Russel green rivera

[randyt]

I picked up a couplr green river bades last time i was at smoky mountain knife works. Last night i put a hande on a dadly
 The handle seems short to me.
 I could have cut the back of the knife off square and then slip it into a slit, leaving the scales a bit longer. I may cut the handle area into a wide rat tail so to speak and slip into.antler or chunk of wood. Pour a tin bolster and call it good.

Any thoughts?

[randyt]

Want to add, it seems like the knife blank is about a inch or so too short in the handle area.

[Moe M.]

I picked up a couplr green river bades last time i was at smoky mountain knife works. Last night i put a hande on a dadly
 The handle seems short to me.
 I could have cut the back of the knife off square and then slip it into a slit, leaving the scales a bit longer. I may cut the handle area into a wide rat tail so to speak and slip into.antler or chunk of wood. Pour a tin bolster and call it good.

Any thoughts?

 Without a picture it's hard to tell,  I'm assuming that you're using wood, were it me I'd first consider making my handle how ever long I needed it to be, then I'd make a shim the same thickness as the knife material with one end that matches the shape of the pommel, epoxy and pin the scales on and grind the handle to the shape and finish that I want, for a Dadley style knife I'd probably use Curly Maple or to be more period authentic maybe Hickory, but I am partial to Curly Maple. 

[randyt]

thanks for the reply. I took the handle off and made a longer one. Slip a piece of maple and put the blade into it.

[windy]

I don't have any of the modern Russell dadleys, the ones with the sculpted spines; don't think I've seen one with factory scales.  The 1/4" thick dadleys of old had 4-1/2 to 5" grips and were thicker and deeper, and all the ones I've seen (and owned; I still have two) had checkered ebony scales, as did the period clones.  I took one of the 6" dadleys, probably a 60's Eddie Bauer just like the bicentennial Russells, and cut the handle area down to a rat-tail and put it in a salvaged Russell walrus ivory carver handle, with a smallish guard, just for a dress-up prop; it came out looking like a Michael Price gambler's bowie, but it's not very practical and the rat-tail would probably bend if it got into a challenging scrap, or stuck between somebody's ribs.  The dadley drop-point, or spearpoint blades inspired lots of followers, but the real grandaddy of the thin ones was a Brit trade knife that's still traded throughout the empire, as is the scalper.  For a long time the major cutlery folks have turned out a sticking knife with the same profile, but sharpened both sides, that was thinner yet.  Got any pictures of yours to share, or are you a Luddite like me that doesn't have the grandkid skills to post one?
windy

[wsdstan]

I have a modern Dadley and never took a photo of it.  Walnut handle I put on it and used hunting a few times forty years or so ago.

[Sarge]

Second worst cut I?ve gotten since I started making knives was from a Green River blank. Waited too long to get stitches. They are slicy!

[wsdstan]

I also have gotten a few nicks from those blades.   

The worst was from a little bitty paring knife blank when it slipped out of my hand. 

[Sarge]

I tried to stop the knife as it was falling out out of the sheath. Bad idea. Let it fall next time.