Tutorials:  
Full Tang Knife :    Page 1    

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		This is what comes in this very complete kit: shaped nickel silver bolsters, pins for the handle material and bolsters and thong hole tubing.  The onlt thing you need to provide is your choice of handle material. ( Did I mention that this knife was gorgeous? )
		Speaking of which: I always wanted to make a stag handle knife, but the embargo from India has made it very hard to get and VERY expensive. I decided to try a new product called Imistag (Imitation Stag), a dyed, jigged bone product. I had heard good things but wanted to see for myself.
		For a more custom look, I'm going to round the front shoulders of the bolsters as shown in this photo. A nice custom touch that only custom knifemakers add and that will make your creation stand out from the rest.  Factories don't do this except on very expensive collector's editions. See Step 6
		Some people are never happy, are they? As beautiful as this kit is, I decided to modify it to get rid of the "thumbs" on the bottoms of the bolsters and blade. A Mototool with fiberglass cutting disk makes quick work of even the hardened steel. Be careful though: the bolsters get very hot with this operation!
		These are some of the nicest bolsters I've seen but you won't always be this lucky. Get into the habit of flat grinding the inside sides that will face the blade for a perfectly flat, tight fit. Hint: make sure you do the opposite sides on each so you get two insides, a right and a left. ( Yes, this is from the voice of experience ).
		Let's round the front of the bolsters like we talked about a minute ago. Use a pair of vice grip pliers to line them up and clamp them together firmly. Use the bench sander and "rock" the bolsters back and forth slowly and gently to round them. Check your work often to make sure your work is uniform and vary the pressure from top to bottom as necessary
		Finish the front of the rounded bolsters by switching to a worn belt on the bench sander. Let's polish the front of them now since it'll be tough to do a nice polish job on these after mounted to the blade.
	Free Space	Normally, you'd have to drill the bolsters for the bolster pins that are going to hold them to the blade. You lucked out here again : these are predrilled ( and nicely, too) . I'll cover making bolsters from bar stock and drilling them  for a perfect fit in the hints and tips section in the very near future.a a
		I use a drop of super glue to hold the bolsters in place while sliding the bolster pins in. "Peen" or hammer these. The force of hammering will compress the relatively soft bolster pins, causing them to expand and really, really hold the bolsters tight. Make sure they're tight but don't go crazy and overdo it or you may risk distorting the bolster. You don't have to pound them perfectly flush. We'll sand these off in a moment.
		Back to the belt sander. I use a 120 grit belt for initial shaping. We're going to round these, so use a gentle side to side rocking motion, checking your progress often, making sure your rounding is uniform on the right and left sides and top to bottom.. (Normally, my left hand would be on the back of the blade, but it's holding the camera).
		When done, the rounded bolsters should look something like this. Rough finish is OK right now, we'll do a final finish sanding after we add the imitation stag slabs. For now, just make sure the shaping is uniform  left and right, top to bottom
		a I've been adding a black-white-black fiber spacer behind the bolster or guard for years as my personal trademark, just in case many years from now, I somehow turn into a famous, recognized  and well renowned knifemaking craftsman. Hey,  it could happen!

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