Nessmuk Knife build

[gmww]

I remembrance of an elderly gentleman from Co. who recently passed away I thought it would be nice to make a knife. Not any knife but one with handles from wood I obtained from a tree on his property. Bruce had the stature and looks of Mickey Rooney. We used to joke with him about his looks. He grew up during the depression where nothing was thrown away and everything could be recycled into something else. His property often looked like a junk yard but he knew were everything was placed. His passion was elk hunting with a muzzle loader on his 90 acre mountain side. One of his many careers was outfitter/guide.

He also had a heart of gold and extended his generosity to strangers he didn't know. I'm one of those strangers who he only met through his nephew. He gave us free use of his old jet stream trailer hidden in the woods as a hunting cabin. I shot my first Elk there.

Several years later when the taxidermist tried to leave town with my trophy as well as other hunter's trophies it was Bruce who met him at the county line and kept him there for the local Deputies to arrive. Bruce was a tough as nails character and didn't back down from a fight if he knew he was in the right.

On my last hunt there, I cut a chunk of growth from the side of an Aspen tree. I was thinking I could dry it out and make a knife handle. That was 4-5 years ago. Several months ago I was told that Bruce passed away after suffering a crippling disease. This prompted me to start on that knife project.

Bellow is the wood I cut from that Aspen. Nifeman suggested I make a Nessmuk style knife and I took him up on his gracious offer.

Right now one knife has the two scales epoxied to it with clamps. I'm going to let it cure over night. I took some of the scraps and stained one and wet the other. The stain is a Cherry stain which matches my Underhammers. The stain is a LMF product. I'm not sure which direction to go with the handle. Stain or leave it blond.

 

[tom hargrove]

great looking blade nessmuke blades are really good working blades and have a character all there own and i vote the cherry stain that is beautiful and a oil finish to bring out the high lights man that is going to be sweet. :thumbsup:

 

[davy]

Very nice indeed! :hatsoff:

Davy

 

[windwalker_au]

great looking blade nessmuke blades are really good working blades and have a character all there own and i vote the cherry stain that is beautiful and a oil finish to bring out the high lights man that is going to be sweet. :thumbsup:

the cherry like tom says beautfull blade it will be a very nice knife.a great tribute to a great man.
bernie :bow:

 

[50cal.cliff]

A great tribute too a friend! :bow:
Looks like it will make a great knife! Here's a thought I like the Cherry but seems to hide some of the character of the wood. What if you stained and then sanded the piece. It might give you the best of both worlds. The stain will stay with the deepest grains and the blond will pop through in the sanded areas! A tung oil finish would make it pop out then! Anyways just a thought, this is your tribute! :wink:

 

[gmww]

A great tribute too a friend! :bow:
Looks like it will make a great knife! Here's a thought I like the Cherry but seems to hide some of the character of the wood. What if you stained and then sanded the piece. It might give you the best of both worlds. The stain will stay with the deepest grains and the blond will pop through in the sanded areas! A tung oil finish would make it pop out then! Anyways just a thought, this is your tribute! :wink:

:hmm: Interesting thought. I have that scrap piece and I'll test it out to see what happens. Also you've got me thinking that maybe I can thin the stain out when I put it on. :thumbsup:

 

[Charles D. Prokopp]

Now that's some pretty wood. That'll look really nice.

 

[JamesG]

That is a nice looking knife and wood going to look killer with stain or natural, nice job on them all

 

[wildeagle]

gmww, Being that this project is from the heart I don't think you can go wrong which ever way you go :bow: . The cherry looks good but the blonde color loks great too!! The slab in the pic with the scroll saw has killer grain, I can't wait to see pics of the finished knife My hats off to you, I'm sure someone is looking down on you with a huge smile, ear to ear!!!!

 

[Nifeman]

Glenn, I'd go with the blond. At any rate your doin' a noble thing :thumbsup: :wink: ...Bud

 

[gmww]

I've been working on the knives and handles. Part of my delay is the lack of tools I have. I debated whether to make it simple or add some decorative rods I obtained some time ago from a knife making company. I decided to use them. The only problem was they were 1/4" diameter and I don't own a drill press. I would need to bother my friend and fellow member here John Taylor. That would be a couple of weeks out.

So in the mean time, I glued the slabs onto the knife.

After gluing them, I used my handy dremil tool and rough shaped them to the knife.

 

[PitchyPine]

Very nice :thumbsup: when you glue them do you drill holes for the glue to grab too or is the glues of today strong enough too hold.

 

[gmww]

Yesterday, I took a 5 1/2 hour drive to John Taylor's shop. It should have been 3 hrs. but Interstate 5 the weather and bad luck made it a long drive. :cursing: After arriving at John's place I showed him the knives and the rod. The holes were drilled and I was ready to add the rods.

After spending the rest of the day with John working on my daughter's gun stock I took the blades home. This morning I fit the rods in the handle. After fitting them and cutting I filed the rods down to size. If you look closely you can see the nice pattern in the rod.

The brass rods filed down very easily. I hand sanded the handles to round off the corners. This is the first sanding with a medium grit. The shaping went fast. I wet the handle to get an idea of what I would be looking at after I finish them.

 

[gmww]

Sorry Pitchy didn't see your post. While you were posting I was writing my second post. Then I went surfing on the net for some research.

In the past I've pre-drilled the holes before gluing. (30 min. epoxy) When I glued the handles I also installed the rods or pins. I did this one different and did not pre-drill. The epoxy is strong and on the other 4-5 knives I've done. I have not had any separation or problems....yet! :grin:

On this knife the fit was so tight that I seriously doubt that the rods will even move. I tapped them into the handle and could barely get them to rotate for me to get the pattern strait. I believe the hole in the blade itself is holding the rods so tight. When I put finish on the handle they will be encased.

 

[PitchyPine]

Thanks, sounds good, nice work. :thumbsup:

 

[50cal.cliff]

That's looking real good so far! :thumbsup:
What are you going to finish the handle with?
Don't forget to post pic of the final product!

 

[tom hargrove]

i think that is one of the most beautiful set of scales i have ever seen. and the blade style combined is ,fantastic it is the kind of knife you see and a bell starts ringing in your head --- ringing out "I WANT ONE", you have done a fantastic job and for the reason you built these knives makes them all the more wonderful .i commend you sir. :bow: :bow:

 

[gmww]

Thanks guys. For sure one knife is going to remain natural color. The other with the knots has some imperfections the I will staining. Ive done the final sanding and wet the handles to bring up the whiskers. I've taken them off with fine steel wool. Did the wetting/steel wool thing a couple of times. The handles were as smooth as glass.

I diluted the Cherry LMF stain with alcohol and have put on several light coats. Basically it looks like a reddish tinge right now. My daughter likes it a lot. I'm not sure if it's going to stay this way or get stained darker.

I'll most likely be finishing them with tru-oil. I'm thinking 11-12 coats.

 

[gmww]

Well I didn't like the reddish color so I tried what 50cal.Cliff suggested. I sanded the handle and the light stain darkened some of the detail while the sanding lighten the rest. I've now have two coats of Tru-oil on. Third coat in about 2 hrs. :thumbsup:

 

[Nifeman]

Glenn, you're doin me proud. they are really coming together. Hopefully, you'll leave the bottom one blond. That is some great looking wood and the mosaic pins really compliment them. Just let's see the finished product :thumbsup: :thumbsup: ...Bud