I used to use birch bark for this, but have found leather is more consistent and generally easier. For some reason metal guards/bolsters with no spacer looks fine to me, maybe it's because antler and wood don't have as much contrast and need something to go between them. Anyways, here's some more progress:
First step was to peen both tangs. The one on the larger knife will be completely covered by a wooden end cap, but this one needs to look at least somewhat presentable.
Handle profiles marked out. While peening, I accidentally broke the tip of the big knife, so I also d