First Knife

[Hntm]

I have a good friend who has given me a lot of muzzleloading equipment, but will never take any money, so I figured he can't say no to a gift, especially a knife. I tried to make this period correct to the 1800s. How did I do? It is my first attempt, and is a Green River Blade from TOTW. I used some cherry I had been seasoning for several years, and nails for the pins. I'm probably going to make a similar one for myself, so any suggestions you have are appreciated. Also planning to make a sheath for it, and have some walnut hulls to dye my leather which is white and very soft. Would mixing some corn starch in with the dye make the leather hold its shape better?

 

[wattlebuster]

looks good to me :thumbsup:

 

[crockett]

Good first knife. The three steel pins are PC. I would not use corn stratch, if you oil and then wrap the knife with a plastic baggie followed by aluminum foil it is okay to put on a leather sheath soaked in water and when the water dries the leather will stiffen up.
A variety of sheaths are pc. Most didn't have a belt loop but you can have a hole along the edge through which a thong is run. You stick the sheath under your belt and tie the thong together For the actual sewing of the edge I wouldn't use rawhide lace. Linen thread is pc and so is sinew. Sinew is actually pretty easy to use. The stuff is stiff and you soak all but the tip- the tip stays stiff and serves as the "needle. You need an awl to make the holes. You can also use 10-15 harness rivets or brass tacks- just a single row (multiple rows are late 1800's and Indian.)

 

[ladysmithtrading]

If your going to use brass tacks, make sure you use the low dome tacks, if you get them with steel shanks, you'll have to anneal the shank so you can bend them over and back into the leather, if you do not anneal, your going to snap alot of them, nice looking knife by the way

 

[chance]

Great knife!!!

 

[MSW]

nice work!

 

[ohio ramrod]

Looks great. Did you use pentracryl or have the cherry stabalised?. I ask this because I made some knife handles when I first started out of cherry. They looked nice but did not hold up. Now I have all of my cherry handle stock stabilised. :idunno:

 

[Hntm]

Thank you for all your nice comments.

No, I didn't stabilize the scales, however I have worked with this particular wood extensively, mostly in turning fly rod grips. It is from small burls out of scrub cherry trees from Pennsylvania. It is very hard, but the real problem is checking and "fall out" where some of the tiny "eyes" shrink and fall out to leave voids. So, my first step after cutting a rough blank is to superglue all cracks or other flaws I can see. It can be difficult to work with, requires hand tools, and lots of attention. I filled some voids with sawdust and superglue, but only I know where those flaws are (yes, they are visible in the picture).

Not sure you can tell from the photo, but my pins are steel nails that I peened over, not brass rivets.

 

[crockett]

The Trunk Shoppe used to sell the correct brass tacks in small quanitites- all brass with the brass square shanks. The steel shanks aren't pc- one reason why you might want to use the harness rivets. What was on the actual sheaths is sort of a gray area because not many survived and the artwork doesn't show the details. Both the all brass tack and the harness rivet were common items and pc.
Or, sinew. Always pc AND EASY to use. Don't ever use the fake stuff- the real sinew is just as easy to use and you'll be happier.

 

[LaBonte]

The steel shanks aren't pc- one reason why you might want to use the harness rivets.

FYI - Steel shank tacks are PC for post 1870 and original tacks, both brass and steel, were just clipped off flush on the back and then peened.

 

[omarick1948]

Just like LaBonte says! ... Iron tacks were common pre-1870, or all those original trade knives on display are wrong at THE MUSEUM OF THE FUR TRADE!

They have several GR's and others!

Rick

 

[Hntm]

Help! Does anyone have any pics of a pc sheath? I can't find much, and want to keep this as close to the real thing as I can. Thanks!

 

[crockett]

Probably the best is "Breakfast at Sunrise" by Alfred Jacob Miller. I looked around the net but couldn't find it, maybe someone else has it and can post it.
These sheaths are simple: you just fold the leather over the back/top of the blade and then trim the leather so there is about a 3/4" border beyond the edge of the blade. The sheath should cover about 2/3rd of the handle. At that point you can either sew the sides together or use the tacks/harness rivets. As stated, the harness rivets are pc and probably easier to obtain. I'd rather sew than use the steel shank tacks- since they are more 1870 and later.
Most folks don't like the idea of a sheath without a belt loop. The easiest thing is to make a small hole about where the front of the handle is in the sheath and run a rawhide thong through the hole. Some folks use the same hole that a rivet or tack will go through but I make a seperate hole so I can replace the thong if desired.
Sorry I don't have any images.
The other method is to have the seam right down the middle of the front of the sheath. If this appeals to you just stitch up as directed and soak the leather and put the knife in place- then start twisting the leather until it is in position - you have to do some twisting and turning to get the seam straight. Pull out the knife- gease and cover it, put it back in the sheath and let the leather dry.

 

[LaBonte]

A saddler's made sheath of circa 1840....IMO this is the type sheath sold by the fur companies which were made in bulk by St. Louis saddlers and is the main type painted by AJ Miller in 1837. Just ignore the knife and the cutout at the top of the sheath for the guard.

MMany of Miller's prints can be seen here http://art.thewalters.org/browse/creator/alfred-jacob-miller/

for other period sheaths see the Museum of The Fur Trade's Mountain Man Shetchbook 1 & 2, two good and inexpensive resources

 

[LaBonte]

regarding the tie to the belt method crockett metnioned here's a pic of one of mine using a thong - this method allows the sheath to be worn either left or right handed and either middle of the back or at the side:

Here's just the sheath but the tie thong is hidden behind the body of the sheath - it attaches to the body of the sheath at the bottom corner of the upper cuff.