Process

Manufacturing a knife starts on a drawing board and selecting materials. As the porous (middle) part of the horn is not supposed to accomplish during sanding, the design process mainly consists of fitting and measuring. This makes the design process very time-consuming as this process sometimes takes more time than the whole manufacturing process itself.

After the design process the manufacturing of the knife starts. The general shape is sand down by hand and will be updated by sander. Finally, a polisher will be used to make the handle super smooth. Depending on the material, 5 or 6 layers of curable oil are used followed by a number of layers of wax.

Some materials are stabilized. This means the air will be removed from the material, after which it is filled with a stabilizer. Most stabilizers discolor the material (yellow), but after much testing, I found a way in which the material retains its natural color. The filler becomes finally hard by heating in an oven.