At this point you can put your files away for a while, as it is time to make the hand guard. The choice of guard is an individual one. We have chosen a narrow but thick guard, as it matches the sturdy lines of the knife. You can bend things about to suit yourself if you wish.
Brass makes a fine guard. It is easy to work and easy to polish, and there is a nice colour contrast against the polished steel of the blade on one side and the handle on the other.
To date, we have not located a suitable source of recyclable brass, and so have to purchase our requirements. Some of the larger tool shops and most of the steel shops stock the metal in a range of sizes. For the amount you will need, it is cheap.
The guard shown here was cut from a piece ¾ inch by 1/8 inch (18mm x 3mm). This is a size which is widely stocked, and will just cut two guards, side by side. (We prefer a narrow one as it allows the knife to lie better in the sheath). However, that is a matter of personal preference.
Brass is a very soft metal, and easily scratched. Rather than draw straight onto the metal, it pays to stick a piece of masking tape on each side of the metal. You can then draw your preferred shape onto the paper.
Firstly, sketch the shape of the guard. Don’t cut the guard out at this point, as a large object is always easier to hold than a small one. The next step is to measure the exact size of the knife, where the guard fits. Draw two lines to show the width and two more lines to show the thickness. Try to keep the lines as fine and sharp as possible.
We suggest you make the hole for the handle first. To do this you have to choices. Either you can drill a series of holes as shown above, to give you a starting point for filing out the slot. If you keep the holes close together, the will allow you to work the end of a file into the slot. From this point, assuming that you have several fine files to choose from, you can file the slot out, without any more problems. The edges of most files have teeth and you can use a file the same way you would a saw. The only point to remember is that files are not flexible, so you cannot bend or force the files into places where they won’t fit.
At this point you should not try for a fit, but merely file out the slot until you have almost reached the lines you drew. (we shall pick up the next step in a moment).
The other alternative to drilling a series of holes is to use a ‘piercing saw’. This is a small frame saw that looks rather like a coping saw. It takes a very fine blade that is not much thicker than a horse hair. Piercing saws are used by jewellers, silversmiths and others who wish to cut fine intricate shapes in soft metals, wood or plastics. The saws are readily available, but the blades are sometimes harder to find.
With a piercing saw you need only drill one fine hole to insert the blade. You can then cut around the inside of the line without any difficulty. The blades are almost square in section, so you can cut right-angles with almost no radius in the corner. This takes a little care, but you will save considerable time filing later.
Now, we have a slot cut which is almost the correct size to slip over the tang. You should take care to ensure that the tang is either parallel, or tapers slightly towards the heel. If the handle tapers towards the blade, the guard will be a loose fit when it is slipped on. (it is little points like this that make all the difference to your finished job). If the handle needs filing, now is the time to do it.
Getting a good tight fit between the guard and the tang takes more care than skill. In essence, all you have to do is identify the high spots in the slot, and remove them. It is an advantage to work in good light when doing this.
Firstly, check the slot against the tang to determine just how much metal you will have to remove. Assuming that you have cut inside the line, you should be OK. Start by making one side and one end straight and square. Remove the bare minimum of metal to achieve this end. If you like, mark the metal with the felt pen, as you will be working form these two points for the rest of this exercise.
Study the guard when it is held against the tang, to determine just where the metal has to be removed. It goes without saying that you should be using a fine, sharp file for this job. To achieve a fine fit, you must file, try and then file again. Just one pass of the file with remove the thickness of a piece of paper, so you can easily remove too much. Keep checking after each filing. Also try only to remove the high spots.
Ideally the tang should just slide through the slot, with no free play. If you can insert the end of the tang, but not slip the guard on, there are a couple of tricks you can try. You can run the felt pen around the inside of the slot. When you try to push the guard on, the colour will be rubbed off the high spots only. Use the file on these shiny areas, and make only one pass over each spot. Try the fit, and if necessary, repeat the process of fitting, marking and filing again. Once you get near the desired size, you will find that the amount of metal to be removed is very slight. Hence the need to check after each trial.
It has been our observation that many people tend to work on a basis of hope and not of observation. It is not just a question of removing metal – it is a question of removing the right metal. This can only be done by studying the job, and identifying the metal to be removed. There is no point in making the sweat fly, if you are sawing away at the wrong section. Observe, consider, file, and then observe again. That is the secret to any fine filing job – or any other job that requires working to a close tolerance.
At the beginning of this section we suggested that you cut the slot before cutting out the guard. If you are not satisfied with the fit of the slot over the tang, you can cut the slot off, and start again. You will only have lost one half of the length of the guard. If you had cut out the entire guard, you’d have no choice but to throw away the entire guard.
Once you are satisfied with the fit, you can then cut out the shape of the guard. File the guard to shape, using the sharpest fine file that you have.
One point here, that is worth considering – filing brass requires very sharp files. Ideally you should reserve special files just for cutting brass. We recommend that you use a brand new file on brass. Mark the end of one side with a felt pen. This will indicate the side that is not to be used until the other side is too dull to be used. The turn the file over and use the other side. That way you will always have a keen file when you need it most. Once the file is too dull for brass, it is ideal for steel. It will still be very sharp, but just not sharp enough for brass. Incidentally – if you have a choice, try to avoid the filing of soft aluminium or solder. Solder in particular will clog a file and make pins that are very difficult to remove. Soft aluminium is almost as bad. For these soft metals either use special files, abrasive cloth or paper, or a sharp knife.
