Thread: My first full (and mildly unorthodox) full restore

I picked up this FA Koch Faultless blade as my first project back in January. I restored the blade a little while ago and finally got the required materials to make some scales. First off, I want to say thank you to Charlie Lewis for posting tutorials on Youtube and answering questions I had. I also want to say thank you to all of the forum members who contributed directly to this project, as well as everyone in general for offering such a great abundance of resources to learn from. So, here's what I got.









The scales and spacer are Ziricote and the rods and pins are brass. The scale shape isn't overly traditional and the next set I make, I will keep in mind to stay with the basic designs until I really get a feel for shaping. When I glued the spacer yesterday, I used the brass rod to hold it in place as well as a clamp. I found out some hours later that I managed to glue the brass rod in there as well. It wasn't coming out, so I clipped it down and started peening. It was a little difficult because it seems to peen differently when it's glued in there. Lesson learned. I gave the scales three coats of shellac and steel wooled them after each coat.

The project is by no means perfect, but that's plenty okay with me. I kind of feel like the parent of the kindergartener with the oddly charming painting. It goes on the fridge as a badge of honor, despite it being less than "ideal". This was a great learning experience and I think the next set will be a lot smoother from beginning to end.

Thanks for looking, feedback and criticism is absolutely welcome

Very cool. I have made some similar scales when I first started making them. I think you are off to a good start and having fun.

Charlie

Man, in two months you've outstripped anything I've ever achieved in 7 years! Good job

James.

Nice job, I like the shaping of them. They're yours so I say go as funky as your imagination allows!

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Man, in two months you've outstripped anything I've ever achieved in 7 years! Good job

James.

Good or bad, I go into things head first and hobbies are no different

Originally Posted by tiddle

Nice job, I like the shaping of them. They're yours so I say go as funky as your imagination allows!

I was going for a fish tail type shape towards the toe. All in all I'm plenty happy with it!