DIY "Hilt For a Dirk!"

[sirdaniel1975]

Well, I finally made a hilt for a dirk. If all the DIY projects I have done, this one I am most proud of to this date.

I ordered the Blade blank from Atlanta Cutlery.

Pictured here with a J. Peterman shirt.

I used "Sculpey" clay from the store. It's the kind that allows you to bake it in the oven. I actually molded it to the tang of the blade. I was worried about heating up the blade some more, but I did it anyway.

Here it is cooling after the I baked it.

I then sanded the hilt smooth, it took about 2 or 3 hours. Then I wiped the hilt with a damp cloth, to remove any dust. I then set out to paint it. I used brown acrylic paint.

1st coat of paint


2nd coat of paint

[sirdaniel1975]

Here it is dried.


Dried. Notice the tang sticking out, I will now "J. B. Weld" the pommel together using washers and J.B. Weld. It took 5 washers. I used a lot of J B weld.


Here I've used my dremmel tool to sand down the excess J B Weld and paint the pommel to match the hilt.

[sirdaniel1975]

I've prepped the blade with masking tape so that I can spray the hilt with clear "Matte Finish."

Notice the Celtic knot button, it will be glued to the pommel as well.


Here it is drying after being sprayed with matte finish. I gave it 3 or 4 coats. I don't remember.

It's dried!

It's very balanced!

[sirdaniel1975]

I made the sheath too, a belt from Goodwill.







I was trying to somewhat mimic this design:

[Panache]

Very clever!

Cheers

Jamie

[jeremy j starche]

Looks good. Wear it proudly[1].

Sculpey clay eh? Going to have to look into that.

[1] Where not restricted by law.

[Wompet]

Very nice.

[Kilted Rogue]

love it, where did you buy the sculpty clay>?

[sirdaniel1975]

I bought the clay at Walmart. It's about $5.

[Kiltman]

Love it, what a wonderful job.