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Corneta Wotan mod - Tactical brute to Civilized Beaut

10/21/2014

I had recently seen a picture of Peter Hammer's last Wotan build. It was a high polish blade with a wood handle. I have requested he allow me to use it and I will post here if he does.

What I did so far was remove the Kraton handle and media blast the coating off the knife. After which I did run it under a wire wheel.

Before and after blasting:

I kinda like this "Satin" finish, but I will probably change my mind later.

Now to figure out a handle. That is a Huge hidden tang to cover up, 4-1/4" total length, 1/4 x 5/8 stock.

Any ideas?

Here is Peter Hammer's last Custom Wotan. I do not know the species of wood, but I would guess Cocobolo.

3 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ron Cooper on October 21, 2014 at 22:40

That is one sexy looking blade now that you've stripped it of its coating.

If this was like word association, the first thing that popped into my head was canvas micarta. I really like micarta handles on knives like this, especially if they're left kind of rough and textured looking. Or, you could sand and polish it if you were looking for a finish something like you'd find on one of Buck's larger fixed blades like the big 120.

So, that would be my suggestion - black canvas micarta.

Permalink Reply by Brad T. on October 27, 2014 at 12:34

I just removed a black kraton handle Ron, I don't think I want to put another in it's place.

Thinking of a nice Brazilian Hard wood.

Permalink Reply by Ron Cooper on October 27, 2014 at 15:19

Point taken, Brad.

And, since it's a Brazilian knife, I can see why you'd be leaning toward a Brazilian hardwood.

I'll be anxious to see how it turns out regardless of what material you choose.

Cheers!

Brad T. said:

I just removed a black kraton handle Ron, I don't think I want to put another in it's place.

Thinking of a nice Brazilian Hard wood.

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on October 27, 2014 at 15:40

!!! .. Sweet .. !!!

Dropping a 2' X 2" X 5" chunk of burl on there would look rather nice finished out .. just sayin' :)

What kind of steel is in the blade. I've a number of blades with a "satin" finish. I've no polishing equipment & usually finish mine out with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. ALOT of elbow grease is involved .. the finish is acceptable.

However, a "satin" finish actually provides more surface area to react w/ Oxygen ... rust. If the Chromium content is high enough .. I wouldn't worry about it. Otherwise .. a high polish will better inhibit oxidation through reduction of surface area .. i.e. limits the actual metal exposed to the environment.

Also .. that hidden tang can be trimmed down quite easily .. maybe even introduce some notches for the epoxy to set up in.

I suspect you'll end up w/ something to be quite proud of !!!

Please post a pic or two along the process and certainly one of the finished result.

Thanks,

D ale

Permalink Reply by Brad T. on October 27, 2014 at 17:57

D Ale,

Thanks for bringing the finish up. After some research on the low Chromium content (1.3-1.6%) of the 52100 steel of the Wotan, I will opt for a polished finish. So a lot of elbow grease will be needed, especially up to a 1500 grit.

As for the wood, I will stop at Rockler Wood working this weekend to see what turning blocks the have. Notching the tang is a great idea, but I planned on pinning the handle for added flair.

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on October 27, 2014 at 18:30

Brad .. I like the idea of pins.The added security is well worth the effort.

I've always liked mosaic pins & finally made a simple one. Check my project here , where I both formed a tang & pinned the result w/ mosaic pins of my own creation. If you do make the pins yourself .. might I suggest .. fill the largest tube w/ epoxy & then insert successively smaller tubes. It's a little messy .. but the result is zero bubbles in the epoxy. I also found an oily rag handy during clean-up .. it seems to wipe the excess epoxy away better .. instead of just smearing it around.

D ale

Permalink Reply by Brad T. on October 27, 2014 at 19:42

D ale,
I have some mosaic pin left over from a previous build. I will use that. I did check your suggestion and was impressed with your results. I think you are few levels above me in skill, but I will be there soon enough.

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on October 27, 2014 at 19:58

Brad .. I think you'll like the result using mosaic pins.

I've some experience .. that's all. The best way to get there is simply .. by doing it .. over & over again. Best way to learn I know of :)

If you run in an issue .. there's folks here that have probably "been there done that" .. just ask !!!

Good luck w/ the project. Do post a pic of the finished result.

Thanks again,

D ale

Permalink Reply by Alexander Noot on October 28, 2014 at 4:52

Hey Brad, only just saw this.

The wood on Peter Hammer's knife is definately NOT cocobolo. My guess would be Ebony or Blackwood or something along those lines.

Any kind of wood would (wood?) look pretty good on that I think. If you were closer I'd have you come over and pick out a block od stabilised walnut or something ;-)

Permalink Reply by Brad T. on October 29, 2014 at 16:56

After 3 days of sitting in my office without a coating of oil, the 52100 Steel Wotan developed some surface corrosion. I immediately took it to my wire wheel/3M finishing wheel to remove all that corrosion. Then I applied a liberal coating of Frog lube.