Creating a bush knife with layered wood handle

Step 7: Finished, future improvements.

I could keep on polishing and sanding for hours, but at this point it looks reasonable enough for photographs.
It's not yet sharpened, but several other instructablesseveral other instructables cover that in detail already.

Future Improvements

A sheath, preferably real leather, with a strong belt loop.

Initials, when I find the metal letter stamps, I'll stamp my initals on the base of the blade.

Tempering, I suspect it could be done better...Maybe a forge is a good investment

Better wood, the pine will eventually wear down, leaving grooves in the handle.

Final point
In the UK it is illegal to carry a fixed blade knife in most, if not all, public places. Check with your local law enforcement. I usually keep all such items stowed away in bags until I'm actually out in the countryside and away from roads.

I was unsure about publishing this, but there seem to be several other 'make a knife' instructables already. Please, be sensible.

Comments

[Belzebebpr]

Looks GREAT, I don't have ANY of the tools needed, but would love to try this. And the colors of the wood look great once treated. I really look forward to trying this. Keep it up.

[spylock]

I made my first blade with a hacksaw ,a file,a drill,useing the blade from an edger,it dont take a whole lot,just the desire,give it a shot,youll be better for it.

[sculptur]

is the edger blade made of high carbon steal or just cheep stuff

[MoreBeef]

Nice first effort. I would make a suggestion to help future attempts and perhaps even improving the current tool. Buy the book "$50 Dollar Knife Shop" by Wayne Goddard. It's not expensive at all and will make your knife projects so much better. Has details on how to construct a single brick forge, as well as how to make a (scrapyard) coal forge. Everything is done on the cheap with found objects/rummage sales/thrift stores/ etc. The chapter on heat treating would be especially useful to you.

[shadowg]

i think that most of the other knife making instructables were from america but there in no need to worry about publishing one here

[my name is blaaaaaa!!!]

sick thank u ill try

[nomadic bowman]

nice

[snakeii]

Nice work. There are some good sources out there for sheath making. Good luck. I'll probably do something similar to a Cold Steel katana. I figured before I bought it that this particular katana is far from a real Japanese sword, although it is pretty hefty and will do great as a bush beater. The saya had started to crack, and found the tsuba (handle) only had strips of same rather than being completely wrapped. I had to completely dismantle the tsuba since the pin holes were jagged, which prevented it from sliding off. The wood was even junk. So, all I have left is the blade, tsuka and menuki. I could probably even make two blades out of it, just a matter of cutting it without damaging the temper. I think the aft section will be great for chopping, while the first 4-6" would be good for general purpose.

[strumbot]

Very nice handle work. I'm concerned though that using the torch would have drawn the manufactured temper out of the steel. You may have only annealed the blade. I find it unlikely that you would have been able to generate the significant heat needed to create the martensite. i made this mistake on my first knife, the result was a softer cutting edge that needed constant sharpening. I would be interested in learning how it is holding up. i would recomend Step-by-Step Knifemaking: You Can Do It! by David Boye if you are interested in continuing this craft.