With my friend knifes maker (@rougeforge) we decided to try to produce a knife where the handle would me made out of plastic.
To make the first prototype we :
– cut a piece of plastic to the outline of the handle (a bit too big)
– drilled the coresponding holes
– bolted it on the blade with a coupling nut (one bolt on each side, the coupling nut remain invisible inside the handle)
– shaped the handle with the belt sanding
The goal will be then to be able to built an injection mould to be able to not sanding it (time consuming + microplastic producer !)
This is something I’ve been thinking about too, I’ve made a few knives, just as a hobby for my own use, I think tool handles in general could be a really good product to make from recycled plastic, something really utilitarian and useful the world over.
For knives in particular the handle could be injection moulded directly onto the tang. A couple of holes in the tang would provide a strong anchor point. Then the handle could even go into another mould and be overmoulded with plastic in a different colour. This would allow grip designs or logos to be incorporated and would enable making a bigger handle than could be injection moulded in a single shot. (Another idea I’d like to play with if I ever have time!)
I was also thinking about injecting the plastic around the blade, but I somehow find it less esthetical. I didn’t think about multiple mold though, that would be a crazy idea, I might rethink it