Alan Longmire

That wheel would work, but seems a bit pricy. Look at these two from Harbor Freight: https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-general-purpose-bench-grinding-wheel-62475.html and https://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-general-purpose-bench-grinding-wheel-62474.html. You can usually find a coupon for free shipping from them as well. Even better would be to find a shop that is tossing a broken one. You're basically using it like a lapping plate rather than a wheel, so the condition of the wheel face doesn't matter a bit. These are just a cheaper substitute for the EDM stones that were all the rage ten years ago. If I'd known you were using stabilized wood I'd have said absolutely do not burn it in. All that plastic is terrible to breathe, and might even be poisonous depending on what they used. On the plus side, that block is big enough for at least four handles!

Ah, gotcha. As big as I can blow up the pics, it looks like older arc weld lines, like it was built up out of two older weldments made from stacked plate, with the face, feet, and upsetting block added. I'd want to test the rebound before I bought either, but I'm not headed to Austria anytime soon.

Just about any stone will do. 60 grit is good for stock removal, wet or dry. Whatever you can find for cheap. On the handle, that depends on how you want to do it. There is usually some shaping involved with the handle on the knife. And doing that with the blade fully sharp is not a great idea. It can (and will) be kind of sharp, which is why you wrap it in tape when you're working on the handle. The final edge is after the handle is finished. And do you mean burning in the tang? That works and is historically accurate, but it's not easy to do well. On small blades like this one in particular there's a big risk of ruining the temper. If you want to try it, have a hole in the wood that the tang almost fits into before you try burning it in. A too-small hole wastes time and increases risk.

Those lines are evidence of torch-cutting. And flux? If you'd asked one of the old guys that, they'd say what's that? Some used forge-welding compound tossed into the joint, most did without.

I'd just use mild as filler. Make a stub tang on the 80CrV2 , though, because there will be decarb and other heat-affected zone phenomena at the weld. This will even out during the following forging and heat treating steps, but the mild will pull some carbon out of the 80CrV2 where they touch. Because I don't have a TIG unit, I make a keyhole joint and braze it. The mechanical joint is strong to begin with, and the braze filler I use is around 80K PSI in tensile strength. It's not gonna come apart, in other words.

Classic!

Nice job!

I'd look for NOS USA-made Nicholsons on eBay, starting with a 16" mill bastard or magicut. if you have to buy new, the 14" Simonds multicut is good to do heavy stock removal, but they leave serious ripples that you'll need to take out with a mill bastard. Check MSCdirect.com, don't even think of big box stores. They do not sell files, only file-shaped objects. Also look for long-angle lathe files. NOT Mexican Nicholsons.

Yes, those hand-stitched rasps are great. Auriou makes them as well. For stockmaking I used to use a Stanley Surform rasp/plane. Shinto saw-rasps are good too. If you see me get the drawknife out, stand back! It is a weapon of mass destruction, but nothing is better for roughing out an axe handle. Spokeshaves are good too, as are block planes if you know how to use them. Iwasaki carfiles are excellent. They cut as fast as a cabinet rasp yet leave a smooth surface. I've used everything from a carving axe to an exacto knife. Whatever works for you is the tool to use. The last run of axe handles I made were almost entirely done with a bandsaw and a 60-grit belt on the KMG.

You don't need a bench grinder, just a wheel for one.

Nobody mentioned the dry-clean stuff and spray-on dirt...

Now that it's hardened you can't (or shouldn't) use a file on it. Now it's stones, since you don't have a grinder. Speaking of which: an unmou ted stone wheel for a bench grinder makes an excellent flattening tool. Clamp it flat on the bench and rub the blade on it. Hard, no oil or water. The soft white stones are faster than the hard gray ones, but they wear out faster. They're great for removing scale, too.

It'll make it taste funny, so as long as you don't plan on cooking with it later it's fine.

Simple, but nice! I like it.

Congratulations! Yes, sand off the scale and goo. Epoxy needs a clean, roughened surface.