The other day one of the members of AAPK called me and wanted to know to fit the handle material to the bolsters. I tried to explain my techniques & methods on the phone, and I think he got the basics, but I think the pics here will help him and others understand my method of fitting handles to the knife.
Pic 1
This is a board I made that has a nice flat side (to use a protractor on it accurately).
On that side I glued a thin piece of wood to raise up the edge about 3/8”.
The other tool is a protractor made by General, cost about $12 at your local tool or hardware store.
This is the board ready to use and covered with paper, much like an old time drafting board. (I learned mechanical drawing long before CAD programs)
Next you need a good sharp pencil, soft enough to leave an easily visible line and a very strong clamp, (I use an Irwin bar clamp).
Clamp the mark side liner to the board and trace around the liner/bolsters assembly being sure to marl the holes as well.
Being super careful not to move the liner, slide the clamp to the side ( I use a 2nd clamp to anchor the liner when moving the 1st clamp). Using a straight edge flush against the bolster mark the bolster line on the paper.
Using a 2nd clamp, clamp down the opposite end of the liner and mark the bolster line on the opposite side.
When you remove the clamp and liner your drawing should look like this.
Using a straight edge mark the bolster lines across the tracing of the liner.
Using a disc sander I get a good straight edge on one end of the handle material. The handle material I have chosen for this project is stag that originally came from the Henckels factory. Henckels’ stopped making pocket knives about 1960.
Pic 9
Being very careful to get the end of the stag lined up on the line of the drawing I clamped down the stag to the board.
Using the protractor & a soft pencil I draw the cut line across the stag, in line with the end line of the drawing. This is where the lip along the edge comes in handy to rest the end of the protractor and keep it solid over the stag.
I cut the excess stag off on my band saw and straightened out the end of the stag with the Disc sander. Here I am showing the handle cut to length on the drawing.
This pic shows the end of the stag after it is cut straight. It is difficult to see in the pic, but I undercut the bottom edge of the stag, leaving the top edge slightly longer. This is accomplished by dropping the table of the disc sander down about 5 degrees from perpendicular (90 degrees) and sanding both ends of the stag at that angle. I used that angle when I straightened the first end (pic #8) and the second end (pic #11).
The process of getting the second cut to the proper length is a slow task of sanding off a tiny bit and fitting the stag to the bolster. I usually have to repeat the sanding and fitting process several times before I get a good fit.
Pic 13
When you have cut the handles to the proper length they should fit the liner snugly without causing the liner to bow. If there is any bowing on the liner it will effect the operation of the knife when it is reassembled!
