This topic is involved entirely with it’s title, and what I have inferred from it. I must say I have not worked with the GKoS yet, but plan on it in the future, as in maybe a few months, maybe a few years. It’s just how things go, I have a life that needs living, so I can’t and probably won’t answer anything about practicing. This will be a two part post, with my experience and what I think it means. This is merely for those who have considered working with the GKoS and making the tools to do so. Having had others share their experiences with me about their work, I figure it’s fair that I share what little I know so far.
Part I: The difficulty of cutting boxwood.
I acquired a piece of boxwood for the purpose of making a knife handle for the knife with the black handle. Boxwood is an extremely dense wood that is often used for musical instruments and parts for them. It was about at least an inch too big to even begin working down into a handle I could grip, so the first task was to resize it. My girlfriends father (who has no clue what my purpose was) has many wood working tools as he is a carpenter as a hobby. Here I will list all that happened starting with this first task.
1) I attempted to cut the block of boxwood with a scroll saw, which I have used practicing numerous times in the past with ease. I wrecked a blade. My girlfriends father was interested by the aroma of the boxwoods saw dust and came to help with cutting it. It smells something like buttered popcorn, and the sawdust is yellow in color. He then proceeded to wreck a saw blade, as it was much too dense.
2) We then went to the *edit* radial, not table, *edit* saw (these are rather big saws). We screwed in a support board behind where the piece of boxwood would lay between it and the saw blade. When he pulled the saw to cut it, sparks flew from the wood. The lights in the garage droned and died until the saw blade came to n abrupt halt. This wood was dense enough to stop a huge table saw. He worked carefully, easing on and off the wood until it was a small enough size to work with, with sparks flying here and there. This was completely unexpected by him and he had worked with boxwood in the past.
3) I then used a belt sander to shape the wood into a handle. I had a brand new sand belt, but had to go back and get the coarsest type possible, I forget the grit. It took me a good while of working the wood to shape it. Boxwood has a magnificent almost glossy finish when sanded, it feels quite wonderful.
4) Later, I had to drill a tang hole for the blade. The type of knife I made is called a hidden tang I believe, in which there is a hole drilled into the top to slightly longer than the tang of the blade, which is placed into the handle after epoxy has been injected into it. I did not have a drill press, so I had to use a hand drill. I broke 3 drill bits trying to drill the tang hole. It was very difficult, but this also prevented me from over working the wood and making the hole too big which would ruin the whole thing.
Hopefully, this shows that boxwood is a wood which should be respected as it is very difficult to work and takes some patience.
Part II: Inferences based on working with boxwood
From this experience, it seems that it takes more than just getting a piece of wood and witling it down with a knife. This makes me wonder if it is practical to use the knife with the white handle to make it. I of course didn’t see this as necessary, but I wonder if this is really even a good idea. I don’t know how knife handles were made in the time that these grimoires were written or originated, but I imagine it takes more specialized carpenter tools to make the handle regardless of how primitive. The tang hole especially can not be made with the tools given in the GKoS. No special instructions are given for the making of the handles so I think my method should be sufficient, and anyone who would disagree should find sufficient evidence to counter.
I must say that the first instrument I think is vital to working with the GKoS is the engraver. You cannot even engrave the asperser without inscribing upon its handle. As well, there is in Book 2 Chapter 19 instructions for consecrating iron/steel instruments which do not require engraving upon them. This should be sufficient to prepare tools to begin making the other items and sufficient in themselves for all crafting purposes. It seems rather silly to make these tools to make the handle for the white knife to then make the handle for the black knife and I don’t understand the logic of people who say this, besides the fact that they don’t display any practical working knowledge of how to even make such instruments. Iron/steel instruments prepared using chapter 19 of book two should be sufficient to begin making the tools for the GKoS.
As to the purpose of the white handled knife, I am not certain as the engraver and other iron/steel instruments seem capable of doing anything it is used for as far as making the other tools go. I don’t see any practical need for it at this time and so am not concerned with it till necessity dictates otherwise. This seems to be the case for the dagger as well. I have read that it’s purpose is to be stabbed into the center of the circle with a rope attached, with the black knife at the other end to make the circle. Since a painted rug suffices for many people in attaining results, I can’t imagine why you can’t trace over a painted rug with the knife with the black handle. It seems this is the primary weapon of necessity to make the most essential part of a magical rite- the circle. The other weapons seem superfluous to me and as only necessary as needed by the magician. Only practice can say otherwise or for sure.