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Post by nomasthefacts on Mar 29, 2021 3:03:52 GMT
With my limited tools and skills, I made this from a bare blade and thought I would share it. The hilt was made from African Blackwood and tagua nuts glued together with a wood core. I'm not sure how the nuts will hold up, but I'll keep them oiled. Even if you don't have a forge, you can still have fun with the hobby. Attachments:
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Post by pellius on Mar 29, 2021 3:27:14 GMT
That is very nice work. I had to look up tagua nuts. So I got to learn something new along the way.
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Scott
Member
Posts: 1,675
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Post by Scott on Mar 29, 2021 12:04:22 GMT
Lovely work! Where did you get the blade from?
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Post by nomasthefacts on Mar 29, 2021 18:28:55 GMT
It was an Albion Bare Blade.
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Post by nomasthefacts on Mar 29, 2021 19:30:19 GMT
I don’t know if I would recommend making a handle from nuts; I failed the first few tries. If anyone wants the challenge, here is what worked for me. Hopefully, you can improve on my methods.
Firstly, I bought extra-large tagua nuts. These made it easier to have enough material in every direction.
Next, I cut/sanded some of them into slices. Tagua nuts have irregular holes inside them, so I tried to pick ones with smaller cavities. The down side of large nuts is that they will usually have bigger cavities. I carefully sanded the nut slices until they fit together near perfectly. I then glued 5 nuts together to form the outside of the handle using Gorilla Glue.
Before gluing them together, I drilled small holes in roughly the center of each slice and then used a rod to align the nuts while gluing. Each nut is different, so I chose the alignment holes so as to have enough material in each direction. My goal was to have none of the outside of the nut showing at the end, but you could do a variation where some of the outside of the nut is still there. This would also allow you to use smaller nuts. I have seen some vendors who sell tagua nut slices, but the ones I found were smaller and less thick.
I was worried that the nuts would crack during the peening process and that the cavities would be too large to effectively attach the nuts directly onto the tang, so I had prepared a rectangular wood core to go inside the nut part. I glued the 5 nut outer piece onto a piece of wood and drilled down through the nuts where the alignment hole was using a drill press. I then detached the nuts from the wood and used a square file to make the hole fit the wood core.
I filled any cracks I found on the inside of the nuts and tapped the wood core inside (I completely broke the nuts on my first attempt because the fit was too tight). I then shaped the handle and filled any holes that showed up on the outside.
I put the whole thing together like it was a Gladius where each piece slides on and then is cold peened in place. I used epoxy as well to ensure it would stay tight. I used Tung oil to finish the wood and nuts. My understanding is that tagua nuts can become dry and brittle over time, so I’m hoping the oil will prevent that. I’ll see how it holds up over time. Of course, I finished by cutting some water jugs with it.
Yes, this was a long process. I imagine it would be easier if you were doing the style of construction where the handle is put on at the end in two pieces. You could glue some nuts together and then cut them down the middle and go from there.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2021 1:31:38 GMT
I find this handle super intriguing. I both love that it's made from nuts (no pun, don't even make a pun here either 😂), but I wonder how strong it would be?
I am hoping it's strong enough cause it looks fantastic and it somehow gives it a Peter pan quality to it, like how they used a coconut shell for a guard. Or perhaps it has some form of ethnic feel. I'm not sure. Love it either way though
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pgandy
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Senior Forumite
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Post by pgandy on Mar 30, 2021 12:58:56 GMT
I hope that handles as well as it looks. Congratulations.
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Post by nomasthefacts on Mar 31, 2021 20:31:45 GMT
Thanks for the kind words. It weighs 2 lb 1.7 oz.
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Post by treeslicer on Apr 6, 2021 2:05:57 GMT
With my limited tools and skills, I made this from a bare blade and thought I would share it. The hilt was made from African Blackwood and tagua nuts glued together with a wood core. I'm not sure how the nuts will hold up, but I'll keep them oiled. Even if you don't have a forge, you can still have fun with the hobby. Extremely nice. Where did you catch the poor tagua?
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Post by aldarith on Apr 15, 2021 15:27:11 GMT
That looks great, thanks for sharing! I love tagua nut, it has many uses and was the unsung hero of buttons for the better part of the previous century. Vegetable ivory buttons are great! Maybe you should go into button production so I can have a new source for all my old shirts?
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