Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 24

Thread: Disassembled knife - need opinions for rebuild

  1. #1

    Default Disassembled knife - need opinions for rebuild

    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    Pardon the crappy pic quality.

    This is a knife I bought when I was a kid with paperboy money. But now with "man shaped" hands, the handle was just too tiny. So I took it apart with the plans on making a nicer handle for it.

    See how the tang/stem of the blade is a shorty that inserts into the handle? I'm looking for suggestions on making a handle. I want to make one of the Mora style handles without a guard.

    Am thinking of

    a: having a friend weld a 2 inch extension onto it

    b: trim/cut/grind the old handle into some shape that is more conducive to having a handle built around it.

    c: i'm crazy.

    Thanks


  2. #2
    hunter-gatherer Canadian-guerilla's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    ontario-canada
    Posts
    466

    Default

    weld the two pieces together

    maybe fiberglass for the handle ?
    add color to the resin and sand it down to your fit your fingers/hand
    .
    Knowledge without experience is just information


    there are two types of wild food enthusiasts,
    one picks for enjoyment of adding something to a meal,
    and the second is the person who lives mostly on ( wild ) edibles

    Lydia

  3. #3
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    Will welding heat the blade beyond temper? Can you immerse the blade in sand or something to absorb the heat?
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  4. #4
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    I'd stick with the existing handle and make your own micarta to cover it (but I'm biased, since I sort of do that a lot)
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  5. #5

    Default

    Yeah, i don't mind using the existing handle at all, I'll just grind off the parts I don't want.

    Re welding: my uneducated guess is that it will be a very quick "tack tack" sort of thing which will only heat up the vicinity of the weld and not the whole blade.

  6. #6

    Default

    crashdive123 - I just watched your youtube video with the multicolored micarta handle. Great job. Have a question... since you skipped the whole sanding process! :P

    Did you just sand down the brass as well? Or did you need something more robust like a grinder to do most of the work? Also, how did you attach the butt plate? Tks. I'm definitely gonna go with a micarta handle now.

  7. #7
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    I used the same sanding belts for the micarta as I did for the brass. On that knife, the end of the tang was narrowed, a hole drilled into the brass to fit the end of the tang, then the tang was peened to hold it in place. There are other ways to accomplish this, but that's how it was done on that knife.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  8. #8
    Senior Member Winter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    SE Alaska
    Posts
    3,171

    Default

    Penning is my favorite attachment technique. It's also one of the oldest except glue.

    I finally figured the knife out. It's one of Muala's bargain ALCE models. Good knives.

    Made of a nice soft Moly, Vanadium stainless.

    Personally, I think I'd shorten the whole knife and just grind off blade to extend the tang.
    Last edited by Winter; 07-21-2011 at 09:45 PM.
    I had a compass, but without a map, it's just a cool toy to show you where oceans and ice are.

  9. #9

    Default

    check out the helle viking about as simple a handle as you can get
    Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect. Steven Wright (1955 - )

    He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which. Douglas Adams

  10. #10

    Default

    I'll go look up peening And yeah, I recall the knife was 31.50 when I bought it around 1991 or something. ALCE it is.

    Thanks folks. I'll post some results when I have some.

  11. #11
    Senior Member Winter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    SE Alaska
    Posts
    3,171

    Default

    No peening for that , the tang is too short.
    I had a compass, but without a map, it's just a cool toy to show you where oceans and ice are.

  12. #12
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    Winter - You know you may have just affected him for life with that comment?

    What's wrong?
    (sniff) My tang is too short.
    Which tang? No, don't tell me I don't want to know.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  13. #13

    Default

    Don't look at me ! I'm Hideous!!

    Actually, the tang will be long enough when i get a bit welde on. if it screws the blade i'm okay with that.

    But I don't think this knife needs a butt on it. Its just gonna have a smooth micarta handle all around it.

  14. #14
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    I see you've been searching (those sites that shall remain nameless) for tang extenders. Just remember - it's not the size of your tang, but rather how you temper it.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  15. #15
    reclinite automaton canid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Central California/West Texas
    Posts
    6,622

    Default

    I don't see how you would weld brass to steel. You could braze them together, but I think that would require close fitment.

    you could grind the guard away to the desired profile and then you could also try a filler of solder or shims between the pieces to close up any play and fix new scales to that.

    you could build an all new handle to the dimmensions for your partial tang. with a good handle material it can be much stronger than you might think.

    you could of course weld a steel extension to the tang for a full length hidden tang, or you could cut/grind out another metal handle core, allowing for stronger material. aluminum might be a good choice. that would allow you to attach scales as in the original.

    you could cut/grind out a full tang, with a cutout to match the partial tang and weld those for a very strong joint, giving a full tang blade when finished.

    in any event, welding on the tang can be done without heating the blade too much. to minimixe that, you can clamp thick aluminum plates to the blade itself to act as a heat sink, significantly slowing the heat transfer.
    Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice - Grey's Law.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To see what's going on in my knife shop check out CanidArmory on Youtube or on Facebook.

  16. #16
    Lone Wolf COWBOYSURVIVAL's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    In The Swamp Sumter, S.C.
    Posts
    4,515

    Default

    It is the "Fit" and "Finish" that matters most!
    Keep in mind the problem may be extremely complicated, though the "Fix" is often simple...

    "Teaching a child to fish is the "original" introduction to all that is wild." CS

    "How can you tell a story that has no end?" Doc Carlson

  17. #17
    Lone Wolf COWBOYSURVIVAL's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    In The Swamp Sumter, S.C.
    Posts
    4,515

    Default

    A wet rag is what I use when welding to stop heat transfer.
    Keep in mind the problem may be extremely complicated, though the "Fix" is often simple...

    "Teaching a child to fish is the "original" introduction to all that is wild." CS

    "How can you tell a story that has no end?" Doc Carlson

  18. #18
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    @ Canid - I believe he is considering lengthening (through welding) the tang and doing away with the brass. Wouldn't be my choice, but I believe that is his plan A.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  19. #19

    Default

    Crashdive has it right.I'm going to weld an extension on. Its gonna end up looking mora esque. its a very tiny / lightweight knife when you see it in person. but maybe i'll cut the brass off on the top of the guard and keep just the guard, weld an extension on and put a crashcarta handle.. or something. we'll see when i am actually infront of a welder what happens.

  20. #20
    reclinite automaton canid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Central California/West Texas
    Posts
    6,622

    Default

    That should work out well. I would strongly recommend making sure your tang extension is as wide at the weld as the tang stub, rather than - say - welding on some round stock like a lot of makers do with cheap rat tail tangs. It would be much more secure, and you could always grind it down to your desired dimensions later if you wanted to thin it down. If the joint and weldup are good, it should be plenty strong. I think most of us have seen how the budget-knife industry alternative works out

    CS: that's a good tip.
    Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice - Grey's Law.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To see what's going on in my knife shop check out CanidArmory on Youtube or on Facebook.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •