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friction folders


jake cleland

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title pretty much says it all. C70 and stag. hopefully get them hardened tonight. all of these are 3" from tip to choil, which is the maximum for legal carry here, but i'm not sure if the long tangs will be seen as breaking the spirit, if not the letter, of the law, as essentially they work as a lock.

 

folder_group_1.jpg

 

folder_group_2.jpg

 

folder_group_3.jpg

 

let me know what you think. i'll post more pics when they're done.

Jake Cleland - Skye Knives

www.knifemaker.co.uk

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

 

Albert Einstein

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Jake I love them, very cool silhouette.

Let not the swords of good and free men be reforged into plowshares, but may they rest in a place of honor; ready, well oiled and God willing unused. For if the price of peace becomes licking the boots of tyrants, then "To Arms!" I say, and may the fortunes of war smile upon patriots

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Looks awesome Jake, hope they finish up well for you

J Anderson R

 

" Fools live to regret there words, wise men to regret there silence"- Will Henry

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thanks guys - Owen, i agree about the curlew thing - i notice that a lot of the wee knives i make have a zoomorphic feel...

anyway,i fileworked the spines and tangs tonight (though the design on the tang on the one on the left ended up a little... random i suppose would be a nice way to put it), and just got them hardened. this steel is weird - it hardens quite a bit hotter than non magnetic, and it generally takes me a couple of tries to get the hamon where i want it. they're in the oven now, and i should have some hamon pics by tomorrow night.

Jake Cleland - Skye Knives

www.knifemaker.co.uk

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

 

Albert Einstein

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Nice knives! Shouldn't be much problem with the law, as they're friction. From what I've gathered on the British forum as long as there is not a mechanical lock and it's 3" and under you're alright. Hope no one gives you any trouble though =]

Beau Erwin

www.ErwinKnives.com

Custom knives

Bcarta Composites

Stabilized Woods

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Way cool Jake. Show us some up close PICs of the workings. Now I know what to do with all those left over spikes !!

 

The knife laws are bozo. I used to live in NY, and got a great pocket knife story. This the place for it?

Jim Allen

Three Sisters Forge

Bend, Oregon

 

http://www.threesistersforge.com

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Way cool Jake. Show us some up close PICs of the workings. Now I know what to do with all those left over spikes !!

 

Jim, there's not much to show of the workings - a hole and a nail. obviously the heel and the tang are specific shapes, but that is dictated by the antler. the main trick is in the design. you have to start with the antler, which has to be pretty straight in one plane; i find that plane, and draw a line all the way along the centre, and extend it up through the cut face of the tine. then i make two cuts with a fine wood saw to make a slot for the blade, which comes out through the top of the antler about an inch at the pivot end, and a little at the tip determined by the curve - these cuts have to be deep enough that they make a slot at the deepest point of the curve. i then use a machine hacksaw blade to even out the cut.

 

i used to have a problem getting the pivot hole parrallel to the slot, but now i've figured out the trick - i put a couple of scraps of the blade steel (these are stock removal so the ricassos are completely parallel and i can control the shape very precisely) into the slot at each end, so it extends past the top and bottom of the slot, and then place the antler in a tool vise with the steel guides resting on top of the jaws, and tighten it up - this makes sure that the hole is exactly perpendicular to the slot.

 

now comes the blade design - i put the straight edge of a bit of card in the slot, and mark the curve of the antler; the edge can be any line you can draw between that curve and the card edge. i draw the edge shape and cut it out. then i put the edge shape back in the slot, and push a sharp nail through the pivot hole and card design. now i've defined the edge and the pivot. then its a matter of finding the heel shape, which is basically a circle the radius of which is the distance from the pivot hole to the top of the slot. now you have a template for these three things - edge, pivot and heel, and they remain constant for that particular piece of antler - the position of the tang and the back of the blade are aesthetic choices, so on other pieces of card you can play about with them until you get a blade shape and attitude you like. the reproduce your final card design exactly in steel.

 

i've just read over this and realise its not completely clear, so ill try and mock up some pics in a bit.

Jake Cleland - Skye Knives

www.knifemaker.co.uk

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

 

Albert Einstein

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i'll try and illustrate the steps, mby showing how i'd come up with a different blade design to fit this handle.

 

folder_process_1.jpg

 

slotting the stag with a wood saw - note fibre vice jaws.

 

folder_process_2.jpg

 

refining the slot with a machine hacksaw blade clamped in the vise

 

folder_process_3.jpg

 

drilling the slot - note steel guides.

 

folder_process_4.jpg

 

design - drawing the outline of the slot shape

 

folder_process_5.jpg

 

stag and solt shape outlined - the edge can go anywhere inside the outline of the stag.

 

folder_process_6.jpg

 

i've cut off the corner so that it clears the slot, and have drawn tho rough shape of the blade - note the tip has to be within the outline of the stag.

 

folder_process_7.jpg

 

now the overall shape is finalised.

 

folder_process_8.jpg

 

and cut out

 

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so i can design the tang shape

 

 

folder_process_11.jpg

 

 

finished design - ive marked the outline of the slot so i can further refine the shape so long as the whole edge is below that line, any blade shape will work.

 

folder_process_13.jpg

folder_process_12.jpg

Jake Cleland - Skye Knives

www.knifemaker.co.uk

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

 

Albert Einstein

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Great tutorial, I never thought of doing the handle first. Thanks

Edited by Ben Potter

Ben Potter Bladesmith

 

 

It's not that I would trade my lot

Or any other man's,

Nor that I will be ashamed

Of my work torn hands-

 

For I have chosen the path I tread

Knowing it would be steep,

And I will take the joys thereof

And the consequences reap.

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glad you like it. Ben, i've found that when you're working with stag in particular, or anything you cant change the shape of, it's far easier to fit the design to the material, especially with folders where each elemant has a direct impact on all the others - you can always change a blade shape, or move a hole, but the stag you got is the stag you got...

Jake Cleland - Skye Knives

www.knifemaker.co.uk

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

 

Albert Einstein

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glad you like it. Ben, i've found that when you're working with stag in particular, or anything you cant change the shape of, it's far easier to fit the design to the material, especially with folders where each elemant has a direct impact on all the others - you can always change a blade shape, or move a hole, but the stag you got is the stag you got...

 

Jake, Great tutorial. I also never thought about reverse order. I have been running around the woods trying to match a blade to an antler. The elk were not happy.

 

Thanks

Jim Allen

Three Sisters Forge

Bend, Oregon

 

http://www.threesistersforge.com

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Wow, those look quite nice. I've got a few bits of antler laying around that are too small for use as handles and I was going to try to use them as slabs for a small knife. I believe I'll try something like this though. For a first folder, it seems pretty do-able. They all look easy until you try though :-/

Have you ever thought about the life of steel? It's interesting to think that you can control the fate of a piece of metal.

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Jake is the steel CS70 ? I have never heard of c70 .

 

Owen, i'm honestly not sure what the actual designation of the steel is - i got it from dick tools in 2.5mm sheet. it's 0.7 carbon, and from how it behaves i would say not a lot else - very shallow hardening and tempers at really low temps. it's from sweden and is sold to make cores for laminated blades. it' takes a nice hamon even in oil, but is a bugger to etch. i got it just for sgian dubhs and wee folders. would make nice thin kitchen knives as well. i really like it - gonna have to get me some more.

Jake Cleland - Skye Knives

www.knifemaker.co.uk

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

 

Albert Einstein

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first one pretty much finished:

 

finished_folder_a1.jpg

 

finished_folder_a2.jpg

 

the hamon is much cooler in person.

Edited by jake cleland

Jake Cleland - Skye Knives

www.knifemaker.co.uk

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

 

Albert Einstein

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second one finished (pretty much - still need to peen down the rivet)

 

finished_folder_b1.jpg

 

finished_folder_b2.jpg

 

finished_folder_b3.jpg

Jake Cleland - Skye Knives

www.knifemaker.co.uk

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

 

Albert Einstein

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Those are some beautiful knives, good work.

Ben Potter Bladesmith

 

 

It's not that I would trade my lot

Or any other man's,

Nor that I will be ashamed

Of my work torn hands-

 

For I have chosen the path I tread

Knowing it would be steep,

And I will take the joys thereof

And the consequences reap.

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