New Handles

[Anonymous No.1370954]

Good afternoon /DIY/

I'm an avid /out/doorsman, and recently acquired pic related for assisting in processing my hunting successes. The blades are fine, need a bit of cleaning (but are neither stainless nor Chinesium) and I imagine will hold an edge nicely for my needs.

The handles are a bit...worn, and I'm wanting to replace them with handles I make myself. I've already got an appropriate-sized piece of seasoned cedar for the handle halves, but does anyone have any guidance or suggestions for making them match as a pair?

And please, don't post that video of the Japanese guy fixing the busted-ass knife, I've seen it and it won't help me with the handle.

[Anonymous No.1370982]

What is wrong with the scales?
I see nothing wrong with them.
I would sand and seal.

But Cedar would not be my first choice. I would want a hard wood.

grind off the rivets,
find new rivets or metal pin stock that will fit the holes in the tang
cut new scales to size, use epoxy and pins to fix the scales to the tang
sand all smooth to the shape you desire.

[Anonymous No.1370988]

>>1370954
theres nothing wrong with the old handles

if I had those I would sandpaper the metal until shiny and then soak the whole thing in vegetable oil
wipe down with some shortening on a paper towel after every use

and cedar is not very good for handles
it should be ok riveted to those knife handles
but its softer than what is ideal and will dent and scratch easily
this wouldn't be an issue for most halfway normal people but since you are an ass hat and somehow see something wrong with the handles you got now I bet you will have problems again soon

[Anonymous No.1371030]

>>1370988
>vegetable oil

Surely you mean boiled linseed oil.

And even if not - doesn't vegetable oil for this purpose go rancid and ruin things?

[Anonymous No.1371035]

>>1371030
no I mean vegetable oil
vegetable oil aint gonna go bad or get moldy or anything like that

I put used motor oil on a lot of wood and metal
but need food safe with those
oil keeps wood from drying out and splitting
stops bacteria from growing in the wood and deteriorating things

prevent corrosion on the steel

are you a tard? or can you think something through on your own for once

[Anonymous No.1371040]

>>1370954
I'd just refurbish what's there, but that's not your question.

Basically you get the two halves pretty close but a wee bit oversized, you install them, and then you grind/sand the handle down to your desired shape.

[Anonymous No.1371160]

>>1370988

My bad, that picture is of the good side of the handles. The other side of the cleaver is chewed up with a couple of errant screws, and the knife handle is cracked through.

But I appreciate the advice about the cedar. My thinking was that it wouldn't rot and would be nice to look at, but I'll go with something harder.

Troll.

[Anonymous No.1371181]

>>1370954
Get some cutlers rivets, they're probably the easiest along with corby bolts.
In terms of finish, teak oil, linseed or actually mineral oil (food safe) and a good buffing with carnauba + bee's wax

[Anonymous No.1371312]

>>1371181

super glue finish trumps all other finishes i’ve tried. absolutely blown away. hard as shit, super easy to clean, and shiny as fuck.

highly highly recommend, google it

you do something like 5-10 coats sanding in between

i’m on coat 3 of one handle and looking fan fucking tastic

[Anonymous No.1371317]

>>1371312
Depends on the 'look' you want for the handles, couple of heavy duty knives for kitchen work I'll sometimes do cyno coats, others want a more traditional finish with oil and wax.
Lot of people don't like glossy either, on something like a resto of old knives I'd lean to oil myself, but that's just my opinion.

>>1371160
>I'll go with something harder.
Cedar is relatively soft and not hugely resistant to moisture. You can use it with some G10 liners underneath the timber and between the steel helps a bit. But for the most part the hard as a wedding dick acacia, ironwoods, tropical timbers and stuff like that are generally the way to go.
Handy link on timbers-
http://www.wood-database.com/

[Anonymous No.1371329]

>>1371035
>vegetable oil
Surely you mean vegetable oils that polymerizes. Like olive and linseed. Oils that don't do that go rancid, notably sunflower.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rancidification

[Anonymous No.1371334]

>>1370954
the amount of work will depend on what power tools you have....a table saw and a belt sander will significantly cut down on the work

you should be able to get small strips of cherry/oak/walnut/maple at any major home improvement chain, as long as you have a power saw, slicing off thin pieces is not very difficult....if not, you can order them online

(I don't see the hubaloo over exotic woods, make it out of whatever looks good to you)

while you're there, get some 1/4" brass rod and epoxy if you don't have it....this is if you plan on making the handles permanent, which is a good idea....the other option is to use chicago screws, which can be ordered online or bought at a place that sells leather supplies

the finish will depend on your preferences and amount of effort you want to put in; mineral oil and beeswax is very easy and fast for a matte surface, but not that durable....Tru-Oil produces a nice glossy result and is durable, but it takes multiple coats and time to cure

top one is maple from a tree that had to be cut down, other two are mahogany

[Anonymous No.1373061]

>>1371329
>olive oil doesn't go rancid