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Well it’s winter time and it’s getting dark early. It’s time to retire to the shop/work bench and get busy on those projects that you’ve been wanting to try. In spring I posted an article about working with Helle knife blanks and it’s about time for a follow up.
I always wanted to make a forge and start hammering away at high carbon steel until I could produce my very own knife. Although it is still on my list of to dos, I know that it won’t happen for some time. Never fear, with my limited skills and tools I was able to get a hold of Helle’s high quality blade blanks (just the metal blade and tine) and work away on nice hardwoods and other materials to produce a completed product that while not completely original is still completely unique.
Since that article I’ve completed 3 knives and have a couple more in the works. I thought I’d show what I’ve gotten done with only a power drill and a couple hand tools.
Knife 1: Helle Triple Laminate, stainless steel Harding Blade. A combination of Ecuadorian hardwood that I salvaged from a piece of hardwood flooring, Ecuadorian leather and Ecuadorian Tagua (Vegetable Ivory).
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| All the pieces prepped for gluing. |
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| Glued and ready for sanding |
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| Sanded, oiled with linseed oil and next to the hand stitched sheath that I made. |
Knife 2: Triple Laminate high carbon Helle Tollekniv Blade with Peruvian Olive wood, leather and Tagua.
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| Sanded, oiled and next to a WIP sheath that I’m making. |
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| Nice and snug in its sheath. |
Knife 3: Helle Triple Laminate, stainless steel Harding Blade. Oversized handle of Peruvian Olive wood, tagua and leather.
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| This is a special WIP project that I hope to explain in more detain in the future. |
The work so far is average, but one thing I’m really satisfied with is how the grain travels through each piece of olive wood. Quite beautiful.
So, what do I use?
- 2 ton, 2 part epoxy.
- Helle blade blanks
- Hardwood
- Leather
- Tagua
- Power drill
- Hand saw
- sand paper
- Sanding wheel
- Vice
How do I feel about the Helle blades? The laminated blades make them harder to break, but also mean that the outside is softer and easier to damage by scratching or scraping. The downside of the softer outer shell is that it makes it nigh impossible to spark a ferrocerium rod without using the sharp edge. They hold a very good edge; Enough to shave the hair off my arm, although I try not to make a habit of it. The blades are also thicker. The harding is a good 1/8th of an inch (3 mm) and the Tollekniv is 4mm. I’m happy with them, but am still looking for a solid high carbon blade blank so that I can spark a ferrocerium rod with it, but that is a minor benefit.
