All About Pocket Knives

Just thought that I would share this. I'm building a couple of Camillus 72's using ebony wood and I am inlaying the federal shields that came on each one. Since my neck and back wont keep steady for doing this kind of work I thought I would make a brass template. I like it so much that I am going to make templates every time I do a new shield size or pattern. It took me two days of playing with the template to get something I like using. It cut the general shape but slightly under sized so I can finish by hand. I cut the inlay using a very small ball cutter and pushing it into the material until its just deep enough for the shank of the ball cutter to ride around the template. Works pretty fair! As I make more templates they will work better and better as I get used to make them. Its not perfect but its not bad either. The next go round will produce a better template. But for now I can move forward with my project!

Hey Randy that's pretty slick. It's neat how you come up with new ways to do things. It looks like painstaking and tedious work but I think that's going to work out very well.

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Mike

Very ingenious Randy. Will the template work on different materials or will it need to be tweaked each time?

When I did guitars (inlays), and for when I do begin inlaying on knife handles I plan to use Morezmore Micro chisels.
I think the template is a great idea but the rotary tool idea scares me. I did every step by hand because failure is one slip away.

I just looked them up on FleaBay, and they are still inexpensive. Lee Valley also sells a house brand but they are a bit pricey.
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.a ... 43337&ap=1

XX Case XX wrote:It looks like painstaking and tedious work but I think that's going to work out very well.

Yeah Mike it is but now I use it over and over! Well worth the tedium!

gsmith7158 wrote: Will the template work on different materials or will it need to be tweaked each time?

Greg I have tried it out on wood and plastic, you know that old Camillus shrink a dink stuff and bone. So far so good! The shrink a dink came off of an old 72.

americanedgetech wrote:I think the template is a great idea but the rotary tool idea scares me.

I know what your saying Ken. Thats why I clamp the material and the template together. The ball cutter is in a cage and can't go anywhere. I had the same concerns but not any more. I'll have to check that link out! I have a few guitars that I need fix first. But I always wanted to do pearl inlays on mine. Thanks for the tip!

I've tried making several templates from 1095, but it seems like every time I use them the template gets larger.
Now I use my Foredom in the Foredom drill press and take down the center of the shield that I am inlaying and cut the edges by hand with wood carving tools. Even the inexpensive wood carving tools for $15 a set work pretty well. I don't remove a lot of material with them just trim up the edges so that the shield fits right.

I don't know if everyone is aware of it or not but you can buy the template and shields to fit it. They have a wide variety. Making a template takes a lot of time and at least for me they turn out dismal.


http://usaknifemaker.com/knife-handle-p ... lates.html

Bob, I think he is discontinuing those. I have tried to buy them and he says they're not being made anymore and he doesn't have the templates to go with the shields that he does have left and vice versa for the most part. All the really nice shapes are gone.

Thats interesting. I never considered using wood carving tools to clean up the edges. Thanks Dale! I'm going to give it a try