Another set finished

[dennishoddy]

Edit, for some reason, the forum doesn't like a couple of my pics, so one has to click on the link.

Earlier this year while wintering in Arizona in the RV, the resort had a lapidary shop to use. So we went out into the desert, found some rocks and after a lot of work, finished this set.




At home, don't have the specialized equipment to work stone but can handle wood.
So with a block of Bocote, a hardwood from South America, and some indego DymaLux the project began.

View attachment IMG_2447.jpeg


After a lot of cutting and sanding, polyurethane was applied to get a finished project.

View attachment IMG_2483.jpeg

 

[CECannonJr]

Edit, for some reason, the forum doesn't like a couple of my pics, so one has to click on the link.

Earlier this year while wintering in Arizona in the RV, the resort had a lapidary shop to use. So we went out into the desert, found some rocks and after a lot of work, finished this set.

View attachment 33812


At home, don't have the specialized equipment to work stone but can handle wood.
So with a block of Bocote, a hardwood from South America, and some indego DymaLux the project began.

View attachment 33818


After a lot of cutting and sanding, polyurethane was applied to get a finished project.

View attachment 33819


View attachment 33815

Excellent work. They appear to be heirloom quality.

 

[Mike A1]

Nice work. Any idea what type of stone you used?

 

[dennishoddy]

Nice work. Any idea what type of stone you used?

Yes. The white handled knives are dirty quartz. Very common rock in the Arizona Superstition mountains. The dark grain is Iron deposits. The lavender ones are a rock called Lepidolite. It's thought among those that think that way that is has the powers to make one happy if a piece is carried on the person.
The dark handled one is the mystery rock. It actually has much more detail than the pic shows and is probably my favorite. Mainly because it was also the hardest to get a final finish on it before it would literally crumble. It's some sort of sedimentary rock that contains a lot of mica. After 6 attempts, finally got it finished and polished, then put a coat of epoxy over it to prevent any damage. Each set of handles on a single knife has about 6 hours of handwork in each.

 

[mm1911]

Wow, this is amazing, these really are works of art!

 

[joepistol]

Nice work on your knives.
I have at least some appreciation of the effort it takes to work on some hardwoods.
Many years ago I bought a custom pr. of hand grips for a Ruger Blackwawk. The wood was absolutely beautiful, nicely finished, but the fit
to the frame was not very good, IMO. I was friends with a neighbor that had a furniture refinishing shop across the alley from where I lived.
He told me were I could find bulk hardwood & I selected some beautiful blocks of a South American wood ( forget the name) I thought
I'd make my own grips. Wood was so hard I couldn't shape it..didn't have any tools to do the job. Chuck, the neighbor, used a router (?)
to help me, cutting the inside surface so that the wood fit around the grip frame. I tried a variety of files I had, trying to removew wood to shape them..but gave up as it was like working steel, a LOT of effort for very little progress.
here's a pic of the grips I bought , on my Blackhawk..

 

[Bob Lee]

Nice work on your knives.
I have at least some appreciation of the effort it takes to work on some hardwoods.
Many years ago I bought a custom pr. of hand grips for a Ruger Blackwawk. The wood was absolutely beautiful, nicely finished, but the fit
to the frame was not very good, IMO. I was friends with a neighbor that had a furniture refinishing shop across the alley from where I lived.
He told me were I could find bulk hardwood & I selected some beautiful blocks of a South American wood ( forget the name) I thought
I'd make my own grips. Wood was so hard I couldn't shape it..didn't have any tools to do the job. Chuck, the neighbor, used a router (?)
to help me, cutting the inside surface so that the wood fit around the grip frame. I tried a variety of files I had, trying to removew wood to shape them..but gave up as it was like working steel, a LOT of effort for very little progress.
here's a pic of the grips I bought , on my Blackhawk..View attachment 33907

Beautiful!

 

[dennishoddy]

Nice work on your knives.
I have at least some appreciation of the effort it takes to work on some hardwoods.
Many years ago I bought a custom pr. of hand grips for a Ruger Blackwawk. The wood was absolutely beautiful, nicely finished, but the fit
to the frame was not very good, IMO. I was friends with a neighbor that had a furniture refinishing shop across the alley from where I lived.
He told me were I could find bulk hardwood & I selected some beautiful blocks of a South American wood ( forget the name) I thought
I'd make my own grips. Wood was so hard I couldn't shape it..didn't have any tools to do the job. Chuck, the neighbor, used a router (?)
to help me, cutting the inside surface so that the wood fit around the grip frame. I tried a variety of files I had, trying to removew wood to shape them..but gave up as it was like working steel, a LOT of effort for very little progress.
here's a pic of the grips I bought , on my Blackhawk..View attachment 33907

Looks very nice! You did good!
It's amazing how hard some wood is. Some won't even float because the grain is so dense.
I make turkey calls as well on a wood lathe. A striker for a slate call can be made from just about any hardwood in the US with one sharpening of the tools used to form it. Osage Orange, otherwise known as Bois D'arc or Hedge is incredibly hard. To make a striker it will take three sharpening's of the tools before completion. Very pretty wood without much grain. Kind of dull yellow that works great in laminations to add an off color to the other wood laminates.
The hedge name comes from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl days when vast areas were planted with the tree to create hedge rows that blocked the eternal winds to stop erosion of the soil.
The wood was so hardy that farmers/ranchers used it to make fence posts that over 100 years later are still standing although all have been replaced by modern fencing.
But! They leave the old post standing and rarely object is one asks to remove them for woodworking projects. The 4" post above ground is weathered into a small stick, but the part underground is amazing and still full size, taking on some different colors. Highly prized by woodworkers and I live in the center of that.
Just another hobby other than shooting. Thanks for watching. LOL!

 

[mm1911]

Fascinating hobby, you definitely creating a fan base here, post pics anytime for us to admire!

 

[joepistol]

" Looks very nice! You did good! "... if you meant I did good on those grips on my Blackhawk, you're mistaken, I didn't make those.
Those are the grips I bought for it..never got close to finishing the grips I was going to make for it.

I guess you could say I did good on purchasing them..though they look like they fit well in the picture. If you saw the backs trap, ( grip frame )
you could see they weren't well-fit to the frame.. one side is cut about 1/8"higher than the other...where the cut is for the bottom of the frame.
I probably should've returned them, but those were bought in pre-internet time. They were hard to find, I thought the wood looked beautiful,
and the grips fit well in my hand,.. so decided to ignore the somewhat sloppy fit in that one area.

 

[Buck Buck]

Earlier this year while wintering in Arizona in the RV, the resort had a lapidary shop to use. So we went out into the desert, found some rocks and after a lot of work, finished this set.

At home, don't have the specialized equipment to work stone but can handle wood.
So with a block of Bocote, a hardwood from South America, and some indego DymaLux the project began.

After a lot of cutting and sanding, polyurethane was applied to get a finished project.

View attachment 33815

The stone is pretty! And lots of work. But I am partial to wood! I REALLY like how these turned out ! The grain pattern and color contrast, along with the high gloss finish is just amazing! IMO
And the knife block is a clever design. With the curved surface ends, and that contrasting wood color, it makes a very impressive set !
Not only would I like a set of knives like this, but now you've made me hungry for steak and some type of vegetable that requires slicing ! And I was thinking I'd just quickly check some emails at 4 in the morning and go back to sleep. I'm going to be dreaming about these, beautiful wood projects, and maybe some venison steaks from my son in law, who hunts (for fresh, natural meat) A worthy companion to your artwork !

Pleasant dreams and thanks for sharing your craftsmanship with us.

p.s.
Hopefully after the election we can still eat meat, and not just bugs.

 

[dennishoddy]

Thanks all for the kind words. It's just something I like to do.

 

[Wormydog1724]

Really nice Dennis. Hope you are doing well.

 

[dennishoddy]

Really nice Dennis. Hope you are doing well.

We are doing great. After retirement, we bought a big RV and have been touring the country now for 6 years chasing that 75 degree daytime temps. It's been a heck of a ride so far.