Latest Build.... Ya gotta love Oregon Juniper!

Well Mr. Lewis (my old Neighbor buddy) that ordered my first "official" custom knife, and subsequently had me build another 2 for his Grandkids, ordered yet another for his Son-in-Law Jimmy... I had gotten a sweet deal on several Solingen (Bavarian Steel Maker) Blades, and he picked out one he felt would be a good all-around blade for the outdoors and hunting.

I agreed with his choice and he agreed with mine on the scales.. Oregon Juniper..

He left the detailed choices up to me, so I picked brass for the front guard, camel bone and pitchwood for spacers, and black-on-white for spacers.

Also decided to copy my Mora and add deer antler on the butt since it adds so much (I think) to the Oregon Juniper.

I usually buy pre-made (simple punch outs) brass bolsters/guards but found a supplier online where I got a 2" x 12" bar for $32, which will make probably a hundred guards. The pre-made ones are about $3/each, so I made a smart purchase there, although it does add a bit of time cutting and shaping my own.
Here are a few shots of the shaping process, mostly done with rasps and files, then rough shape smoothed with drum sander arbors on my drill press...





















Final Sanding.......

First few coats of Tung Oil, then rubbing, rubbing, and more rubbing....

Finally, after 48 hr cure after 8 coats, the final product fully buffed and with complimenting sheath.. I'm proud of how it turned out, and although similar to my "Dream Mora", I was still able to produce a knife very similar, but still different enough to be fairly called another "One of a kind"
For larger pictures and more detail (for any who already arent aware of this), click on picture and a large version will pop up...

I've decided that it's about time for me to invest in the machine to put my "Makers Mark" or Logo, on my knives... He (that would be Mr. Lewis) came back over today (I just delivered Jimmies knife to him yesterday), and I guess Jimmy had to go show it off, and a buddy of his now wants one of my knives!! Boy oh Boy... I never would have dreamed that building one knife as a favor to an old friend would turn into this...

Hope you enjoy this build, and thanks for visiting!
I'm getting better at "progress along the way" photo taking, hopefully will get better at it.