I have a couple of Spyderco SS models -Police -EnduraII -DelicaII and a Native II. I also have some blocks of thuya burl and one of lacewood and have been thinking about cladding a spydie with thickish handle slabs, treating the existing smooth stainless handles as "liners".
I like the look of the very thick handled Laguoile knives I sometimes see (and I have large hands). I'd go for a plain bolsterless look -epoxying the wood to the stainless and maybe drilling and tapping for pins.
My question is this: The existing spydie handles are smooth brushed stainless that will need keyed, but they have an edge chamfer all round. The chamfer angle isn't something I would like to continue into the wooden scale as I think it would lead to too thin a scale for the effect I want. If the Spydie handle had right angle edges I could then treat it like a conventional blade tang and flush mount the additional wood quite easily.
Does anyone know how I could deal effectively with the chamfered edge to bring it up to a right angle? I've been thinking along the lines of epoxy, shaped micarta spacer, pewter/solder or even just carving the wood -although the precision required for the last might be beyond me in "interesting " woods. I haven't found an idea I'm happy with. The chamfer might be esier to fill once the added handle slabs are in place and this could expand the material choices.
Anyone done this before?
Got any ideas?
Cladding SS Spydies
Thanks Guys,
I've seen some of Vess' excellent work on his website and on Bladeforum and even here. In fact I remember the bloodwood Endura.
I'm thinking of quite a different look though, with much thicker wood and a flat back to the handle -which is why I'm looking for ways to tackle the chamfer. SS Spydies aren't straightforward to deconstruct with limited tooling so I would like to make use of the original scales as "liners" if at all possible, rather than remove them and replace with flat sheet steel.
I'll see if I can contact Vess
I've seen some of Vess' excellent work on his website and on Bladeforum and even here. In fact I remember the bloodwood Endura.
I'm thinking of quite a different look though, with much thicker wood and a flat back to the handle -which is why I'm looking for ways to tackle the chamfer. SS Spydies aren't straightforward to deconstruct with limited tooling so I would like to make use of the original scales as "liners" if at all possible, rather than remove them and replace with flat sheet steel.
I'll see if I can contact Vess
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The Deacon
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Hi Danny, epoxy, or a mixture of tinted epoxy and sawdust from either wood or plastic, would probably be the easiest and strongest of the methods you mentioned. Difficult parts will be getting it to stay put without sagging too much while it is drying and mixing it without creating too many air bubbles that will become voids when you sand it down. It's also rather hard to sand. A possible alternate would be RTV Silicone adhesive. Not as durable, but readily available in black, white, grey and clear, and possibly other colors as well. Dries to a rubbery texture, but considering that it will bascially be just a band, with steel on one side and wood on the other, it should not be subject to very much wear and tear. Good points are that it's easy to trim down to final contour (you can finish the wood first, then use a fine wire as a draw knife and just drag it along the steel and wood) and easy to repair or replace if it does eventually get messed up. With either epoxy or silicone I would consider drilling some small dimples into the wood, so they would wind up between the outer edge of the handle and the flat portion of the steel. This would give the "filler" some extra purchase. My own tastes run more toward using very thin veneer overlays on the flat part to minimize the increases in both weight and thickness, so I've not tried this with a knife, but have used both methods in model building to eliminate unsightly gaps between parts. Good luck, and please be sure to share pictures of the finished product if you go ahead with this.
Paul <A HREF='http://home.earthlink.net/~paulberetta/index.htm'>my page</A>
Paul <A HREF='http://home.earthlink.net/~paulberetta/index.htm'>my page</A>
Thank you very much indeed Paul. I've just been thinking about laying up some coloured epoxy and silk (old necktie) to make a micarta sheet to give me a spacer layer I can add over the existing SS scales and then cut back to give a flat surface to mount the wood on.
Your reply has also set me thinking on the metal filler epoxies with steel and brass in them. Wood might be the neatest way to go. I'll do some testing of these compounds to see what look I get before I use one in anger.
I appreciate your preference for the thinner veneer and would routinely prefer that myself way on a working or EDC knife. For this project I'm particularly trying to get a wide handled look on an otherwise slim knife like the Police model, reminiscent of a Lagouile "custom".
You can see the style I'm taking as inspiration on this site:
http://www.cutlerytogo.com/coutphilgril.html
"Why is this thus? What is the reason for this thusness?" Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne)
Your reply has also set me thinking on the metal filler epoxies with steel and brass in them. Wood might be the neatest way to go. I'll do some testing of these compounds to see what look I get before I use one in anger.
I appreciate your preference for the thinner veneer and would routinely prefer that myself way on a working or EDC knife. For this project I'm particularly trying to get a wide handled look on an otherwise slim knife like the Police model, reminiscent of a Lagouile "custom".
You can see the style I'm taking as inspiration on this site:
http://www.cutlerytogo.com/coutphilgril.html
"Why is this thus? What is the reason for this thusness?" Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne)
Hi Paul,
I went ahead down the coloured epoxy root with grinding dust from handle.
I learned a few things from my mistakes in the process...
1. The wood I had was of lower quality than I thought and this became apparent in the final shaping as flaws opened up during sanding. To be honest I'm not too worried as one man's flaw is another man's character.
2. Bigger problem. Despite taking care with the vice during epoxy curing I seem to have squeezed the scales closed and reduced the blade clearance to an interference fit. I'm currently working to remedy this but there may be no alternative to removing the scales and starting again. The POLICE model seems to be particularly closely fitted in this respect. Next time I wil fir a spacer into the handle while clamping for the epoxy cure.
3. The POLICE with a round handle is a real satisfying handful and I recommend it. The knife changes character and becomes enormous -a really weird effect!
4. I know I should have started with a Delica, but you can't beat jumping in with both feet.
5. If I can get the blade restriction sorted I'll drill tap and pin the handle for cosmetic effect.
Rgds,
D.
"Why is this thus? What is the reason for this thusness?" Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne)
I went ahead down the coloured epoxy root with grinding dust from handle.
I learned a few things from my mistakes in the process...
1. The wood I had was of lower quality than I thought and this became apparent in the final shaping as flaws opened up during sanding. To be honest I'm not too worried as one man's flaw is another man's character.
2. Bigger problem. Despite taking care with the vice during epoxy curing I seem to have squeezed the scales closed and reduced the blade clearance to an interference fit. I'm currently working to remedy this but there may be no alternative to removing the scales and starting again. The POLICE model seems to be particularly closely fitted in this respect. Next time I wil fir a spacer into the handle while clamping for the epoxy cure.
3. The POLICE with a round handle is a real satisfying handful and I recommend it. The knife changes character and becomes enormous -a really weird effect!
4. I know I should have started with a Delica, but you can't beat jumping in with both feet.
5. If I can get the blade restriction sorted I'll drill tap and pin the handle for cosmetic effect.
Rgds,
D.
"Why is this thus? What is the reason for this thusness?" Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne)