All About Pocket Knives

Eelephant wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 5:18 pm Pic 1) original knife

Pics 2-4) final result.

Turned out pretty well, I’d say. My pinwork is still sloppy as hell (especially the spring pin), but whatever...

Question, tho, if you look real close you can see all the little grain air pockets/slits in the wood, know what I mean? How does one avoid that? Is that because the wood hasn’t been “stabilized”? Would that have filled those “slits”?

Anyway, thanks for looking, all!

Colonel26 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 5:39 pm

Eelephant wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 5:18 pm Pic 1) original knife

Pics 2-4) final result.

Turned out pretty well, I’d say. My pinwork is still sloppy as hell (especially the spring pin), but whatever...

Question, tho, if you look real close you can see all the little grain air pockets/slits in the wood, know what I mean? How does one avoid that? Is that because the wood hasn’t been “stabilized”? Would that have filled those “slits”?

Anyway, thanks for looking, all!

Your work looks great to me!

The “air pockets” you’re referring to are the pores in the wood. All wood had pores, some more than others, some bigger than others.

Pores can absolutely be filled. One way is by wet sanding the wood with something like boiled linseed oil (BLO) and a real fine sand paper. Once a slurry of fine saw dust and oil have built up on top of the wood, wipe it off ACROSS the grain to fill the pores then let it dry. You may have to do this a few times on exceptionally porous wood.

Old gun stock makers used to use powdered pumice. A few drops of BLO and some pumice sprinkled on to the wood and rubbed in, then wiped off across the grain. You can also use some stains. There are many ways to do it, it just depends on the look you’re after.

Beavertail wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 8:41 pm You might not know all there is about wood, but you sure did make a fine looking knife!
I'd be proud to carry it.

Reverand wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 10:48 pm That looks super!
I have used layers of Tru-Oil to coat wood like that, to fill up those pores. It takes several coats. Though I am not sure how well that would work on Wenge, as it is an oily wood. I know that I would avoid urethane finishes and sealants because of that.
I would probably try the Boiled Linseed Oil as Colonel26 recommended. I used Tru-Oil today on a project, and I had forgotten that I don't like the smell.

Eelephant wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 8:44 pm

Beavertail wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 8:41 pm You might not know all there is about wood, but you sure did make a fine looking knife!
I'd be proud to carry it.

Thank you my friend!

ea42 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 31, 2022 5:03 am Wenge is probably one of the worst woods out there as far as open grain. More dense woods like the ebonies, ironwoods, some rosewoods, etc don't show it nearly as much. For the wenge I make some fine sawdust out of the same wood and then rub it into the grain going across the grain, not with it. (I do this before the final sanding). Then apply some drops of liquid cyanoacrylate glue on the dusted grain. I'll even add a few sprinkles over those drops so it's a bit proud. You don't have to be neat as it's going to be sanded off anyway. Let it dry overnight before you sand it. Even though it's "dry" within seconds it takes longer to attain a good solid cure. This method usually smooths away the grain while leaving it invisible since the sawdust is pretty much the same color as the wood.

Eric