Getting those creative juices flowing, Kith 2015

[Emiliano Carrillo]

Hahah I see this is still an unfortunately serious forum you guys gotta lighten up!

[Isaac Myers]

I might be biting off more than I can chew, but I have always been in love with these horse head pommel puukkos:

 

 

I would love to make one of these for my first KITH entry. How difficult is it to get into lost wax casting? I am assuming that would be the best way to make the pommel. Also, anyone have an idea of how these things are attached? Threaded onto the tang maybe?

As the most of the heads I've seen are pewter, you could form wax into the shape you want, and cast directly onto the tang, as seen here:

http://api.ning.com/files/njXs5tvBFwNBajWiq2K4d-3PM2c*Ng7VI2Mu-sZB16ogSLbM8HGAH*L-Gdgn4gJgQxO3uIC2BoCVIDZYBudXL0xMmiEZED3k/scandi1.jpg

Pewter is low heat enough that you could do this straight into plaster of paris (that's very very dry). A Pd/Pt/Sn cure silicone will work too, just a lot more expensive. Or you could cast a blob of pewter on there, and carve it down, as well.

Pewter, depending on alloy, also cold enough to cast onto wood directly--generally. I'd do a test piece first.

[Pieter-Paul Derks]

Just a quick question I thought I could post in this thread:

 

Is birch suitable handle material?

I live near a forest filled with spalted birch, but I always believed it was too soft for handles.

 

Researching puukko I found many that have birch handles so I wondered if it was suitable unstabilized.

[Jeppe]

Birch is suitable for handles, even if it is softer than other woods.

The historic reason for using Birch is that in northen Scandinavia it is prety much the only "hard" wood you will find.

As the growth is slowed down due to the climate, Birch from northern Norway, Sweden and Finland is much harder than it is from Denmark.

[J.S.Voutilainen]

Also, typically the more appealing variations of birch are used. Like birch burl or curly birch. The most valued variation is probably "visakoivu" (=visa-birch), that some people translate also as "curly birch". It is different, though, and I don't know what the accurate translation should be.

 

 

Visakoivu

[Pieter-Paul Derks]

ah, it makes sense that he northern birch is harder.

the birch i have at hand is very soft and so it made me wonder about the birch handles i've seen on knives., i thouhgt they had to be stabilized.

i could stabilize my wood, but it would probbly be better just to buy nice figured northern wood if i want a birch handle.

 

thanks for the clarification