All About Pocket Knives

Just finished this up. Took the blade out of that nasty Jensen electrician and the bones of that Camillus, and made a new knife. I mean, the grain on that chestnut is boring af, I dig, and there’s a couple nitpicky things I could complain about, but I think it turned out pretty well! It’s definitely my favorite kind of knife now, a slim, lightweight single blade slipjoint with a beefier than normal blade...

I would rather have saved the Camillus scales and shield, but I broke the scales while disassembling. I still have the shield and would love to put it on, but honestly, i’m afraid I’ll mess it up.

Nice work, and very creative. Beware - this hobby can be very addictive!

My only complaint is that you don't like the Chestnut handles. I think that they look great on it!

Great job!

Inlaying a shield takes time.... just go slow and be patient.

herbva wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 11:53 pm Nice work, and very creative. Beware - this hobby can be very addictive!

Thanks, man. Yeah, one of my favorite things to take 2 rough specimens and turn them into something useful. Good stuff.

Meridian_Mike wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:43 am Great job!

Inlaying a shield takes time.... just go slow and be patient.

Thanks, man! Well, you just hit the nail on the head. Patience is not one of my noticeable qualities. Haha!

Awesome user! Yeah, I bet trying to inlay a shield is next level stuff.

Reverand wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 1:15 am My only complaint is that you don't like the Chestnut handles. I think that they look great on it!

Thanks, man! I guess I’m just feeling self conscious about it, cuz I don’t like to spend money on specialty scales (I.e., bone, horn, weird rare wood, etc...), so usually just scrounge what I can from a buddy’s custom lumber business scrap pile. The problem is none of his wood has been cut with visually pleasing grain cuts in mind, so sometimes it comes out a little boring looking, as opposed to some of the fancier stuff out there. I also use a lot of oak, which can also look a little boring, but you can get oak strapping that is perfect size for scale roughs for cheap at Home Depot.

Haha! I tried pine once for the hell of it. Never again. Prolly the ugliest results I’ve ever seen!

Here’s a couple I did with oak.

1967redrider wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 1:47 pm Awesome user! Yeah, I bet trying to inlay a shield is next level stuff.

This one’s not even an inlay, it’s got the little spikes that attach it to the wood. I don’t even want to attempt that! I had one person tell me they usually shave off the spikes and inlay it anyway. I just can’t imagine the sort of patience one must have to dig out the recess (with what? A dremel and an exacto?). Precision as well. Mine would have huge gaps between the shield and the recess I just carved, it’d be unevenly deep, etc... at least that’s what I assume, and has prevented me from even trying. I’ll try a couple practice runs on some stock someday, but for now? Negative.

Eelephant wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 11:36 pm I still have the shield and would love to put it on, but honestly, i’m afraid I’ll mess it up.

…..every knife modder/mechanic has felt this way at some point.
I’m just not in love with knife shields. In a lot of cases it amounts to sticking a crappy tin shield smack dab in the middle of some great looking bone/Micarta/exotic wood handles. That’s just my opinion though, lots of these folks love their knife shields!
I can and occasionally do put shields on my knives and it definitely requires patience, steady hands and good eye sight!
Nice job on the knife!
Jeff

Jeffinn wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 4:34 pm

Eelephant wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 11:36 pm I still have the shield and would love to put it on, but honestly, i’m afraid I’ll mess it up.

…..every knife modder/mechanic has felt this way at some point.
I’m just not in love with knife shields. In a lot of cases it amounts to sticking a crappy tin shield smack dab in the middle of some great looking bone/Micarta/exotic wood handles. That’s just my opinion though, lots of these folks love their knife shields!
I can and occasionally do put shields on my knives and it definitely requires patience, steady hands and good eye sight!
Nice job on the knife!
Jeff

Thanks, man!