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The Folding Knife (& Switchblade) Forum The materials, techniques and the designing of folding knives.

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Old 03-27-2016, 04:50 PM
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Icho Icho is offline
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First folder / salvage WIP

I've been wanting to make a folder for a very long time and all of this folder talk around here has really been#greasing#the gears in my head...maybe got the voices a bit more active. lol Anyways, I've had a#broken full tang blade laying around for quite a#while now. I broke it when I was trying to straighten it. When it broke, my second thought was possible folder blade. I won't repeat my first thought. lol. It broke in a descent spot to where I should still be able to use it with a little creativity. Here is a pic so you all can see what I am starting with.




I think I am going to go for a lock back. I could and probably should go with a simpler action for my first folder but I have always liked the lock back so#I#will just go for it. I am considering using the lower hole as a pivot. The top hole will be ground away#for the lock. Worse case neither of the holes work#where they are at and I have to grind away and drill a new hole in hardened steel. As for other materials to complete this knife, I bought all kinds#of screws, pivots, etc for folders a while back so I should be good to go in that department. Scales,#bolsters and the rest will be decided as I go. I will not be using any templates or patterns so other than the lockbacks that I have played with I am going in blind on this one...it should be lots of fun! If I get the action to work nice and#smooth the more likely I will use nicer materials. Either way if this ends up being an actual knife it will be my new EDC that I can test, use and#beat up and whether it ends up being a knife or not It should be a good learning experience.#
So this is what I'm up against. It probably will be a very slow moving project because I don't have much free time. I just have to start working on a knife because it has been a#while.

Disclaimer : this is my first folder and since I am repurposing a broken full tang blade this build will probably not be the best way to do it. If you never made a folder before consider this a what not to do thread. Lol.


More to come.

Last edited by Icho; 03-27-2016 at 05:03 PM.
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Old 03-29-2016, 11:28 AM
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Chris_Crawford Chris_Crawford is offline
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Good luck with your first folder. It will be a bit of a challenge starting with this blade and fitting everything else to it. It will be interesting to see how it comes out. Keep us posted.
-chris


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Old 03-29-2016, 06:00 PM
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Thanks Chris. Yes it has been a bit of a challenge so far but it seems to be working out so far. I guess it will make my next folder easier when I start from scratch. I think I'm loving folders.

Just getting ready to update my progress shortly.

Last edited by Icho; 03-29-2016 at 06:06 PM.
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Old 03-29-2016, 06:23 PM
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I forgot to mention in the opening post that the blade is D2 and it is approx .125 thick.

I decided to grab a scrap piece of laminate flooring and drill a hole in it to help hold it together while I am laying out the action. I drew a couple circles to help me visualize what I have to work with. I can already see that the blade shape will likely be changing but I'm not too concerned about that at the moment.

[IMG][/IMG]

It felt really good getting on the grinder even though it was only for a few minutes. I decided to shape the blade for the lock. I will square up the corners a bit later because I don't want to spend time on it until I verify the the arm will work with this shape.

[IMG][/IMG]

I guess my next step will be to come up with a design and cut out a locking arm. I will probably cut the piece of laminate so that it resembles a scale. I figure it will probably help me visualize the knife better. More to come soon.
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Old 03-29-2016, 06:31 PM
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After I made a locking arm I realized I had to change the shape of the pivot area so I had to go a bit smaller because there wasn't enough material in one area. I had it locking great in the open position but it was missing material when it was closed so the arm didn't push the blade closed the last little bit. It looked really dumb and wrong. It sucks that many times if you have to make a change in one area, it causes a chain reaction. I'm sure that if I wasn't trying to make a full tang blade into a folder it would be a little bit easier.

Here are a couple pics of my progress.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

There is obviously still a lot of shaping and fitting to do but I don't want to take off too much material in the lock area until after heat treat. I still have to cut the excess material off of the locking arm but I think I should first remake a pair of temporary scales to make sure I will have a comfortable and descent looking handle. I already started on that and will hopefully post some more pics later. So far I am really enjoying making this thing but it is nowhere near done so we will see how it goes. Feel free to ask away if you have any questions. Thanks for putting up with my first attempt.
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Old 03-29-2016, 06:46 PM
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So I got rid of the original scale and made 2 new ones now that everything is starting to take shape. I trimmed up the locking arm and made the little end piece. There is still extra material but it is starting to look like the final folder. Here are a couple pics of the folder open and closed with all of the pieces shaped and the scale covering it. With it all pinned together and the blade open the handle actually feels comfortable. So far I am pretty happy with it. This is going to be a pretty big knife but I don't think it will be awkward....I hope.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

I guess my next step will be to plan and cut out for the spring. The picture below shows the clearance for the spring in blue and the spring itself in red. Before I cut it out I will make sure I have a decent plan for 2 pins and hopefully a lanyard hole in the end piece.

[IMG][/IMG]

That's about it for now but I think the next thing I will do is start looking at the materials I will be using for the handle and also decide on fastener and pivot components. I don't want to drill any holes until I have a final game plan on how I plan on assembling it. I have a small selection of folder parts I purchased a couple years ago. My scale and liner choices may determine how I plan on assembling it. Keep checking back. Hopefully I have more to show later or tomorrow.
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Old 03-30-2016, 03:49 PM
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Dude, that is awesome! I'll admit that I had some doubts at first about using that blade, but you are pulling it off. Great work! It looks like we have a folder maker on our hands.


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Old 03-30-2016, 09:17 PM
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Thanks Chris. I also had my doubts a few times and I am still not free and clear but I can't wait to finish this one so I can start on another but next time it will be proper and from scratch.
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Old 03-30-2016, 09:24 PM
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A little more done tonight. Clearance for the spring is cut and the spring is in. I still have final fitting to do but I won't be doing that until after heat treat and everything is on the actual liners. So right, other than the fit and not having proper scales and liners, I have working folder. I have some tapped holes I still have to put in and a little more prettying up to do and the bar and back piece are ready for heat treat. Here are a couple more pics.


[IMG][/IMG]

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art, bee, blade, chris, design, drill, fastener, folder, full tang, grinder, heat treat, knife, knives, lock, make, material, pivot, post, scale, scales, scratch, tang


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