Final update! She's done! Zilla rehandle WIP

Hey everybody, been awhile, my new puppy has been keeping me pretty busy ( actual puppy, not a Scrapyard, a Welsh Corgi goes by the name, Darwin aka Pork Chop). Anyways, recently Burl Source has had some sweet sales and I just couldn't pass up on some great deals on so stabilized Redwood Burl. Everyone knows I love my Zilla, it is, in my opinion, the best chopper to come out of Wauseon. My only problem is I'm not crazy about G10, and I've often thought of sending her in for some micarta or wood. So I figured I'd give it a go myself, what e heck, if I don't like it, I'll send her in for a proper job, but I'm pretty confident since I've rehandled a few knives already. Enough babbling, heres a couple WIP pics, in a few days it should be done (time permitting) enjoy

Popped her slabs off, ( she looks so naked<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />)


Here are her replacements, sexy <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />


Perfect size for these monster slabs


Can't wait for tomorrow for a bit of preliminary shaping


I felt bad I didn't take any WIP pics of the skizzy, so I wanted to make sure I did this one right

Darwin aka Pork Chop placeholder for more pics



Preliminary shaping



I skipped a few pics, but here they are epoxied in place, ready for shaping


The old trusty harbor freight ( I just liked this pic)


Shaped, ready for bolts and more shaping tomorrow





Dem some thick slabs! A lot more shaping and sanding to come




Sanded to 400 grit and first coating of tung oil to condition the wood, may sand it a bit higher, still need to CA fill a few small voids.





Here's a few pics of the finished product

[img]http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af221/jroden54/a4848d9f.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af221/jroden54/3c30895a.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af221/jroden54/a0bd2fb7.jpg[/img]

You are a rehandling fool, no offense <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Those are gonna look AWESOME Jared!!!
Can't wait to see the finished product!!

Can't wait to see how she turns out.

This should be nice! Lookin' forward to seeing the results!

Need to see come pics when you have it done! I like the color of the handle material! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I love the wood burls! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Thanks everyone! Updated with a few progress pics

Man, that is looking GOOD!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Looking good Jared! I like those slabs...dem sexy! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Thanks guys, it's coming along nicely, have to find my brass corby bolts I have around here somewhere

Lookin' good!

Sanded to 400 grit and first coating of tung oil to condition the wood, may sand it a bit higher, still need to CA fill a few small voids.

Looks fantastic, you did a great job on it.

Those look amazing! Great job.

+1! That is BEAUTIFUL!!! That would look great on my Dodo! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

WOW <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> that is a thing of beauty!

Looks outstanding! Great work!

Wow <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

NICE work Jared, I don't think you are going to have to send those in to have done!

OMG, that is some beautiful work there. Great job!

That is some sweet lookin" burl wood. Good job on the re-handle, I would be scared to try something like that with one of my Busse's.

Very nice work

Thanks guys, the scariest part is removing the handles, after that there is no looking back

Looking good jared! You must have some good sized mitts!

Regular size really, medium large to large, I they are sanded down quite a bit, they are a bit thicker than the original g10 now, but that's what I was going for, it's much more comfortable now

What the dudes above me said. Those look incredible.

Thanks! Here's a few pics of the finished product, got a chance to use her a bit today, clearing brush in the rain, didn't slip at all, super pleased with it

Man, that is beautiful! Great job! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Looks beautiful, great job.

Wow.....I mean....just....WOW..... you have a gift for that work mate....!!!

Love the rivet work, definitely looks quite a bit thicker than the original grips. Nice work!

Absolutley awesome, beautiful!

You dun good! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

That looks awesome, you did a great job! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

that is a sweet job. to bad its not under the Busse warranty.

looks like you did a great job
congrats!

Really well done job!
What sort of wood is that?

Thanks, it's Redwood Burl that I got from Burl Source. And thanks everyone for the compliments

that's looks great jroden! the wood looks amazing and the finish looms flawless.


good job!

It looks like one of the custom shop specials ! Great work <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Now all you need is some matching burl wood to do a small complimentary knife to make them a set ... then send them to me for proper disposal <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I have some more on the way, I was thinking about re handling a Ratmandu, or possibly a Becker bk7 not sure yet