Knurling tool/process question

[hotrats]

What type of knurling tool & wheels would be used to knurl this tapered (?) dagger handle? Would the wheels be convex? And, is because of the handle shape that the knurling is 'distorted'? Thanks for any info, just wondering the process

 

[Parlo]

Parallel bar knurled first, locally heated and forged to swell the hot section.

 

[T Bredehoft]

RIGHT!....as if....

 

[jwmelvin]

You can see bands of double tracking in the tapered sections. It would be a bit of a dance to work down it with any knurling tool, I’m imagining.

 

[Parlo]

You can see bands of double tracking in the tapered sections. It would be a bit of a dance to work down it with any knurling tool, I’m imagining.

They indicate that it was not done in one continuous pass.

 

[hotrats]

This photo may be a better example. I was mainly interested in the type tool and wheels - just seems like a flat faced wheel wouldn't work on the tapered sections.

 

[Razzle]

Are you sure it was knurled and not checkered? The result can look the same but the process is quite different.

 

[BGHansen]

Maybe turned with a bump knurling tool instead of a scissors type?

Bruce

 

[hotrats]

I have no idea if it was knurled, or checkered. Same as with if it was a bump or scissors type knurling tool that did the knurling. It appears to be knurled, at least to me - but - I'm not a machinist, heck, I'll never be even a "machiner"... I'm just curious how it was done! Since getting addicted to working with Lathes and Mills - the how it's done amazes me, so just curious. The knurling on the tapers of the handle don't seem possible with a 'bump' type knurling tool with flat face wheels. I thought maybe 'convex' knurling wheels may have done the knurl.
The following photos are of examples of the 1st "original" type dagger (one on the left, and the single dagger) that the previous photos were based on. It's called a "Shanghai Knife", as was created for the Shanghai Police. The creator - W. Fairburn, went on to design the later ones also, and along with Eric Sykes created the close-combat training program for the British WW2 Commandos. I actually just found these 2 photos after the original post. I would guess the example on the Thompson SMG would have been checkered...
If you ever read any of the WEB Griffin series of books, you probably know about these daggers and their story in the books.
Anyhows, thanks for indulging me!

 

[DavidR8]

Is it possible that it was hand engraved?
Hand cut files are available so it doesn't a stretch to hand do the checkering.