If you've been following along with me on my current builds, you will recall that I started three knives at the same time. Well, two knives and a straight razor that is. I finished up the razor and got the two "Glaucus" knives up to the rough assembly stage. I decided to leave the knife with the mammoth scales alone for a time and focus on finishing up the other. Working on several knives at a time has its advantages, but I simply like to focus my attention on a single build at a time. So, with that in mind, here is the progress that I made on the first Glaucus knife.
Last weeks post showed the progress of this knife up through the refinement of the handle. This pic shows the bolsters and scales after they have been ground up to 600 grit. It's time for a little hand finishing now.
The bolsters have a nice satin finish now and the buckeye burl scales are ready for a few coats of finish.
I added a couple of scales to the handle of my hand sander to make it a little more comfortable to work with. It's much better than it was before, but it's still not quite right. I'll keep modifying until I get it right. Hand sanding is probably my least favorite task in the build process, so I want to make it a painless as possible.
Here are the scales after a coat or two of tongue oil. The oil finish really brings out the character in the wood. This phone pic is a little out of focus, but I think you can see the beauty in the scales coming out. I'll apply a few more coats of oil and finish off with a paste wax once the oil is completely dry.
This photo shows the blade with a 600 grit hand finish. I really like the soft look of a good satin finish, otherwise I wouldn't go through all the work it takes to get there. It's ready for my maker's mark, thumb stud, and a sharpened edge, but that will come a little later on. The right liner has been blacked out with a marker and the lock outline scratched in with a razor blade.
I didn't take any photos of cutting or fitting the lock, but it was done the same way as all my other liner lock knives. I also didn't get any photos of installing the detent ball or the corresponding hole in the knife tang. I'll be sure to take more pics with the next knife to show that process a little better.
This is a terrible pic, but I think you can see where this knife is headed. I used a ceramic detent ball in this knife and it really made opening and closing the blade much smoother than a stainless steel detent ball. I'm very pleased with how the ceramic performs.
This final pic shows the lock/tang configuration. It locks up nice and tight and disengages smoothly. Sweet! This is turning out to be a nice design.
That's it for last weekend's work. For this week, the details begin. I can't wait to see how this little fellow will look with some file work and a little accent color on the liners through anodization. Adding the details to a knife is like putting the decorative icing on a cake; it's fun to do and really enhances the overall look of the knife.
I've decided to keep this one for my own use to replace the knife I lost over a month ago. I feel almost naked without having a knife in my pocket and am looking forward to calling this little gem my own. It will essentially be my business card that I will carry with, to show to people who ask me about my knives. Should be a nice presentation and a good user to boot. Thanks for following along with me on these builds. Feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email if you have any questions.
- Brandant Robinson
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