My very first comission was this kukuri knife for a coworker.
The handle is made from applewood burl with a multi colored epoxy inlay in the theme “Ocean Depths”
Here’s an overview of the process I used to make this piece.
Starting with a raw block of wood, I dry the piece in a kiln for about 1 month.
Once the wood is dry, I fill all the voids with epoxy and cut the handle blanks to width.
I pick the best part and cut it roughly to the shape of the knife tang. Then I flush trim to match exactly.
Once shaped, I sand the final contours and begin the finishing touches.
Finally, I sand up to 360 grit. After inital sanding, I use sanding sealer to fill all the wood pores.
I sand again starting at 360 and work all the way up to 800. After 800, I wet sand up to 5,000 grit to get a super smooth shiny finish.
With a bit of sanding, I get a good look at which sections will make the best handle.
This is when the project really starts to get exciting!
Knife Comissions
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