Ford Automobiles Forum banner

Homemade craft/utility knife project

1K views 7 replies 1 participant last post by  raynkar 
#1 ·
I'm adding this thread to detail a project I've started. I initially thought it would take a couple of hours, but that hasn't been the case :)

I wanted a craft knife that had the type of blade that you snap the end off as it gets blunt. The strong or more durable knifes I saw were all only for right handed people, and as I'm left handed I thought I'd buy a knife, use the blade and locking mechanism but make a new left handed handle.

This is the knife I bought. I have loads of Irwin tools, and not only are they good quality but I like the colours they come in. The colour issue has caused most of my problems lol.

Sports equipment Musical instrument accessory Wood String instrument accessory Electric blue


The locking knob is in the way for left handed use, plus the handle is asymmetrical in both the vertical and horizontal axis. This stops the blade just being turned upside down and used in the left hand.

Wood Electric blue Fashion accessory Office supplies Auto part


It was easy enough to rip the knife open. This model has a yellow holder for a spare blade built into the handle, but I don't need anything like that.

Saw Guitar accessory Tool Wood String instrument accessory


I made a template for the shape of the new handle, and cut one out of hardwood. That took about an hour.

I wanted to paint the new handle the same colour as the original one. This is where the quick job turned into a saga!

I didn't have any spray paint the correct shade, so looked at my enamel paints. Humbrol don't make a shade the same as the Irwin blue, and the closest colours are gloss 14 and 15 but they are too light or too dark.

As I didn't have the correct shade of paint I settled on colouring the wood with dye, and then applying yatch varnish. I used Indian Rosewood dye, that's roughly the shade Irwin woodwork tools come in. This box is something I made recently using the same dye and varnish combination.

Brown Luggage and bags Bag Shoulder bag Material property


When the Handle was dyed and varnished I didn't like how it looked. The finish was good, but a wood finish didn't look right for a craft knife.

I looked at the knife for a while, but then thought 'sod it' and stripped the varnish back off.

I went back to wanting a painted finish so I popped into my local B and Q and took the original handle so they could scan it, and do a custom mix of brush paint (The handle blue areas are too small for a body shop scanner, so I settled on brush paint).

When I got to B and Q they didn't have any 'paint base' in stock for wood/metal paint so couldn't do a mix. I checked out their aerosol cans and Rustolium had 'deep blue' which seemed a good match, but Rustolium swatches or rattle can lids are often a poor match to the actual paint.

This was the swatch above the shelves. This 'deep blue' is a good match to the original handle.

Rectangle Line Font Material property Technology
 

Attachments

See less See more
5
#5 ·
I'm going to let the paint harden for 24 hours, but then have to decide if I can live with this current shade of blue, or spend even more to try the darker navy blue Rustolium shade. It's not just that the current shade doesn't match, but also that I don't actually like this shade of blue, it's a bit like a dirty looking royal blue.
 
#6 ·
Forgot to add a pic showing the other side of the handle.

I'll epoxy glue the blade holder into the channel in the handle. The dimple in the channel is for a small screw that also fixes the blade holder in place.

Hood Bumper Automotive exterior Window Vehicle door
 

Attachments

#7 ·
I bought some Rustolium navy blue to see how it looked.

This is my deep blue swatch up against the swatch in B and Q.

This pic isn't great, but there is quite a different in the two paint shades.

Finger Gadget Material property Gesture Rectangle


The above pic shows that there is a difference between the B and Q deep blue and navy blue swatches, but it's not a huge difference. The difference in the two colours as sprayed from a rattle can is much much more different.

Blue Azure Gas Electric blue Font


If nothing else, this thread is a reminder that the caps on Rustolium rattle cans don't indicate the actual shade of paint in the can.

My own swatch compared to the can lid. What is a shame is that the can lid colour is pretty much the colour I wanted.

Fluid Liquid Rectangle Drinkware Material property
 

Attachments

#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
This is the finished knife.

I couldn't mess around with colours any longer as I need to use the knife :)

Wood Fender Gas Tints and shades Electric blue


Tool Wood Bumper Power tool Automotive exterior


Tool Wood Line Hunting knife Tints and shades
 

Attachments

  • Like
Reactions: mondy zetecs
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top