Post #44650 by Basement Kahuna on Sat, Jul 26, 2003 8:28 AM

Also...here's the first of the Samoan Knife reproductions for the Mai Kai shop. The task given me was to do a good looking knife completely out of wood; no metal. I selected the style in the middle of the first photo (taken by manager Kern Mattei of actual Samoan knives in the Samoa roon at the Mai Kai). I made the blade out of black walnut sliced to the right thinness by a Japanese saw (shown). It is a very, very hard wood. getting that thing cut and working around that delicate hook with a scroll is tricky. The completed blade is fitted into a fruitwood handle, then shimmed and pegged. The bindings are Lauhala strap, and the grip cords are hand braided jute fiber. Then I age and apply simulated hand wear. My knife is the one shown in the last two photos....I think it turned out fairly good, though strictly a wallhanger!

[ Edited by: Basement Kahuna on 2003-07-26 08:28 ]