for procurement?

[DCDesigns]

Cool, that is the best looking and most expensive wood I know. Give it time to get used to your climate; snakewood is sensitive for cracking. You have a good piece of snakewood there my friend. Not every part of that wood has that fine striped pattern. Show use more!

Tomas

Ok:


The tight banding, IS on every side of these pieces. Here is a couple grand worth (80lbs or so). Chris Reeve bought the big one in this picture. I love working with this stuff, I find I only have problems with cracking if I turn it, or i there is already a weakness. According to many, this is the rarest wood in the world. The only thing I know of that sells for more is some really primo Desert Ironwood Burl, and maybe some Afzelia Xlay (IF the pattern is perfect)

[DCDesigns]

Let me offer a word of advice/caution. You might want to back those pieces before you apply them because in my experience working snakewood the stuff LOVES to split along its length. Then again you probably don't need me to tell you this...... food for thought anyway. A hint of a black behind your snakewood might look gorgeous no? :P

If it ends up being a problem I might do that. Know of where I can get some g10 liners that are .02"?

Atleast I have enough to keep trying if it does split :p

[hunterseeker5]

If it ends up being a problem I might do that. Know of where I can get some g10 liners that are .02"?

Atleast I have enough to keep trying if it does split :p

If it were me, and I readily admit its not, I'd just do it up myself. You can laminate it directly onto the scales (and with proper surface prep you can actually get amazing adhesion to steel, but thats another discussion) or you can just press it onto the piece and convert that into your blank, which is what I'd do. You don't need much to hold it together.

Maybe I'm going to far in telling you what to do here, but this is what I'd do:
Get whatever material you want, black construction paper will probably do nicely although other black papers or cloth will work, surface prep the inside of your scale and wipe some resin on it. Coat the inside and outside face of the paper in resin and then clam the whole thing against a flat smooth non-stick surface. (prepped glass is a delicate but very flat and smooth option) Make sure your scales are larger than they need be, so then when you actually cut and sand them to final shape your edges look nice and just like that you have a thin black backing which will hold the wood together and makes a beautiful accent line. It'll probably also be stronger than a piece of super thin micarta you just added to the piece because that will have a tendency to fail at the glue joint. Of course if you wanted to get crazy you could add layers of black and red paper, or all kinds of crap, just don't get too carried away. :P

[DCDesigns]

If it were me, and I readily admit its not, I'd just do it up myself. You can laminate it directly onto the scales (and with proper surface prep you can actually get amazing adhesion to steel, but thats another discussion) or you can just press it onto the piece and convert that into your blank, which is what I'd do. You don't need much to hold it together.

Maybe I'm going to far in telling you what to do here, but this is what I'd do:
Get whatever material you want, black construction paper will probably do nicely although other black papers or cloth will work, surface prep the inside of your scale and wipe some resin on it. Coat the inside and outside face of the paper in resin and then clam the whole thing against a flat smooth non-stick surface. (prepped glass is a delicate but very flat and smooth option) Make sure your scales are larger than they need be, so then when you actually cut and sand them to final shape your edges look nice and just like that you have a thin black backing which will hold the wood together and makes a beautiful accent line. It'll probably also be stronger than a piece of super thin micarta you just added to the piece because that will have a tendency to fail at the glue joint. Of course if you wanted to get crazy you could add layers of black and red paper, or all kinds of crap, just don't get too carried away. :P

Thats actually a really good idea. I might try it if I can get some thin cotton cloth. My only concern is, I only have one set of liners, so I dont want to glue anything to them in case I screw up.

[Dr. Snubnose]

So where is the finished product already!....Enough Talk get to work DC...LOL...Doc :p :D

[hunterseeker5]

Thats actually a really good idea. I might try it if I can get some thin cotton cloth. My only concern is, I only have one set of liners, so I dont want to glue anything to them in case I screw up.

Then don't glue it to the liners. Just prep a plate (by prep I mean applying mold release, or if you're cheap buffed paste wax or car wax even can work) and laminate directly to that. Take a plane of old glass from a broken old window and use that to laminate just make sure to back it so you don't crack it. And also it sounds stupid but seriously even construction paper will work exceedingly well. Any fiber materials like that change completely when you laminate them. The cellulose in paper is incredibly strong, the fibers just aren't bound together well which is why paper is super easy to tear but actually relatively difficult to cut. Try it on some scrap if you don't believe me. **** try the whole process on a piece of scrap so that you don't make any mistakes on your snakewood. (yes I work with composites, I'm not just pulling all this out of my a**. Something like a knife handle is peanuts compared to making a composite spring)

[Rwb1500]

So where is the finished product already!....Enough Talk get to work DC...LOL...Doc :p :D

I'm with the Doc, back to the shop! The people want more pics! :D