MAKING A WOODSMAN KNIFE p.3

Well, after much preparation and measuring I finally finished the knife. Unfortunately it's still with some major problems. Basically the leather piece in the centre is too thick and the glue didn't soak all the way through so the handle has a bit of a spongy feel  right on that stress point, when really it should be rock solid. The other thing is a minor issue in that the handle is slightly crooked but nothing actually noticeable unless I were to point it out. It could easily be mistaken as part of the overall design and it doesn't actually effect its performance, it's just me focusing on little details.

Other than that, apart from being a some what frustrating project, I learnt a lot. I am happy with the look and feel of the knife but it's just unfortunate it has that major structural issue. For now though, this project is closed.

WHY THIS DESIGN??
With the success of the new Morakniv Robust I wanted to take it a little further as a small utility knife and focus it more on being a small all-round bushcraft/ woodland knife.

The blade I ground both side and spine to have a rough 90 degree edge for sparking a ferrocerium rod. I was going to have the blade black with a patina but for some reason it just wasn't changing colour on some parts of the blade making it look blotchy. The other idea was to have a nice mirror edge finish as well to give contrast to the blackened blade.
This all didn't work out due to lack of equipment and well, time.

The handle I based on the Mora Classic. An excellent handle for continuous use in any hand position. I was originally going to use Elm but opted for beech wood after the original handle failed.

If I was to do it again I would most likely use beech again. It's an excellent wood with beautiful grains structure that is subtle.

I hope this project will inspire others to try out making a bushcraft/ woodsman knife out of a Morakniv Robust. I hope this info helps and I look forward to seeing other peoples projects.