Hello all!

I'm currently working on a dirk. I'm trying to make a old styled dirk with brass pommel. I haven't yet got a blade for it, but I've sent Russ Thomas a PM to see if he's willing to make me a blade for it.
I'm planning on making a rather plain leather scabbard with a brass ring at the of the scabbard to give a flexible and historical belt strap.
The hilt which I've carved filed and carved is made of cherry tree which has been stored in the basement for allmost 10 years!! The grain is quite dence so it was good for carving. I didn't make any sketches or take any measurements before I started working, because I wanted to do everything on free hand. I drew the knotwork patterns before I carved it. Most of the design was figured out during the prosess.
I've bought a 1,5 mm brass sheet which I'm using for the pommel. I've allready started working on the pommel and it will be of the early type which basically is just a flat circular disk on the top of the hilt. I will try to make a tang nut out of brass as well, but I've never worked with brass and I have limited knowledge on how to do it so I'm quite eager to see how it turns out.
I've planned to dye the handle into a more brown or reddish brown.

Here are some pictures of what it looks like.
Please give me comments and suggestions

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Cheers,
Henrik

Beautiful carving, Henrik. How do you plan to fit and cut a hole for the blade tang?

Henrik: I don't think Russ has easy access to the net these days. You would be better of calling him I think. He might still have some suitable blades in stock, I remember seeing one that could have worked as a dirk blade. Anyhow, if you want I can PM you his phone number.

Johan Schubert Moen

Johan, that would be great!

Thanks for the kind word, Steve! I think I'll drill straight through the handle then use a spesialised file I have to widen the hole. Hopefully this will not damage anything. Just like when doing the carving I think I'll just have to be VERY careful :D

Cheers,
Henrik

Nice interlaced carving and grip shaping, Henrik. I always found it best to lightly pencil in the design freehand before it is carved to make sure the ends meet. I imagine you did the same.

Just be careful when drilling through with the long bit and keep it straight. This to be sure your exit hole is close to center and you do not split the wood that it is already shaped and carved. Fortunately, your grip is not that long. Nothing like drilling a hole through a longer piece for a two hander or hand and a half.

Actually, the next time (and the best way) is to drill the block of wood BEFORE you shape the grip as this will lessen any possible problems.

You might want to practice on some odd blocks to get the "feel" of using a long bit for this if you have never done this before. Just a thought.

Since you want to use a nut. There are a number of ways of doing this. One using a tap and create your own from brass stock then using a file to "round"/decorate the outside as you want. Making a flat brass pommel cap is easy enough by making a paper pattern (making sure to mark where the hole is for the tang) and cutting thin brass sheet to fit. Or taking a piece of square sheet just abit bigger than the wood pommel and drill a hole so the end of the tang goes through snugly. Then trim the edges to fit. In either case, just be sure to leave a wee bit over to file fit the brass to the wooden pommel edges properly.

Thanks for the tips, Laurie.
Yes, I drew the interlace before I carved it. I can't imagine what it would have looked like if I didn't :D

I actually first thought of the drilling after I had made the second interlace band!!! :D

Cheers,
Henrik

Hi

to make your life abit easier...... use a handle broach to clean out the tang hole.. (once you've drilled it)...

http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s...post547337

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=359466

these will help you to square up the hole.. .... but i'd wait to get the blade so you can custom fit it..... .... then mix up a batch of slow setting epoxy and pour it in the handle..... then fit the tang of the blade in....... this will harden and take up all the extra space and water proof the area..... (makes a solid fit)


good luck

Greg

Hi Greg,

I have a handle broach which I bought spesifically for knife-making. Would epoxy also be a good way of glueing the pommel in place?

Cheers,
Henrik

of course you've seen this tutorial

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=99...uid=550150

the pommel nut would be enough to secure the pommel...... this can be done by threading the end of the tang with a die and tapping the pommel nut.... or you can simple peine over the end of the tang, securing the nut and pommel.....


you can also silver solder two small pins to the bottom of the pommel cap..... and drill two shallow blind holes in the wood handle.. ..... and use these to line up the pommel cap for correct alignment... --- this is useful when you have an odd shaped pommel that must stay in a certain alignment


yes...... the epoxy is good to seal the end cap from water and it should help to secure it....... but I wouldn't rely on just epoxy.... make sure you have also a mechanical means of securing the pommel ( thread or peine)

Greg

Perhaps, for drilling the hole in the handel, you should use what we in denmark call a "Søjleboremaskine", since you are norwegian you might know what im talking about, but just to explain, it is a large stationary mashine made only for drilling perfectly vertical.

Anders

Thanks for the input Anders and Johan. :D I also figured that to be a good idea.

Cheers,
Henrik

some advice... ... to drill the hole with a pistol drill... you find the center point on the top of the handle and on the bottom and mark it with an " X "...... then drill (as straight as possible ) to the half way point from both sides... ... if you a lucky the two points will meet in the middle..... go to a larger bit and clean out the hole ( drilling in a direction to correct any mis-alignment)

now.... use the handle broach to enlarge and square up the tang hole.....


the important part is making sure.... your hole on the bottom and top of the handle is centered....... what happens in the middle is not so bad because when you pour the epoxy into the handle......it will flow into any areas take up any mistakes in drilling mis-alignment..... and make a custom bed for the tang that is water tight.... ......

Just make sure your drilling is reasonable........ don't drill out the side of the handle.... this is a bad error that will result in starting over....... maybe drilling into your hand... :mad:

if you don't like epoxy for this......then use cutlers resin...... which is traditional

make sure your epoxy has a slow drying time...... over an hour.....

wipe up all the epoxy that squirts out of the tang...... this is important or you will spend days trying to sand it off the outside


i hope this helps
Greg

That sounds like a sound advice. Thanks!

Cheers,
Henrik

If you use two-component epoxy like Araldite, experiment a bit with the mix. If you mix it 50-50, it often turns out a tad to hard, and does not bond as well with wood/metal as one would hope. It also cracks more easily. It should read on the package which component gives does the hardening, and I have found it sound to use a bit less of that one.

Johan Schubert Moen

I've now finally gotten through to Russ. He's got some problems with internett connection and he's had trouble with his mobil phone.
He's got a blade which might end up with this hilt. Also I'm getting a dirk blade from Donnie Shearer.

Thanks a lot, Johan!
I'll keep working on the dirk some time in may. I'm at my sisters farm working as a farmhand currently, so I don't have the time to work on the dirk.

Cheers,
Henrik

nice job!

Have you seen Jake Powning's carving tutorial (not that you need it)?

http://www.powning.com/jake/commish/progress3.htm

Thanks Matthew! That 's a good tutorial!
I have a lot to learn, espesially on fitting and finishing, and that tutorial contains lots of useful info.

Cheers,
Henrik

May I suggest you also contact Mike MacRae of Scotia Metalwork in Charlotte, NC? Mike is a near Master Bladesmith (only one test to go!) and has an excellent feel for the shape and feel of a dirk blade. I have three of Mike's blades in my collection and find them superb based on comparison to the originals. One of the nice things about Mike is that he is relatively quick to deliver, the clades are forged (not reduced stock or cut from other blades) and he has the weight down right. These blades shouldn't exceed about 6-9 ounces and Mike understands that. I would definitely contact him. Regards and thanks for the post on the Rob Roy dirk.