Originally Posted by
Euclid440
Yes, scales are a bit thick and may make it clunky in the hand. You could thin by half. I don’t know why that is, but thinner scales seem to give you better control when honing, stropping and shaving.
When fitting the wedge to final shape, do so when it is pinned together. You can get a rough shape, but final fitting is done fully pinned for a seamless fit. It will sand and buff easily.
Once thinned, you can add more taper to the wedge, match the taper on the tang, this will flex the thinned scales and keep the pivot in tension.
Not much you can do with the jimps, other than grind them completely off. Somebody spent a lot of time with a Dremel grinding them in.
You might want to reprofile the heel, the corner is getting sharp. I do like the look of the bone with the black wedge and brass liners. Your pinning looks pretty good for a first-time.
Try some horn for your next rescale, much easier to work.