Well, it's about time that I got out to my shop and made some sparks. I've been overwhelmed with spring chores for the last few weeks, not to mention suffering through the flu for two full weeks. That was no fun at all. Being sick does make one grateful for his health when it returns.
My next endeavor is to build two knives which I intend to make available for purchase. I still need to recoup some funds from my grinder build. By the way, I don't know how I ever got by without a 2"x72" grinder. It really makes many of the jobs a breeze and has truly sped up my build process.
I usually like to make one knife at a time in order to focus on the details of that knife. This time around though, I decided to make two knives at the same time. I wanted to make another knife like the one I've been carrying for the last year, a design that I call "Virtue," and make it available for sale. I had two ideas for the same design kicking around in my brain, and since I couldn't decide on which one to make, I elected to make them both. I hope I can keep all the parts separate since they are both very similar.
Here's the beginning of the two knives. At the top of the photo you can see a picture of the shape of the "Virtue" design. I really like this little knife for its utility and comfort in the hand. It fits perfectly in your pocket too. You can see the two blades have both been profiled from CPM 154 steel. The other three items in the photo are two sets of liners and a set of scales that have been temporarily super glued together for profiling. These are all cut out of 6AL4V titanium. The first knife design will have these titanium scales which will be textured and carved. This should make for a very light weight and slim design. It will also have a lanyard hole at the back for a leather thong. The second design will have both front and rear bolsters with scales between. It will also be fitted with a pocket clip like the one I carry everyday.
I tried something a little different than I normally do when it comes to profiling. This time I elected to glue the paper patterns onto the pieces instead of tracing the pattern onto them with a Sharpie. I've seen many other makers do this and thought I would give it a try too. It worked pretty well, except for the fact that I couldn't dunk them in water to cool them off while grinding. The jury is still out on whether or not I will add this step to my future builds.
After much toil and labor most of the parts are ready to be fitted. I didn't take any action photos along the way (I should probably do a better job of taking pics) but there was a lot of drilling, tapping, counter sinking, grinding, and fitting screws. You can see in the top, right corner of the above photo two scales for knife #2. I've had a set of mammoth ivory scales for some time now that have been waiting for the right knife. I really love the looks of this mammoth, but they were really thin. I decided that this knife was the place they needed to be, so I glued some dark red spacer material to the backs to make the scales thick enough to use. I think they will look great when they are done.
Above you can see the liners have been fitted to their scales and bolsters. I grind the profiles of each piece down very close to the finished shape at this point. I still leave just a tiny bit extra for final fitting once they are assembled with the spacers in between the liners. You can't see it in the photo, but the bolsters and scales on the left knife have been dovetailed into each other. I dovetail at about 30 degrees, which gives it just the right look in my humble opinion. Don't you just love that mammoth?
At this stage, the handles are completely assembled and the final shape has been established. I think you can see how both are of the same design, but the final products should be truly unique. The blades have been places loose in the handles just to see what the finished knives will look like. Looking good!
Here is where I ended for the week. Lots of work equals lots of parts. The next step will be to do any file work on the blades before they get heat treated. I plan to embellish the bolstered knife with lots of file work, but I'm thinking about leaving the titanium scaled knife "Au Naturel". I think it will look really sleek with everything all smooth, but I haven't made up my mind yet.
I hope you enjoy following along with these builds. By the way, these are knives #23 and 24 if you are interested in knowing. I think I've finally fallen into my own style of building a folder. Most of what I have learned about folder building I have skimmed off the internet and adapted to my tools and my own style. Some day I'm going to have to find another maker and visit his shop and compare notes. Thanks for stopping by the Robinson Edge.
- Brandant Robinson
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