Creating the handle for your Stoßrappier

Time for some woodwork! The handle we´re going to make is based on the Stoßrappier design from Jena. The basic is fitting the wood into the standard Italian handguard, if you want a different shape, you can take it from there.
Achtung! I´m using a knife to carve out the shape of the grip. If you´re not familiar with that type of work, go very slowly and don´t aim the edge of the knife towards your own body. If you´re not confident you can do this, you can substitute each step including the knife by working witht the file. It´ll take longer, but there´s not much of chance of injuring yourself. If you do use a knife, make sure it´s sharp, a dull blade will result in you pushing more, making the process of cutting less safe.
I´m obviously not taking any responsibility for any injuries or damages that may occur from your building or using the weapon in this instruction.

Step 1: Drilling

You´ll need the drill with the tip and the piece of wood mentioned in part 1. You can take a branch you find outside and saw the piece off, I wouldn´t recommend wood from a needle tree, however. Since it won´t have to absorb much shock, the wood can be soft, makes the carving part easier.

Place the piece of wood on something you can drill on and that may get damaged, an old wooden board will do.
The straighter the wood stands the easier this´ll be, drilling straight is harder than it sounds. Lean into the drill with your body and don´t be alarmed if the wood starts smoking a little, it won´t burst into flame.

Here we go. But there´s one problem...

The drill is too short. If you can get a longer one, no problem. If you have small hands and can do with a shorter grip, you can shorten the handle with a saw now. Otherwise, you´ll need to mark the spot to drill in from the other side.

For this, you can use a long nail, if you have one, or you can use the leftover piece of Epee blade from before. sharpen the edges on the thin end with the file and you´re good to go. Now place it in the hole.

Hammer away. The tip needs to come out at the other side, so whatever you´re working on will get a dent now.

The protruding tip.

Grab the long end of the metal with the pincers. With your other hand, push and twist the wood towards the pincers, also rotating your left hand to assist.

That´s it, keep going.

At some point you´ll have to grip the other end with the pincers, now pull and rotate. Keep going until it´s gone all the way through.

The result of your hard work, a tiny little hole. Use the drill to widen it a little.

If you can do this, it´s wide enough.

Step 2: Fitting the handle

Put the handguard and the handle to be on the angle and screw it on tight with the knob.

Use a pencil to outline both the knob and the part of the handguard connecting to the handle. Unscrew it all again.

There´s knifework to do! Keeping some distance from the marking, place the edge of your knife on top of the wood. Note: you´ll need a sharp knife with a solid blade that will not wobble for the next steps. Alternatively, its more carving.

Using both hands to push on the back of the blade (I couldn´t because I had to hold the camera), wedge the blade into the wood at one corner. Note: Keep some distance between your hand and the tip of the blade.

Keeping up the pressure on the back of the blade, wedge it into the other corner.You may now hear the first cracking noises. 

Almost there.

And split.

Do that on both sides.

Use the knife to cut along the markings you´ve made before at an angle. Work slowly and watch your fingers.

Kinda like that. I´ll say it again: If you´re not familiar with this kind of knife usage,be careful and cut away from yourself, the picture looks like that because I had to hold the camera in my other hand.

Work from each side.

That´s what the top could look like...

...and the bottom.

At the top part, cut horizontally all around. Cut where the oblique part you´ve created in the previous step ends.

You´re now creating the part that´ll fit into the handguard. For this, you want to remove the oblique part, leaving only a sort of plateau. Cut straight down along the markings...

...and/or scrape upwards towards them.

This is what you want for now.

The same from above.

Now that you have the rough shape, the question is how small it needs to be. Grab a piece of paper, a pen and the handguard.

Put the paper on top.

Push it a bit into the opening so can mark its outline.

Put the paper on top of your handle to be. Make sure the hole for the angle is well within the marking.

Use the knife´s tip to push into the wood along the marking. Don´t hold it like this, again, I only had one hand .because of holding the camera.

When you remove the paper, you should be able to seewhere the knife´s tip  pushed into the wood.Cut down straight along this new marking.

That´s what it should look like afterwards.

From above.

Use the file to round the circumference a bit.

Try to screw it all together.

Doesn´t fit? Screw on the knob as tightly as you can by hand.

You should now be able to see where the metal pushed into the wood. Use the fie to remove what´s too much. Repeat these last two steps until it fits.

Voilà! Now all that´s left is to shape the handle.