The Making of the Knife : Handle
What do you need to keep in mind when making a knife handle?
Creating a knife handle involves balancing durability, comfort, and aesthetics. The handle should feel natural in the hand, providing a secure grip even in wet or cold conditions. For a hunting knife like the Balmoral, it’s essential to ensure that the handle material is resilient and can withstand rough outdoor use. Additionally, the handle design should complement the overall look of the knife, elevating it to an object of both utility and beauty.
The steps involved
The handle-making process begins by selecting the finest piece of Woolly Mammoth Ivory and carefully assessing its natural grain and unique lines. This step is crucial to determine the most aesthetically pleasing layout for the handle, ensuring that the natural beauty of the material is fully showcased.
Once the optimal arrangement is decided, the process begins with gluing the chosen coloured liners to the ivory scales. The next stage involves shaping the front edges of the handle to the desired profile, then polishing them to a refined finish. This needs to be done before attaching the handle to the blade, as the front portion can't be worked once it’s fixed to the tang.
With the handle fronts shaped and polished, attention then turns to drilling holes that align perfectly with the blade’s tang. This is done to accommodate the hardware fixings, which include the Mosaic pins, a lanyard tube, and small brass adornment pins, all carefully chosen to complement the overall design.
Before final assembly, the interior surfaces of the handle are roughed slightly to enhance adhesion and meticulously cleaned to remove any grease or residue. Now prepped for ‘glue-up,’ the handles are epoxy glued and pinned to the tang, securing them in place. Left to cure for 48 hours, the handle is now firmly attached and fully sealed, providing durability and resilience for the years of use ahead.
Once the epoxy has fully cured, the handle pins are trimmed flush, and the rough profile of the handle is shaped to its initial dimensions. At this stage, the tang is carefully revealed and worked to its final dimension, ensuring a seamless fit. The handle is then sculpted by hand and eye to achieve the desired contour, balancing aesthetics with ergonomics to ensure it feels perfect in the hand.
The final finishing process involves meticulously refining the handle by hand, moving through progressively finer abrasives until a high polish is achieved. This last step enhances the natural beauty of the ivory and provides a smooth, luxurious feel.
What material have we decided on and why/where it comes from?
For this Balmoral knife, we opted for a rare and prestigious material: Woolly Mammoth Ivory. This ancient material, sourced from preserved specimens, adds a truly unique character to the knife. The ivory's natural colours, including its rich ivory hue with distinct dark growth rings, make each handle completely one-of-a-kind. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, Mammoth Ivory brings a sense of history and reverence, connecting the blade to a timeless past. This choice of handle material elevates the Balmoral knife to a collector’s item, blending functionality with an extraordinary material that honours both the craft and the wonders of the natural world.
