Another boot knife

[GunnyGene]

This one is cocobolo. Hard stuff to work with, because it's so oily. Clogs up rasps and sandpaper really fast, have to wash it down with alchohol to get glue to stick, and won't take any finish except wax. This was sanded down to 2000grit. Wish I had a buffing wheel.

 

[Cooperhawk]

Really nice looking knife. I have a T J Yancy boot knife that I purchased from him back in the late seventies. I met him personally and saw his shop and all. I believe he has passed away since.

He told me that he would never make another boot knife because one had been used in a murder.

The knife is beautiful.

 

[Selena]

This one is cocobolo. Hard stuff to work with, because it's so oily. Clogs up rasps and sandpaper really fast, have to wash it down with alchohol to get glue to stick, and won't take any finish except wax. This was sanded down to 2000grit. Wish I had a buffing wheel.

Beautiful work Gunny, when we're through planting I may send you my hubby for lessons. One of the knives my uncle made is just crying for a walnut grip & sheath. :)

(I'll have him bring the walnut. He has enough blanks lying around. :(

 

[whichwatch]

Really nice looking knife. I have a T J Yancy boot knife that I purchased from him back in the late seventies. I met him personally and saw his shop and all. I believe he has passed away since.

He told me that he would never make another boot knife because one had been used in a murder.

The knife is beautiful.

Isn't that like Ruger saying they won't be making any more guns because one was used in a murder

 

[Cooperhawk]

That's what I thought as well, but Yancy was troubled by it. The boot knife is designed to be a concealed weapon and it is sharpened on both edges although the top edge is sharpened only the first one third of the blade.

I also have one of his three finger knives.

 

[GunnyGene]

This one is cocobolo. Hard stuff to work with, because it's so oily. Clogs up rasps and sandpaper really fast, have to wash it down with alchohol to get glue to stick, and won't take any finish except wax. This was sanded down to 2000grit. Wish I had a buffing wheel.

Beautiful work Gunny, when we're through planting I may send you my hubby for lessons. One of the knives my uncle made is just crying for a walnut grip & sheath. :)

(I'll have him bring the walnut. He has enough blanks lying around. :(

No need, I have plenty of walnut. PM me and we'll talk.

 

[Kevin]

The knife is great! I love the matching sheath.

 

[gramps]

Very nice Gunny.
gramps

 

[Poco Oso]

Nice work , Gene. Great job on the joint, the grain carries through nicely, with little interruption! 8) If you pre-seal your Cocobolo with shellac, it will take most finishes. ( wipe it with alcohol or acetone first) For a glass like finish, a slurry of rotten stone will fill the grain nicely. The Cocobolo/Thuya Burl clock on the mantle, that I made about eight years ago is one of my favorite small pieces. I just started knife making, as a hobby. None of my first ones looked like this. :wink: Thanks for giving me something to shoot for.

 

[GunnyGene]

Nice work , Gene. Great job on the joint, the grain carries through nicely, with little interuption! :wink: If you pre-seal your Cocobolo with shellac, it will take most finishes.( wipe it with alcohol or acetone first) For a glass like finish, a slurry of rotten stone will fill the grain nicely. The Cocobolo/Thuya Burl clock on the mantle, that I made about eight years ago is one of my favorite small pieces.

Yes, shellac will work, but I haven't bought any flakes in a few years, and don't have any rotten stone on hand. Shellac is getting awful pricey these days also. I suppose those bugs demanded a higher minimum wage. About $35-$40/lb plus shipping for blonde or super blonde http://www.shellac.net/Shellac_ordering_list.html .

 

[Poco Oso]

Don't burn up your money on flakes and alcohol, save that for the final finishes. Buy some Zinnser Bulls Eye for sealing. Just be aware of the limited shelf life and buy accordingly. Keep it up, Gene you're making some real nice stuff. 8)

 

[caryc]

I don't bother trying to use any finishes on Coco Bolo. I just sand it down to 320 grit then polish on a bench buffer. I use three different sticks for polishing plastic. They are available at McMasters. It gives a beautiful sheen on Coco Bolo. A coat of good paste wax now and then will keep them looking nice.

Nice job on the knife Gunny. :D

 

[GunnyGene]

Don't burn up your money on flakes and alcohol, save that for the final finishes. Buy some Zinnser Bulls Eye for sealing. Just be aware of the limited shelf life and buy accordingly. Keep it up, Gene you're making some real nice stuff. 8)

I use the Zinnser on some things, but you don't know what you're getting with it. Usually an amber or darker that's ok for some things. It's a 2lb cut so I thin it to 1/2lb usually. For good woods, I prefer to mix my own from flakes. I might go ahead and buy some, and some rotten stone, since I have a few more knives to do, and practice a little French Polishing on this one and the others.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I don't bother trying to use any finishes on Coco Bolo. I just sand it down to 320 grit then polish on a bench buffer. I use three different sticks for polishing plastic. They are available at McMasters. It gives a beautiful sheen on Coco Bolo. A coat of good paste wax now and then will keep them looking nice.

Nice job on the knife Gunny. :D

Man I really like those!!

 

[Cracker-American]

A good friend made me a recurve bow for Christmas in 2004. All I had to do was finish it. The riser was Coco Bolo. I fought it for days trying to get a finish to work when someone on one of the online fourms suggested sealing with super glue. It worked great. I used Tru Oil for the final finish and it still looks great today.

Beautiful work Gunny. I especially like how the sheath matches up with the handle.

 

[powder smoke]

Nice work Gunny very handsome knife & Sheath. ps

 

[GunnyGene]

A good friend made me a recurve bow for Christmas in 2004. All I had to do was finish it. The riser was Coco Bolo. I fought it for days trying to get a finish to work when someone on one of the online fourms suggested sealing with super glue. It worked great. I used Tru Oil for the final finish and it still looks great today.

Beautiful work Gunny. I especially like how the sheath matches up with the handle.

Grain matching, or other techniques such as book matching, aren't all that hard to do, but it requires the sacrifice of wood that doesn't work for the look you're trying to achieve. When you pay significant $$ for nice woods (in some cases $100/bf or more) it can get pretty financially painful to make an offering to the wood gods.

It pays to know people who have small pieces of stuff like the cocobolo I used for this, that you can trade with, or sometimes even donate to the cause on a pay it forward basis.

For those not up on acronyms; 1 BF is 12"x12"x1", rough sawn and for hardwoods it's measured in 1/4" increments. For example 1" thick = 4/4, or said as 4 quarters. By the time you plane it smooth you'll normally have lost a full 1/8" or more to the great outdoors.

 

[caryc]

A good friend made me a recurve bow for Christmas in 2004. All I had to do was finish it. The riser was Coco Bolo. I fought it for days trying to get a finish to work when someone on one of the online fourms suggested sealing with super glue. It worked great. I used Tru Oil for the final finish and it still looks great today.

Beautiful work Gunny. I especially like how the sheath matches up with the handle.

Grain matching, or other techniques such as book matching, aren't all that hard to do, but it requires the sacrifice of wood that doesn't work for the look you're trying to achieve. When you pay significant $$ for nice woods (in some cases $100/bf or more) it can get pretty financially painful to make an offering to the wood gods.

It pays to know people who have small pieces of stuff like the cocobolo I used for this, that you can trade with, or sometimes even donate to the cause on a pay it forward basis.

For those not up on acronyms; 1 BF is 12"x12"x1", rough sawn and for hardwoods it's measured in 1/4" increments. For example 1" thick = 4/4, or said as 4 quarters. By the time you plane it smooth you'll normally have lost a full 1/8" or more to the great outdoors.

Yep, and it takes one inch plus a little to book match. At least it does for grips. I have gotten away with a little less though.

I use a "wood slicer" blade on my band saw and it hardly leaves any saw marks so it takes very little sanding. A good expensive blade means everything when working with wood.

 

[GunnyGene]

A good friend made me a recurve bow for Christmas in 2004. All I had to do was finish it. The riser was Coco Bolo. I fought it for days trying to get a finish to work when someone on one of the online fourms suggested sealing with super glue. It worked great. I used Tru Oil for the final finish and it still looks great today.

Beautiful work Gunny. I especially like how the sheath matches up with the handle.

Grain matching, or other techniques such as book matching, aren't all that hard to do, but it requires the sacrifice of wood that doesn't work for the look you're trying to achieve. When you pay significant $$ for nice woods (in some cases $100/bf or more) it can get pretty financially painful to make an offering to the wood gods.

It pays to know people who have small pieces of stuff like the cocobolo I used for this, that you can trade with, or sometimes even donate to the cause on a pay it forward basis.

For those not up on acronyms; 1 BF is 12"x12"x1", rough sawn and for hardwoods it's measured in 1/4" increments. For example 1" thick = 4/4, or said as 4 quarters. By the time you plane it smooth you'll normally have lost a full 1/8" or more to the great outdoors.

Yep, and it takes one inch plus a little to book match. At least it does for grips. I have gotten away with a little less though.

I use a "wood slicer" blade on my band saw and it hardly leaves any saw marks so it takes very little sanding. A good expensive blade means everything when working with wood.

The carbide tooth woodslicer is a great blade, but pricey. I use the Timberwolf BS blades for most stuff.

You gets what youse pays for. :wink:

Same goes for other blades, such as for table saws. I like the Freud blades for my TS. More $$ than the regular weekend warrior is willing to pay usually, but an excellent blade that lasts a lot longer than the $25 junk at a big box, and not quite as pricey as the Woodworker II. :)

 

[caryc]

Your right, you do get what you pay for. While setting up my 14" band saw with the wood slicer blade, new bearing roller guides and a machined motor pulley along with one of those vibration free linked belts, I cut the test pieces below. I was able to take a 4" X 4" piece of myrtle and cut off slices .018" thick. These cuts came off without varying end to end. I'll stick by the wood slicer blade.