G'day Gents,
I am an avid reader of any folder material and I recommend the following 3 books, "How to make Folding Knives" by Ron Lake, Frank Centofante and Wayne Clay, "How to make Multi-blade Folding Knives" by Eugene Shadley and Terry Davis and "The Tactical Folding Knife" by Bob Terzuola.
I use the Ron lake method to design my folders with particular emphasis on the profile of the piece in the open position, the top and bottom profiles should flow from the handle. I've attached a design that I use, with a scale to give you some idea of the size.
I also recommend that you either purchase a surface grinder or gain access to one, it makes life that much easier. You can build folders without one but it takes a long time and the first law of folder making is "everything must be flat and straight".
Once you have your design down on paper and are happy with run off about 20 photo-copies and cut out the handle cetion of one and glue it (with contact cement) to a piece of surface ground 3/16"-1/4" O1, drill the blade pivot with a #31 drill and then ream it with a 1/8" reamer, then drill the bar pivot hole and the 2 spacer holes with a 3/32" drill. Profile the piece of O1 to the line of your drawing and then remove the drawing with either petrol or acetone. Harden the template and either leave as quenched or you can boil it in water for a hour and should finish up witha hardness of around 63-64Rc.
This is your handle template, drilling guide and set-up block.
I'll stop here for your comments, if I've gone too fast for you let me know and if you have any questions I'll deal with them now before moving on. Also attached is a photo of my template

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/drw1.jpg

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/temp1.jpg

Keep going Neil, I'm with you so far.

You gents will have to bear with me a while, the plan is that I'm building this folder as I go along. I buy my 416 stainless is a 3ft square by 3/16" thick sheet and cut off enough for a folder frame (2 of), bar and spacer, then I surface grind down to approx.5/32" and heat heat it to around 30Rc. This takes about a day (I've been out doing it today), so by tomorrow I hope to get into it properly.
One thing I should mention is the need to make sure that your drill press and/or mill drills at right angles to your vice. I did this by "clocking" the spindles in my mill and drill press and shimming up the stand to achieve the require result. If your holes are not at right angles your folder won't go together properly and in particular your blade won't lay straight in the closed position.

G'day gents,
I've done a little more of the folder. After heat treating the 416 frame that I have rough sawn to shape I clean it up on the surface grinder, to make sure that the 2 pieces are nice and flat. I then drill the blade pivot with a #31 drill and ream it with a 1/8" reamer, drop in a 1/8" pin and lay it over my template. I then clamp the 2 together and drill one of the spacer holes, drop in a 3/32" pin and drill the next one, drop in a pin and drill the third one (the bar pivot hole). I save all my old 3/32" drills, snap the fluted section off and use the shank as try pins. I repeat the process for the second piece of 416 so I end up with both sides drilled. I then paint lay-out liquid on each piece and using the template as a guide scribe right around the template. Stepping up to my vertical platen I grind each half to the scribed line and having done that I put the 2 sides together and match them as a unit with 240 grit. I then witness make each piece to show the outside of the left and right sides.
Fig1 shows the 2 sides finished to this stage.
http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig1.jpg
Fig1

From a photocopy I cut out the blade and glue it (with contact cement) to my blade steel, in this case a piece of ladder pattern stainless damascus from Stamascus Knife Works. The steel has been wash ground to .130" and whilst it is flat and even the finish is not to my liking. however I will clean it up later.
The next step is to drill the blade pivot hole. I use a 3/16" bronze bearing, which are available from the major suppliers, and they mike out at .189" exactly the same as a #12 drill, so I drill the hole first with a 1/8" drill, then with a #13 drill and finally with a #12 drill. The reason I do it like this is because I don't have a reamer that measures .189". I then cut out the blade on my band saw. When doing this make sure you leave plenty of meat on the bottom of the tang otherwise you won't be able to fit the piece up properly (the pointer in fig3 show where)
Figure2 and 3 show these results.
http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig2.jpg
fig2

http://www.ncknives.com./ImagesMisc/fig3.jpg
fig3

The next step is to file and polish the blade notch. Place the blade in the filing blocks (I made these out of scrap D3 and they have been hardened to around 65Rc}. Using your drawing as a guide file and polish the front of the notch to 1200 grit and when your finished check that the front of the notch is at right angles to the top of the blade (It will lock up better this way). Tip: I put a little piece of offcut at each end of my filing block to make sure that the 2 halves tighten down evenly.
I then file and polish the rear of the notch. Again using your drawing as a guide place the blade in the blocks however drop the tip of the blade down 1-3 degrees off the vertical, this gives a slight taper to the notch and will accomodate and future wear. File and polish to 1200 grit.
That's the blade notch finished. Figure 4 shows what I mean about dropping the tip a bit.
http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig4.jpg
fig4

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig5.jpg
fig5

Figures 6 and 7 show my jig for gring the tang which should be a circle. The jig is nothing more than a 1/4" piece of mild steel that has been surface ground, a hole drill with a #31 drill and reamer to 1/8" aprox. 1/4" from one edge. A pice of 1/8" pin is dropped into the hole and the blade and bearing is placed on the pin so the whole thing rotates around the pin. Stepping up to my vertical pattern I grind this circle making sure that I keep the blade rotating otherwise you will grind a flat spot. I start with a 240 grit belt and go up to 1200 grit, I then hand polish with 2000 grit on a flat block.
http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig6.jpg
fig6

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig7.jpg
fig7

In the next installment I will fit the bar and hopefully the spacer.

I hope you guys can follow what I'm doing, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to sing out. I forgot to mention that when I've ground and polished the tang there is still plenty of meat left on the bottom of the tang, you can just see it in figure 7.

Thanks Pat for editing my previous post, I hope I got this one right, it took me a couple of goes.

Regards from Australia.

Neil ...

This looks like it's going to be one hell of a detailed project post!

This is really cool ... I'll put the word out in the Newsletter that the class is just beginning!

Nice Job

Alex

Thanks Alex,
I also forgot to mention, that you'll notice that I've left my blade a bit longer than the drawing. I do this because I like the blade to take up as much handle space as possible, and if you leave it a bit long all you do is grind it back to fit.

Before we move on to the lock-bar, there's one procedure that I go through, that is bringing the bearing to the correct size. I like to run my bearing .002"-.003" larger than the blade. First off I remove the draeing from the blade and then surface grind it .0005" at a time to give me a nice finish, in this case the blade finished up at .1235".

I have made this neat little tool (I dreamt it up all on my ownsome) that is simple and easy to use. I looked out a piece of scrap tool steel that has been surface ground, in my case D3 but O1 or similar will do, approx. 3" long 1/14" wide and 3/8" thick, the length and width are not important but it should around 3/8"-1/2" thick, next drill a hole with your #12 drill and then harden the piece, my runs out at 66Rc. Using a piece on 3'4" brass rod turn a length down to .189" making sure it is longer than the hardened pice of tool steel is thick, part off the 3/4" rod to leave a "cap" on the .189" leg, rather like a one legged stool. Place the leg in the piece of tool steel and using wet and dry on a flat surface sand the "leg" down flush with the tool steel surface. The main reason I used brass was because it is easy to sand down.
Cut a piece of .002" shim steel the size of the "cap" and drill a hole in the centre with the #12 drill, place the shim "washer" on the "leg" on the brass stool.
All you do then to bring your bearing down to size is put the blade on the brass stool and place in the hole, drop your bearing in the other side and sand it down flush on a flat surface. If you want your bearing bigger simply change the shim. Figure 8 explains it a little better perhaps.

I will be missing for a couple of days, have to undergo some tests in hospital, so I will move on to the bar when these are finished.

Regards from Australia
http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig8.jpg
fig8

Neil,

You did not state what type of test you are having done. Hopefully they are minor. Good luck and thanks for the folder tutorial. Looking forward to your return (with good news) after the tests.

Bob

This has got nothing to do about folders. I've had a chest infection for 4 months now ( a result of 40 years of smoking} and the specialist I'm seeing wants to find out why. I had a CT scan just before Christmas and these are additional tests he wants to do. I'm off the smakes at present ( for 7 days) and am doing it tough but a day at a time I'll get there.
Thank you all for your concern and I hope you all have a happy New Year.

Regards from Australia.

Best wishes to you, Neil. Hope the reports are good ones!

Well gents I'm back on deck, the doctor wants me to have some more tests at the end of the month just to clear up a few things, but everything looks OK, other than a cronic shortness of breath due to a lifetime of smoking (I'm off them at the moment). I'm in the process of booking a table at the 2001 Blade Show in Atlanta and if things weren't good I wouldn't be doing that.
Anyway I'm now grinding down some 416 for the bar and spacer, the bar will run .121" 2 thou thinner than the blade and the spacer will be the same thickness, .1235".
Bear with me as I do this and I'll get some photos up in my next post.

Good news! See you at the Blade Show, Neil!

Glad to hear everything is going good Neil,

Glad to hear that you are doing OK. I smoked forever and quit 11 years ago. I was easy for me and hopefully will be for you.

Looking forward to your next post and will probably be asking you some questions soon.

Does everyone know that some knives were stolen from Gene Osborn?
Go here:
www.centercross.com/BobSky/stolen.htm (http://www.centercross.com/BobSky/stolen.htm)
to see them. Some %$^&@$** broke into his shop and stole them when he was out of town. Hate to see this happen to such a stand up family. Hopefully someone will spot the knives, beat the tar out of whomever has them and then give Gene a call.

Sorry to hear about Gene, I think this has happened to him before, there are some REAL ARSEHOLES about.

OK gents here's the next installment, plenty of pictures so I hope that you all can follow me. First let me say that this is the way I fit the bar because it works for me, some guys fit the bar from the front, (I've done that too) but I find this easier.
Cut out, from your photocopies, a bar and a spacer and glue them to the appropriate pieces of 416 (spacer .1235" and bar .1215"). Figure 9 shows this and notice that I've left plenty of meat around the drawing.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig9.jpg
Figure 9

Clamp the spacer to the template and use it to drill the 2 holes, remove and cut the spring slot on the bandsaw. Put this aside for now.

Place the the bar in the filing blocks and file and polish to 1200 grit, the front of the bar. Remove and reposition the bar so as to file and polish the bottom of the lock-bar tab. Figure 10 shows how I position the bar in the blocks.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig10.jpg
Figure 10

Remove the bar from the blocks and radius, with wet and dry, the corner of the bar at the front and bottom. Scrape the drawing from the front 3/4" of the bar, clean with wet & dry and paint with marking fluid. When dry put the front of the bar against the front of the lock notch, twist the bar 90 degrees and using the rear of the notch scribe a line across the bar. Then with a steel scribe mark a line a couple of degrees from the bottom to the top. Figure 11 explains this a little better, you should be able to see the 2 lines that meet at the bottom of the bar.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig11.jpg
Figure 11

Put the bar front first into the filing blocks and line up on the tapered line (ie the line that was scribed on after marking with the rear of the notch). Using the edge of a file cut the back of the tab to about .100". What I am doing is filing a taper at the back and once we get the bottom corner of the back of the bar almost in I will straight the bar up until the bar wedges in. Figure 12 shows the bar in the filing blocks.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig12.jpg
Figure12

At this early stage I don't polish the back of the tab, I finish with a worn mill file. Remove from the blocks and radius the bottom rear corner. Place the front of the bar against the front of the notch and hold up to the light, this will give you an indication of the amount of metel that still has to be removed. I now lightly rub some of the blue marking fluid off, just enough so I can still see my scribed lines. After you have used your filing blocks for some time they become highly polished (almost like a mirror) so when you repeat this process you'll find that you can actually see .001". Repeat this process taking off very small amounts, and slightly straighten the bar in the blocks. When I get close where the bar is starting to go in I polish the back with 600 grit.
This is the most crical stage so don't be in a rush, because if you take too much off you can't put it back. Normally it takes me about an hour to fit the bar and when I'm finished, the bar and the blade are one unit, I can hold the assembly by the rear of the bar and not see any light around the tab and the notch.
Figure 13 shows the bar fitted to the blade.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig13.jpg
Figure 13

Next step is to drill the bar pivot pin hole. On the template insert the blade pivot pin, bearing, blade and bar (as a unit), and rotate the bar/blade until the top and bottom profiles look OK (the top line on your drawing will give you a starting point). At this stage it should be obvious why I leave plenty of metal around the drawing, any small angular deviation from the linr of the front of the bar will raise or lower the rear of the bar. Once you are happy with the profiles clamp the blade/bar unit to the template across the notch (Figures 14 and 15 show this). I use a piece of pigskin to protect the blade/bar unit, then drill the bar pivot hole and drop in a try pin. Unclamp and raise the bar out of the blade. With your finger acting as a spring lock the bar to the blade, there should be no movement between the 2 pivot pins and the lock.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig14.jpg
Figure 14

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig15.jpg
Figure 15

Notice on figure 14 that the top of the bar is below the line of the drawing, so I now grind down to this line (it still leaves me metal to remove) and I also grind the bottom of the bar to a line from the top of the rear of the tab toa pint about 1/16" below the bottom of the drawing. Figure 16 explains this better. Rotate the blade into the closed position, if you havent ground enough off the bottom of the bar the blade will hit the bar. With the blade in the closed position the top of the bar should be below the position it was when in the open position. If not you will have to make a new blade and bar. Remember when I profiled the blade I left extra meat at the bottom of the tang, well this is the spot that determines where the bar is in the closed position.
Figure 16 shows the tip of the blade well below the bottom of the handle yet the top of the bar is well below the position it was in the open position. By removing metal at point 1 it raises the tip of the blade, removing metal at point 2 drops it in. In this case I've got plenty to play with.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig16.jpg
Figure 16

In the next installment I will fit the spacer, spring and hopefully the blade to it's almost finished position. Don't forget, If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
Man this is tiring work, I have to plan my approach very carefully.

Regards from Australia

Neil,
This is by far the best tutorial I have ever seen! It is exactly like being in your shop. I can't wait to see how it turns out and then go out and make my own.

I'm glad to hear that you'll be quitting smoking. My entire family and all of my friends smoke and I'll tell you that I've really come to admire people who are able to quit. It's one of the most socially acceptable addictions I know of. Hope you feel better.

Reuben

Neil and men ...

These are looking like CKD "hall of fame" posts here. What do you think?

With your permission, I would like to setup the actual technical posts by Neil in their own read-only thread and we can open a discussion thread below them, so we can have them organized for future reference.



:smokin:
Alex

No problem Alex, makes sense to have them all together. Reuben, you wouldn't like to be in my shop mate, there's that much junk and @#%$ in there my wife is absolutely amazed that I can actually produce knives in there.

Regards from Australia

Neil,

I guess I should quit using the little smoking man icon on your forum. :smokin:

I'm sure it doesn't help you forget any quicker!

Sorry man!

Alex

Alex,

Until you mentioned it I never even noticed.

Neil,
I actually keep my shop in complete and utter dissaray but I recently found a friend who is semi interested in knife making. Now that I have him in my shop doing work on his knives I find that it's neccesary to clean things up. It's hard to yell at him for not leaving something where I can find it because in reality everything is just sitting around in a big pile near my work benches. Once something has a place I can complain that he didn't put it back there. If I ever go to Australia I will be sure to look you up.
For someone such as myself who doesn't own a surface grinder would you say it is safe to simply belt sand my blade and parts until things seem parallel and are the correct width or are the fractions of an inch the difference between a knife that moves with the correct amount of friction and a knife which is either too slopy or too rough in its action? Would you recomend looking for a local machine shop that would be willing to do some grinding for me?


Reuben

Reuben,

Trying to "surface grind" using a belt grinder ain't easy, I have used a disc, it used to take me all day to get the stuff parallel. You need to be accurate to within .0005" otherwise you run the risk of things going wrong and you'll only find out at the end. If you have access via a machine shop, for a reasonable price, you're better off going down that track. In fact this is what I used to do before I bought my machine, I had a mate who worked in a machine shop as a tool-maker.
I would shop around and see if you can pick up a cheap second hand machine. I don't only use my machine for folders, I use it to make jigs and tools and also I surface grind my steel for fixed blades.

OK, here's the next installment where I fit the spacer and spring and fit the internals up almost to finish stage.

Figure 17 shows the spacer drawing glued to the 416 (I did this earlier remember), I now cut it almost to the line on the drawing, remove the drawing and lightly countersink the holes and I also remove the drawing from the bar and lightly countersink the bar pivot hole.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig17.jpg
Figure 17

I now put the spacer and blade between the 2 sides of the folder and grind the spacer flush (I put the blade in to keep the sides parallel), remove the spacer and de-burr. I had cut the spring slot on my bandsaw previously however my spring material (which I buy from Texas Knifemakers) is 1/8" wide and 1/16" thick so I need to open up the cut. I do this using a 1.5mm "gaping file", which is a file with teeth only along the edge (see picture). 1.5mm is only .004" thinner than 1/16" so I can remove the excess on my belt grinder satisfactorily and I also redus\ce the width to less than .1235". The following is a not very good picture of my file.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/gapingfile.jpg
Gaping File

I then place the spacer on one of the folder sides, put the blade in and rotate it to the closed position and mark the bottom of the spacer with the shape of the cutting edge.
With a pair of dividers I measure, from the drawing, the distance from the bar pivot to the front of the spacer and using that distance I put one leg of the dividers in the bar pivot hole in the folder frame and scribe a line on the spacer (after marking it with fluid), I do the same with the bar. I then grind to the line (Figure 18 shows all my marks)

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig18.jpg
Figure 18

Before I go any further I want to stress that all of the curves are set up to suit my machines. The distance from the bar pivot hole to the front of the spacer is approx. 1 3/4" as I have a 3.5" contact wheel and the curve from the bottom of the tang to the kick is ground on my 1.5" contact wheel. Figure 19 shows the spacer and bar ground to fit and the bottom of the spacer ground to accomodate the blade in the closed position. The red mark you can see is where the spring comes to and I now cut the spring and fit it in the spacer. To keep the spring out of the way of the blade (in the closed position) I grind a step in the bottom of the bar. I also bend the spring to increase the tension.
Figure 20 shows the spacer, spring and bar all fitted together.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig19.jpg
Figure 19

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig20.jpg
Figure 20

Notice the mark that I have numbered "3", with the blade in this is the position of the bar in the open position, depress the bar and swing the blade to the closed position. If there is enough tension on the spring the blade should spring closed, if not just bend the spring some more. With the blade in the closed position "3" should be below the top of the spacer. With this particular piece I've left enough meat at point "1" to ensure this. On my 1.5" contact wheel I CAREFULLY grind some of this metal away which raises the bar in the closed position and also raises the tip of the blade out of the frame (I grind on a 240 grit 3M trisac belt). As the bar starts to raise up to go to a 600 grit belt, which is slower to remove metal. When the bar is close to the mark I stop, at this stage. Figures 21 and 22 show the folder fitted up and functioning properly.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig21.jpg
Figure 21

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig22.jpg
Figure 22

I now assemble the whole knife and in the OPEN position I grind the bar flush with the frame. I dis-assemble, remove the burrs and reassemble and put a single drop of oil in the mechanism. With a brass push rod I depress the lock-bar and close the blade, yes the bar is still below the level of the frame (at the spacer) and has a nice action. Hot dog.
Figures 23 and 24 show the knife finished to this stage. The red line is end of my grind.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig23.jpg
Figure 23

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig24.jpg

I will now grind, polish and heat treat the blade.
Before I heat treat the blade I will relieve the frame (to prevent scratching of the tang). This will be the next installment and as I'm a slow grinder and polisher it will probably take a couple of days, besides it's my Birthday on Sunday the 7th and I'm DEFINITELY not doing any thing that day.

Regards from Australia

I've surprized myself and actually got the next installment done. Grinding the blade and relieving the frame (liners).

I marked out and hollow ground the blade on a 10" wheel, first with a 60 grit belt and then a 240 grit belt, and being impatient I did a trial etch with a cotton tip on the blade to see what it will look like. Doesn't look too bad. Figure 25 shows the result.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig25.jpg
Figure 25

Having ground the blade I can now relieve the frame (liners). First off I put the bar on the frame and mark the bottom, then mark where the plunge cuts on my grind come to on the frame and extend this to the line marking the bottom of the frame. I then put the blade pin, bearing and blade on the frame and mark the front of the notch and the circle subscribed by the tang, I then repeat the process for the other frame half. Figure 26 shows my marks.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig26.jpg
Figure 26

I relieve the frame halves (liners) on my mill-drill using a 1/8" bottom cutting solid carbide burr running at 2100 rpm on a rotary table on which I've mount a milling plate. The frame rotates around the pivot pin and is a lot easier than manually scraping the frame and the end result is much better. The milling plate is centred over the centre of the rotary table and all I do is drop the frame on, set my downfeed counter to zero and mill off .004". Figure 27 shows the frame set up on the table and it has been milled out.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig27.jpg
Figure 27

I repeat the process for the other frame half then go round the milled edges and remove the burrs.

Figures 28 and 29 show the finished result. By putting the 2 halves together you can get a better appreciation of the effect of .004" off each side. This will eliminate the possibility of the tang being marred with ugly scratches in the end result.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig28.jpg
Figure 28

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig29.jpg
Figure 29

Well tomorrow's the 7th and I'm going to have a bludge (that's aussie for doing sweet bugger all).
My next step (after polishing the blade and heat treating it) will be to mill out the frame halves and put in the release notch, so Ill catch you all then.

Regards from Australia.

Neil,
This is some good stuff. I'm glad to see it is for lockbacks too. I don't make liner locks any more, only lockback designs. You explain it very well and the pics are great. Very good job.
We are very priveleged to have you here.
BTW Bob Warner mentioned the knives stolen. Those are the same ones stolen back in July while I was at ABS school. It only happened once. People have been so good to pass the word around. We haven't heard a word about them otherwise.

Wow. Incredible!!! I have read the Clay, Lake and Centofante book, but your tutorial is so much clearer and easier to follow!

This is great stuff Neil. I may never make a folder like this but I'm learning a lot just from looking at your posts.

More than that, I'm always going to appreciate hw much precision work goes into making one of these works of art.

Roger

Thanks gents for the kind comments, this project should be seen as an adjunct to the book "How to make Folding Knives" not as a replacement. I still refer to the book from time to time as a reference.

I wasn't going to do anything today but things got the better of me, so what this is about, for those who are interested, is my milling plate for relieving the frames.

My rotary table has a 6" table with the centre having a #3 morse taper. This plate is made from 3/8" mild steel plate measuring 4" x 6" and a plug that has a 1/4" hole drilled in the centre and has been turned on my lathe to a #3 morse taper. Into the 1/4" hole I've pressed a folder bearing with a 1/8" centre hole. Figure 30 shows the parts of the milling plate and Figure 31 shows the plate on the roary table. The other holes have been drilled and tapped for clamps to hold the folder frames flat.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig30.jpg
Figure 30

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig31.jpg
Figure 31

Regards from Australia.

Happy Birthday, Neil!!

Bear with me, I've quenched the blade and it's sitting in the deep freeze for 3 days before I temper it. I've milled out the frames and fitted the handle slabs, however there's a lot of pictures in this one (11 altogether) which I have to download, adjust, then upload and a fair bit of typing, so it's going to take me a while. I should be able to do it tomorrow (wednesday our time) but in the meantime just to keep you all interested I've taken some photos of a couple of grinders I use (don't look too close at the background please). The first 2 are different views of my vertical grinder with a 9" disc on the side, I use the disc for dovetailing the handle slabs (the table is set at 60 degrees) and the platen and it's assembly are removable. I remove the platen and slack belt polish the handle and I can remove the assembly and install my 3.5" contact wheel.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/figvg1(a).jpg
Figure vg1(a)
http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/figvg1(b).jpg
Figure vg1(b)

The next image is of a little air grinder that I bought from Harbour Freight Company and I use it to polish the release cutout amongst other things.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/figag1.jpg
Figure ag1

Until next time, regards from Australia.

Just an excellent piece of work! This is sure a fine piece of teaching. I have only made liner locks in the past. This article is certainly one I would use if I try a lock back. Thanks much!

OK, I,ll now mill out the frames and fit the handle slabs.

All measurements from now on will be in millimetres (mm) with imperial values in brackets, mainly because the counters on my mill are in metric so I've become used to it. The first task is measure the thickness of the frame half which in this case is 3.80 mm (.150").
Figure 32 shows my mill plate on which I can mill both frame halves simultaneously, all the small holes are the spacer pins of different styles of folders. Figure 33 shows the frame halves attached and clamped down, note the locating pins, the red lines are approx. where I want the bolsters to finish. Figure 34 is the plate on the table of my mill, the 2 bolts in the foreground are used to register the plate so that the front and back bolsters are always at right angles to the axis of the mill. I used these 2 T bolts when I initially set up the plate.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig32.jpg
Figure 32

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig33.jpg
Figure 33

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig34.jpg
Figure 34

I mill out the frames with a 5/8" 60 degree dovetail cutter running at 350 rpm. With the frames and plate clamped down on the mill I zero the downfeed counter and set the tables stops to where my bolsters lines are. I like to leave a thickness of approx. 1.3-1.5mm (.050"-.060") for the liner. Then taking cuts of .25mm (.010") and using plenty of cutting oil I proceed to mill out the frame halves. With the guts of the frame mill out I run up to one of the stops and set the mill table counter to zero and then loosen the stop and then taking .25mm (.010") cuts I mill the dovetail and when one end is completed I reset the stop and wind back and cut the other dovetail of the frame. Remove the frame halves from the plate and de-burr the edges. Figure 35 shows the finished result.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig35.jpg
Figure 35

The next step is to put in this release cutout, I reassemble the knife (minus the blade) and mark where I want the cutout to be and roughly draw the shape making sure that the bottom of my mark is higher than the bottom of the lockbar. I dis-assemble and pin the 2 halves together and using a half-round file I file in the cutout. I clean up the file marks with my little air-grinder (to 800 grit). Figure 36 shows the marks and Figure 37 shows the result.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig36.jpg
Figure 36

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig37.jpg
Figure 37

The next step is to fit the handle slabs and in this project I've selected to use some really nice Arizona Desert Ironwood burl which I purchased for a very reasonable price from a guy in the Arizona called Don O'Gara at www.ironwoodbydon.com (http://www.ironwoodbydon.com). Figure 38 shows the material but unfortunately the image doesn't do it justice.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig38.jpg
Figure 38

Using a pair of vernier calipers I measure the distance from the bottom of the front bolster dovetail to the bottom of the rear bolster dovetail, in this case about 60mm (2.3"). This is a starting point only. I sand each handle flat and with a square I mark a line at right angles to the top and using my disc grinder I grind the 60 degree dovetail. Measuring off 60mm plus a bit I mark another line at right angles to the top and grind the other dovetail and check the result against the frame (this gives me an idea of how much more I have to grind off), I mark another line back a bit and carefully grind down to it constantly checking it against the frame until the slab is a push fit in the frame (the last little bit I sometimes sand off with 120 grit wet and dry on a flat plate). With one side fitting I repeat the process for the other frame, the second one is easier as I can use the first slab as a guide. When the slabs are fitting I mark the frame edges on the inside of the slab. Figure 39 shows the inside of the finished marked out slab. Figure 40 shows the handle slab in position.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig39.jpg
Figure 39

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig40.jpg
Figure 40

Next I glue the slabs on the frame. I use loctite 324 speedbonder and activator, a 2 part adhesive that goes off in about 5 minutes. I put the activator on the frame and the adhesive on the handle slab (if you follow the instructions you have plenty of time) and I slide the handle slab up to my marks and clamp the whole thing to a flat aluminium plate over which I've placed a piece of grease proof oven paper (my wife uses it when baking cakes). I remove the frame after 5 minutes or so and wipe off the excess and, on the bandsaw, trim off the excess slab. I repeat the process for the other half. With both handle slabs glued and trimed on their respective halves I pin both together and grind the slabs down to the frame (finishing with 240 grit) and grind and polish (to 800 grit) the release cut-out. Figure 41 shows the frame clamped up on the aluminium plate. Figures 42 and 43 shows the slabs finished to the frame.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig41.jpg
Figure 41

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig42.jpg
Figure 42

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig43.jpg
Figure 43

Well this has taken me a couple of hours and I hope you all can follow what I've done. In the next installment I will shape and polish the frame halves.

Regards from Australia

Neil,
This is great stuff man! I can't believe how much trouble you've gone to in order to share this with us. I just felt like I had to say "thanks", and let you know we're real proud to have you here at the forums.

Yeah ... Neil Charity Rules!

Mike Carrol's the one who first told me about Neil. I was bragging about some American folder makers to him when he stopped me and said, "Mate, we've got a man down here named Neil Charity that's one of the finest folder makers in the world!" Then he said, "I've bought and sold the same Neil Charity folder twice and made money on it both times ..." I said, "Mike, if it was so good, why sell it?" He said, "Mate, I'm holding it in my hand! This time, I'm going to keep it, no matter what they offer me!"

True Story!

Alex

Best instruction I have seen here on the net. Event hough I don´t plan on making lockbacks I learn alot from this. I have the 2 foldingknifebooks (how to) and I have learned alot of shoptrick from those. But this instruction is much better!

OK here's the next phase.
Before I start to shape the frame I need to drill the bar pivot pin hole in the slabs, in this folder I use a blind pin so I drill into the slab around 1.5mm (.060") and repeat for other side. Next I cut a pin to suit and try it between the 2 frames.

The shaping stage is all done by eye, this is where your skill as a knifemaker comes in. First off I mark the centreline of the bolsters at the front and rear of the handle and then using brass pins I put the 2 halves together. Then starting at the front on the handle, on my 10" contact wheel, I grind a taper from the marked centre line to the rear of the front bolster. I use a fresh 60 grit belt for this, to cut down on heat, go carefully and as I get near the rear of the front bolster I turn the handle around so as to grind away from the bolster and into the timber slabs (this minimizes the risk on undercutting the bolsters). Once the front bolster is tapered I extend the taper up to the front of the release cut-out, I then repeat the process for the other half. Once I'm happy that the tapers are even on both sides of the handle I grind a taper in the rear bolster using exactly the same proceedure. As I'm doing this I continually refine the front and rear tapers to finally give me a swell in the handle somewhere about the front of the release cut-out. I am also continually dipping the bolsters in my water bucket to keep them cool and when I'm grinding the ironwood itself I keep the handle moving to stop burning the timber. Once I'm happy with the effect I want I go over both sides with a 240 belt, to remove most of the 60 grit marks. Remember to keep the handle moving. Figure 44 shows what I finish up with, compare this with Figure 43 and it gives you an idea of how much material I've removed.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig44.jpg
Figure 44

I then go back to the 60 grit belt and carefully round the bolsters and take the sharp edges off the slabs, once I'm happy with the general effect I go over it with a 240 grit belt. Figures 45 shows the rough shaping at this stage, if you look close you can see some of the 60 grit scratches, I'll clean them up during the next stage.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig45.jpg
Figure 45

All the rest of the shaping is done by the slack belt method and I now remove the platen from my grinder and I start off with an A65 3M trisac (approx.240 grit). I use these belts because they outlast anything I've ever used.
The following image shows the grinder set up (yes that's the dog's bowl in the background).

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/figvg1(c).jpg
Figure vg1(c)

I start to grind/polish at the front bolster removing the scratches and refining the shape as I go, then as the scratches disappear I move onto the timber, carefully because this timber is easy to burn. I then do the other front bolster and move on to do both rear bolsters. Once I've got all the deep 60 grit scratches out (I check this using my opti-viza) I repeat the process with an A30 trisac belt (approx. 600 grit).
I now stop and apply a gunstock sealer (which dries in about 5 minutes). When this is dry I put on an A16 trisac belt and remove all the A30 scratches. Note as the grit sizes get smaller the easier it is to burn the timber so KEEP THAT HANDLE MOVING.
Figures 46 and 47 shows the end result, man this is a really nice piece of desert ironwood.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig46.jpg
Figure 46

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig47.jpg
Figure 47

I now apply a product called "Fine Buffing Oil" which I believe is very similar to Tung Oil and leave it for 10 minutes then wipe off the excess and buff it with a soft cloth, I put it aside for a hour to dry. When it is dry I separate the 2 halves and clean up the inside of the frame of sealer and buffing oil.
Next step is to polish the bottom of the bar (to 1200 grit) and also the blade (to 1200 grit), bring the bearing down to the correct size (.002"-.003" bigger than the blade) and then assemble the whole knife. I do not do the final fit up yet as I like to "work the mechanism in" to remove any initial "wear", I apply a couple of drops of "sperm whale oil" that I have and sit down for a couple of hours and operate the knife.
Figure 48 shows the assembled knife and it looks really cool and it walks and talks like a dream (it "pops" when I depress the lockbar).

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig48.jpg
Figure 48

Hopefully tomorrow I will do the final fitup, etch the blade, jewel the inside of the frame and assemble the whole knife. We are on the home straight and the finish line is in sight so until then, regards from Australia.

This is some really amazing stuff!!!! How long ago did you purchase your surface grinder Neil?
That desert Iron wood is really fantastic looking! I hate working with it but just from my few experiences I have to say that I'm amazed you were able to polish it without burning it completely.
I can't wait to see the finished knife.
Reuben

Hi Reuben,

From memory about 5 or 6 years ago, I tend to lose track of time, and I paid AUS$800 (that's about US$460 at todays rates) for the second hand machine.

The "secret" to working with timbers like desert ironwood is to use fresh belts, not to run them to fast, light grinding pressure and to keep moving.

Well the knife is all finished, other than the engraving, but it's going to take me a while to get the images organised, uploaded and written up, so I'll keep all you guys on tenderhooks until tomorrow.

Regards from Australia.

After working the knife for a couple of hours I dis-assemble the folder and I now do the final fitup, first checking that the bar is flush with the top of the frame in the open position, if it has dropped in a tad I grind it flush and finish with 1200 grit. I now remove metal from point 1 (see earlier installment) with a A16 trisac belt and carefully adjust the bar in the closed position to sit flush with the frame. I usually have too remove the baled from the frame quite a few times until I'm happy. If the tip of the blade starts to move out of the frame remove a bit from the kick (point 2).

With the final adjustment done I remove the blade and polish off any scratches, gegrease with acetone and paint the tang, lock notch, inside the pivot hole and surrounds with nail polish. Figure 49 shows what I mean.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig49.jpg
Figure 49

Next step is the jewel the frame and bar. Assemble the spacer, spring and bar on one half and scribe their inside outline on the frame, repeat for the other half. Usually I only jewel up to this line but in this case I've done all the inside of the frame except the circle that the tang rides on. I use a little tool I bought from Koval Knife Supply some years ago, it uses cratex points and it's excellent. The tool fits in the drill press and I lay the frame on a block of wood which has a pice of leather glued to it to prevent scratching. Figure 50 shows the frame halves and bar jewelled together with the tool.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig50.jpg
Figure 50

I now etch the blade and in this case I'm using battery acid (weak sulphuric acid - 30%). It gives me a bright etch and takes about 40 minutes to get the desired result. Figure 53 shows the etched blade (I apologize for the quality of this image, the light today is a bit bright but you get the idea). I've also put my logo on and I usually sharpen the blade at this stage.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig53.jpg
Figure 53

Right the folder is now ready for final assembly which I do in 2 stages. Stage 1: I assemble the spacer, spring, bar and blade pivot pin with its bearing on one half and then the second half. I now peen the two spacer pins (don't be afraid to really hit these) making sure that the pins really swell out into the holes, I grind then down a bit and go over them with the ball end of my hammer. Stage 2: I remove the pivot pin (and bearing), put the bearing in the blade and insert the blade into the frame and insert the pin. Clamping the top of the frame with a pair of needle nose vice grips I peen the blade pivot pin, first one side and then the other. I grind a bit off the swelled pin and go over with the ball end to make sure the pin has swelled out properly. Don't be afraid of hitting it too hard, I really belt mine ptetty hard. Figure 52 shows all the parts ready for assembly, Figure 51 shows my "peening post" which is a stamping punch from a metal fabricator (yes that's the overseer in the background) and Figure 54 is my hammer, it's a small ball peen.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig52.jpg
Figure 52

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig51.jpg
Figure 51 and the "Boss"

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig54.jpg
Figure 54

Figure 55 shows the knife clamped in the vice grip pliers, the piece of pigskin prevents scratches.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig55.jpg
Figure 55

I remove the clamp and add a few drops of machine oil to the mechanism and depress the lock-bar. GREAT!!! everything works fine and even if it was a bit tight by opening and closing the blade a few time things WILL free up, believe me. Figure 56 shows the folder in the closed position with the peened pins visible.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig56.jpg
Figure 56

I now open the knife and grind almost all the pins down to the frame on the 10"contact wheel using a 240 grit belt. I then slack belt grind/polish start with the A65 grit trisac belt and finish with a worn A16 belt. Finally I wash the whole knife out with automotive prep-wash and blow dry with compress air, add a couple of drops of whale oil AND THAT'sIT BABY another one finished. Figure 57 shows the finished piece, serial number 010101.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/fig57.jpg
Figure 57 The finished knife.

Tonight I will be seeing my mate who's the engraver and we'll discuss what would go well on this knife. I'm going to call it "THE FORUM".
I hope you all have enjoyed this project as much as I have and don't forget that if you have any questions or comments feel free.
In the meantime, regards from the Lucky Country.

Beautifully done, Neil, and a fine bit of education. Many thanks. Looking forward to seeing you in Atlanta.

Thanks a million Neil,
I have realy enjoyed this and have printed it all of for a step by step guide. If I ever successfully complete a folder it will be because you have so graciously shared this information with us. When I get around to trying my hand at it I am sure that I will be sending you lots of emails.
Thanks again.
Mike Conner

Wow. Absolutely incredible, Neil!! I love the way that looks!!

Neil,

See if your engraver friend can take a few pic's along the way as well. I don't make knives but this is a great tutorial and really lets you understand the knifemaking proccess. - Thanks

Just an excellent piece of work!! I am now making liner locks and have enjoyed helping a few people.I sure didn't have any super pictures like you do. With an article like this someone with some experience could sure find their way.Thank you so very much Neil! I'm sure I will share this with others.

Neil ...

The CKD wants a contract before Blade and KI comes knocking ... :) !!

Alex

Neil,

No Joke, I little padding to the words and you've got a great book here, maybe add some info on some of your jig's and equipment. Then your out looking for a publisher. " The Folding Knife ~ Aussie Style ".

Neil

I'm with Jerry on this. If you put that together with a few more photos of the equipment you're using and a couple more of the dog, it's going to sell! (The book as well as the knife)

To me there are two great things about this tutorial you've put together. One is that you're quite unselfishly showing all the tricks of the trade, like all the other great makers we see here at CKD. Two, you're showing just how much hard work goes into a handmade folder, and why it's worth more than the $50 Taiwanese jobs.

Now, if only Australia's next great export to England could be quality folders instead of Neighbours and Rolf Harris (and I still remember Skippy!).

Roger

Neil, would you please give me information on your camera etc. Are dy chance using a digital camera? Thanks again.

Neil,

Tell everyone about "Ricki the wonder dog" and the Field Trial stuff sometime ... that's really cool!

Alex

Thanks for the kind words gents however if you look at what I've posted there is very little difference from that published in "How to make Folding Knives". OK the pictures might be a little clearer (as a result of technology) and some of the techniques might be a little different (as a result of having different machinary) but basically it is the same.
For a while I was making and selling LPG gas forges (to other knifemakers) and I got that many orders that I found it became a real chore and I couldn't find time to make what I love doing, making knives. Today I've stopped making forges, I prefer makers to make their own, and I concentrate on making knives. We have very little time on this planet, so I believe I have to make the best use of my time doing what I do best and whilst I have really enjoyed compiling this "tutorial", I wouldn't like it to turn into a "diversion", besides I doubt if we have any pub;ishers in this country who would be prepared to publish it.

I have had my knives on the internet, in one form or another for almost 5 years now, and I realised early on that in order to succeed I needed to have the best images possible available. This became more apparant after I got my own domain name and settled on my current webhoster. I have used everything from Hasselblads to Nikon SLRs and I used a Minolta SLR for a long time and the images were quite acceptable. However after doing quite a bit of research I figure digital was the way to go and again after doing a lot of research and how much money I could afford I settle on a Canon A50. This camera has quite could resolution, an optical zoom and more importantly a macro capability (I can get as close as 4") yet the price was reasonable, in addition I use Adobe photosho 5.5 to manipulate the images. I'm still playing around with backgrounds etc but these are only refinements.
I hope that answers your question Frank.

Regards from Australia.

Thank you again Neil. I am hoping to have a website in the future and any help is appreciated. No, I sure wont blame you or anyone else for any problems I run into. It sure is nice and different for someone giving me hand. Aside from books and magazines until just recently it's been a self help or no help situation.I now have a couple of other makers who not only want to learn anything they can, but also are willing to share any knowledge they have. This sure is a big boost. I find these forums just the greatest!!

Well gents, here's the finished product.

http://www.ncknives.com/Knives/Folder16.jpg

Regards from Australia

Neil,

Man, that's supurb work!

Everyone got this? OK ... start posting your works for us to look over!

Neil, what you going to try next?


Alex

I've been sitting here looking at this fabulous piece of work for several minutes, trying to think of what to say. Somehow the words just fail me. I can't exactly explain it.

It's sort of like being in a room full of beautiful women. They're all pretty, but all of a sudden you see this one women -- you can't take your eyes off her. She's perfect.

To just type the word "wow" with a bunch of exclamation marks after it would be disrespectful -- a sacrilege. This knife makes me feel raw emotion. It's beautiful. It's like that perfect woman.

I'm building a smaller version, mainly because I haven't got any in stock. Will keep you all posted on my progress.

Regards from Down-Under.

Neil,

Get that Engraver involved with us out here on the net. What was the turn time on that part? 2 days? We need a man like that!
Alex

Normally same day service, big jobs take a little longer, probably 1 to 2 days.

That is an elegant folder!

it's busy, but not too busy, with the simple design, the added complexity of the damascus and engraving stand out without overpowering the whole. Just Elegant!

I've had a number of emails regarding my surface grinder so I decided to add a picture of mine. As I mentioned I bought it second-hand so it ain't new, I estimate that it was made in the late 1930's or 40's, and it's pretty basic but it has a good 6"x12" magnetic chuck and it does the job, even if is slow. I use a Norton wheel made for stainless and I take small cuts (.001") and finish with .0005" cuts. I dress the wheel regularly so I can get a nice finish.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/sg1.jpg
Surface Grinder

And as a item of interest thefollowing is a picture of 3 O1 templates of the same basic folder enlarged useing a photo-copier. The middle one is the size used in this project and at present I'm building a folder using the small one.

http://www.ncknives.com/ImagesMisc/temp2.jpg
Templates

Regards from Australia.

Neil,

Thanks for the great tutorial. I can now appreciate the effort and skill it takes to build a folder (no wonder they are more expensive than fixed blades). All in all, how many hours/days does it take to build one (minus engraving)?

I've been to your table once (about 8-10 years ago) at a small knife show in Melbourne when I was still a student at Monash. Couldn't afford anything then but it was educational to see all the nice cutlery.

It normally takes me about 24 working hours to build a folder but that can vary substantially according to the materials used.

Regards from Australia.