Alex Middleton

That's a good idea Alan. I'll give that a try first. I have a jar of thinned down BOO that I'll give it a soak in. He's got a crazy story to go along with this knife. Apparently his uncle passed away 40+ years ago. A few years ago they were doing some maintenance at the old family house and had to take down an old tree in the yard. When they dropped the tree they saw just the pommel of the knife sticking up out of one of the crotches. After carefully splitting the wood out, they found the whole knife there still in good condition. Russ has been known to spin a good yarn now and then, and given the condition of the blade and antler I'm a little suspicious. Either way it's a good story though. After I tighten up the handle he wants me to make a sheath for it so he can use it as an EDC.

A buddy at work brought me this today and asked if I'd be able to tighten up the handle on his uncles old knife. It's an old Olson fixed blade hunter with an antler handle. I've seen these knives before and I know that the handle loosening up is a relatively common issue for them. I'm wondering if anyone has tackled into trying to tighten up the handle on one of these before. The best I can tell is that the pommel nut is screwed in to tighten the handle, and then the tang is peened over to lock the nut in place. It won't take much more than a 1/4 turn or so to tighten things back up again, but before I start into it I want to make sure that my thought process is correct. Given the amount of sentimental value that this blade holds for him, I really don't want to wreck anything. Any thoughts or past experiences with one of these knives would be appreciated. Thanks, Alex

Purely tactical, pattern welded blade. Seems like an oxymoron to me. I'm in the same boat as Gerhard though, the FS dagger has never been one of my favorites from an aesthetic perspective. That being said, I can't wait to see how it looks once you have it all put together!

Gorgeous Gary. It's going to take a truly special knife to top that one at the show.

Yup. Gloves + things that spin = trip to ER. I learned that one on a drill press when I was 16.

I'm trying to find words, and coming up with nothing. Absolutely incredible work!

Not exactly in the shop, but I managed to sneak away from camp by myself this morning for a couple of hours on the river. Now we're just sitting around waiting for the brisket to be done. It's gonna be a good day!

Nice one Alan! I have Steve Culvers' book in my Amazon cart, just waiting for the wife to place her next order.

Third

Nice one Joel!

I get that issue from filings balling up and getting trapped in the file. I've taken to wiping off the teeth with a towel every 5-6 strokes and it seems to help.

Somebody jump in if this is a bad idea, but I would probably lean more towards building a stand the holds one length vertically for general blade forging, and another one horizontally to use for straightening/flattening. At 2.5" x 4" and 40+ lbs. each, unless you're planning on using a massive hammer, it gives you a pretty decent sized striking surface with a solid amount of mass directly below it. I can't see you gaining much in performance by welding them together.

I love the pattern that you got from the cable. Your etch is perfect. Aside from the pins, there's something about the blade/bolster transition that strikes me as odd. I think maybe it's that there are defined plunge lines, but no ricasso to highlight them. If the bolsters were moved back 1/4"-3/8", I think it would make it flow better visually. I may be way out in left field too, it wouldn't be the first time. Other than that I like it. You did a great job on the fit and finish on the handle. Keep it up!

Damn! That one really strikes me. I really envy the patience you must have in order to take on a handle carving like that.

Very nice Brian!