Spyderco Forums

My Bushcraft should arrive on Friday. Can't wait to see what the handle is like, they all are ubique.

Great advice here on the best way to treat the problems with the handle.

On Linseed oil removal, is it true that nail polish removal= acetone? Not sure if polish remover would be acceptable.

As to regularly oiling with boiled linseed oil, I think I'll try to conserve what comes with knife for starters.

Can't wait until Friday.

Charlie

Just got mine and I absolutely love it, perfect ergonomics and it's razor sharp. The "notch" is barely even noticeable. The maple on my handle is spectacular, too dark for pics now, but I'll get some tomorrow.

Canis

Mine just showed up. Ordered a few so I could work on the scales and then give some as gifts. NICE! The shrinkage on each one is different. A couple had simple shrinkage cracks, one had a split from which part of the scale drifted up parallel to the tang, and one had scales that are pulling away from the tang. I plan on letting these dry out in our environment and then glue the damage, in a vise where necessary. Then I will try to get them to swell up a bit and then seal.
Beautiful pieces

Here are some quick pictures to show what a random assortment looks like right out of the box:

Very attractive...thanks for posting those!

dsmegst wrote:Given the poor stabilization of the wood scales, how much effect will seasonal changes have? I don't like the idea of constantly shrinking and expanding handles.

It all depends on where you live, and what you do with the wood handles. If you let the handles acclimate to your climate, then get some Tru Oil and use some 320 or 000 steel wool and rub it in, you should be able to seal the wood very nicely. Watco Teak oil finish also works well. This is how they finish gun stocks. Walnut is more stable than cross grain cut spalted maple though.
This is probably why the manufacturer recommended to Spyderco to seal the knives in the bags with Oil. Problem is, the resins in the oil never dry, they are sealed in a bag!!!

You will have to wet sand the wood with the oil a minimum of two times. Let the wood dry for 24 hrs before the second application. Sanding with the fine sandpaper and using the oil, creates a slurry that fills the wood pours and penetrates.

UPDATE--- there were 9 significant size cracks in my handle when I recieved it yesterday. You could actually slip the corner of a sheet of paper into the cracks. Some of them were almost a 32nd in width. Now I only have 3 cracks that are visible. The other 6 you really have to search for to see.

Thank you Hector. I'm not a wood worker, you obviously are. After letting my Bushcraft acclimate a week or so I will give your techinique a try. Can I use the Linseed oil in the bag to do this?

Still waiting until Friday when it arrives, and thanks for the tip. "The wood is alive". :)

Charlie

Just got mine today. Its got 3 cracks - one on left scale near rear pin and 2 on right scale on rear pin and btwn pin and handle end. Here is pic of the biggest crack (50% bigger than other side) on on left scale. Sorry for camera phone pic.

This is a hefty knife. I love the weight, beefy blade and the way the handle fills my hand. To be honest, I like this handle better than my Temp 2 handle in terms of feel. Havent really used either, so I can't comment on that yet.

Per the advice, Im going to wait a while to see what happens to the cracks while they get used to the southern california climate.

Sequimite wrote:Sal said they use acetone to remove the linseed oil.

I can confirm acetone works perfectly. I received my Bushcraft knife yesterday. It didn't have too much residue on it but it was kind of an eyesore. I dipped a cotton swab in nail polish remover, scrubbed away at the residue, then used the dry end of the swab to mop up.

I have to ask the stupid question for my own education. Why wouldn't some type of wood filler work here? Isnt that what it's made for? :confused: I know it would not go deep down into the crack like a liquid CA glue, but it's made to fill cracks in wood and be sealed. I will follow the advice outlined in this thread, but just had to ask. :o

Westfork, nice job on the photos. You just made me order a 2nd 2nd. Thanks for spending my money for me.

dsmegst wrote:Westfork, nice job on the photos. You just made me order a 2nd 2nd. Thanks for spending my money for me.

Thanks - Glad to help :D

Pneumothorax wrote:I have to ask the stupid question for my own education. Why wouldn't some type of wood filler work here? Isnt that what it's made for? :confused: I know it would not go deep down into the crack like a liquid CA glue, but it's made to fill cracks in wood and be sealed. I will follow the advice outlined in this thread, but just had to ask. :o

1. It will be a very shallow fill, unlike the CA, which will wick into the crack if you use the thinnest types, and will likely pop out as the wood expands and contracts with temp and humidity.

2. It will probably be more visible (due to its fixed color) than CA.

I received my Spyderco Bushcraft yesterday. There are only two small cracks visible, one on each side of the handle.

For comparison, I've photographed it next to my A. Wright & Sons of Sheffield knife, which I also just received last month and have not yet had a chance to put through its paces. The Spyderco model has a thinner blade by about 1mm or 1.5mm, but the Spydie's ergonomics are superior, at least in my fat paw. (Not that I have any complaints about the Wright model).

Thanks to everyone on the thread on some excellent advice on how to fix the handle. I look forward to working on it.

MG_Saldivar wrote:I received my Spyderco Bushcraft yesterday. There are only two small cracks visible, one on each side of the handle.

Did you purposely pose the knives above the caption, "Flaws Surfacing?"

Nice pictures; the shot from above gives a better idea of the handle ergos than anything I've seen so far. Thanks.

Sequimite wrote:Did you purposely pose the knives above the caption, "Flaws Surfacing?"

Hahaha! No, that wasn't on purpose... My desk is full of clutter so I spread a newsletter on my bed. :p

The big brown truck just stopped by. A beautiful Bushcraft with significant cracking and an extremely beautiful Bushcraft with two very small cracks. I'm very happy with these. They look better than the pictures:

I have to say that the ergos on these knives are spectacular! Does anyone agree?

Hector Castro wrote:I have to say that the ergos on these knives are spectacular! Does anyone agree?

Oh most definitely, it's like they used my hand to fit the handle on the prototype, fits perfectly.

Canis

CanisMajor wrote:Oh most definitely, it's like they used my hand to fit the handle on the prototype, fits perfectly.

Canis

ditto