I have made a number of letter openers, all basically similar. They have a sandwich-style handle into which the metal handle is placed, with contrasting filler wood. The handles were milled out to accept the handle, and then the two halves were glued together. Much of the effort making these was actually in the blades. I was unable to find any nice opener blades, and was forced to buy junky ones that had been crudely punched out. I ended up ginding down the edges to something that was at least tapered, and then did the necessary polishing to remove the grinding marks.
#1:
| Material: | Ornamental crab (from back yard tree) with Walnut inserts |
| Finish: | 3 coats Behr polyurethane varnish |
| Size: | 3.6" x 1.0" w x 0.6" |
| Done: | October 3, 1999 |
#2:
| Material: | Maple Burl with African Blackwood inserts |
| Finish: | 4 coats Behr polyurethane varnish |
| Size: | 2.85" x 1.1" w x 0.85" |
| Done: | October 3, 1999 |
