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Ulu knife by Russ McMullin

I made this ulu knife about 10 years ago and it still gets used pretty often. It is solidly built and works great. Today I was looking through some old photos and found this sequence. I though it would be nice to share.

: I transferred my pattern to the blade and started cutting.

: My new hacksaw and blade made the cutting easy

: Second cut on the saw blade

: A big C clamp holds the blade tight to the table

: Five cuts to get the basic outside shape

: Drilling holes with a drill press to cut the hole for the handle

: I tried to get the holes as close together as possible, not going outside the pattern

: More drilling – use oil as a lubricant for the bit to reduce friction – less heat

: Connect holes with hacksaw – requires hacksaw blade removal to fit it through first

: Inner handle is roughed out – outside contour smoothing started

: Outer contours completed with bench sander. Inner contour started with file – slow

: The benchtop sander works great. Round wheel is better than the belt for contours.

: Spindle sander would make inside contours easy. I started with files

: Finished inner contours with sander bit and a drill. Spindle sander would be better.

: Testing the feel of the blade. Nice!

: Benchtop grinder / sander makes the work easy

: The final blade with a sanded finish. Cutting edge was added with a file.

: Be careful!

: Handle scales cut from phenolic material. Probably 3/8″ Micarta or G10

: Drill holes in blade first. Use as a guide for each handle scale. Don’t drill holes for both scales on same side of blade. Flip it over for the second scale.

: With smaller holes drilled first in scales, use drill press with bit matched to brass bolster diameter. Countersink bolsters CAREFULLY. Don’t drill through!