Chad Scott

when i had to do this, i first epoxied my over sized scales to the tapered tang. I then trimmed the scales parallel to each other on the bandsaw and drilled the holes. obviously this was all done post heat treat with a tang soft enough to be drilled through.

i cannot see the most recent picture, but that first drawing you posted looks great.

Try any of the above suggestions. I also had problems with how my knives looked, and I couldn't figure out what it was. Once I started taking my grinds all the way up to the spine I was very pleased. My knives looked better, were lighter, and cut better. I also like the spear point and sheepsfoot shapes on an EDC. As well as a handle with a subtle curve to it, that is slightly larger at the back end then where it meets the blade. I do like the shape of that blade though, i like the slight swell towards the tip. i thing that with a higher grind and a slightly different handle shape you might like it more. Also the distance between the edge and where the handle stops is a bit large, it just seems kind of jarring. So a smaller ricasso area might help. Just play with it a bit, i draw a lot of knives before i commit to trying to make a design that is new to me. Good luck!

To add to that, this tutorial by Chris Crawford has helped me immensely. https://chriscrawfordknives.com/tutorials/written-tutorials/slipjoint/page-1/

sorry about that, I have no idea what happened.

I am actually a few lunch breaks into this project, but I just haven't remembered to post anything until last night. So here is an overview of where I am currently. My design sketch, the one on the right was the original the left is the finalized idea. I then cut out my patterns and cleaned them up via belt and file. I drilled some holes in a board, filing and checking until I was happy with the fit between the spring and blade. I now have the liners cut out and for everything together. I am pretty happy with the action right now, it may be a little firm, we will see. I don't really have a way to relieve the material around the pin (creating a boss, or built in spacer) I guess I could gently go at it with the dremel, but I am a bit concerned about that. So now I have to start thinking about scale material, you guys have any opinions? I believe these are kingswood, olive, ebony, and I am unsure of the red one. I also have a piece that is black and grey with a bit of white similar to the red piece there. It might be cool if I could get the transition from white and black to line up with the differential hardening line in the blade. Well, lets see what I can accomplish on my next lunch break!

So for this years KITH I have decided to tackle the slip joint. This will be a first for me, so I am rather excited for the new challenge.

I would like to tentatively throw my name in. 1. Conner Michaux 2. Bruno 3. Brian Dougherty 4. Alex Middleton 5. MichaelP  6. Will Drake 7. Zeb Camper  8. Joël Mercier 9. Jeremy Blohm  10. Geoff Keyes 11. Jason Volkert 12. Pieter-Paul Derks 13. Michael Ward  14. Robert Dowse 15. Alan Longmire 16. Chris Briggs 17. Nikolai Briggs? 18. Jeff Heinen  19. Joshua States  20. JJ Simon 21. Clifford Brewer  22. Charles du Preez  23. Luke Sorensen 24. Chad Scott

My preferred finish for wood handles is Tru Oil which is a gunstock finish. It drys quickly, weather's well, and just looks really nice.

As the title says, I have only been able to forge two blade this year much to my dismay. We purchased our first house at the beginning of the year, that along with the birth of my second child, has really taken up all of my time. Last week I decided to make a table and a bevel grinding jig for one of the belt sanders at work. Now that I made it, I just had to test it. So I forged out a blade and went to town, and everything just worked out beautifully. The blade is 4 1/4 inches with a spine of 1/8th at the bolster. The handle is of equal length and is copper, ironwood, and ebony. I clayed the spine when hardening and it showed a line after, I dont know if it can be considered a hamon. As is usual for me this is a mystery steel. I forged it out of a chisel I picked up at a yard sale last year. The previous owner used these to make gravestones before he himself passed. Or so his son told me when I bought them. All for $5

Thanks for the compliments and critiques! As you say, the handle is very grippable and comfortable. And I also enjoy blades with a subtle almost recurve shape. The ricasso had some deep pitting on one side after I forged over some scale on the anvil, but that's what I get for being lazy. I ended up grinding the ricasso into that shape on both sides to fix the issue. The long lines running along the blade I believe are some alloy banding, I have that a lot when I forge out some of these old files. As far as the vertical lines go, they have to be grind lines. I could have I got all the lines out, as i sanded it to 2000 before polishing it to mirror on a buffing wheel. They showed up after I etched it. I lost the knife for a month in our recent move, and once I found it it unfortunately had rust spots along one side of the blade. So I will try to sand those lines out when I get to cleaning those out.

I will have to look back through my pictures, now that you ask I cannot remember.

I put this one together at the beginning of the year. Forged from an old file with brass and salted maple for the handle

Yeah, no hamon on this one. I just did an edge quench and a quick etch after polishing to bring out the differential hardening line.