A Gentleman’s Scale Release Auto

Chris Crawford

Chris Crawford

Joined
Apr 14, 2001
Messages
380
I’ve just made my first fully finished scale release automatic. I made two prototypes to get the method down prior to finishing this knife. The knife is 3 1/4 inches closed, 5 1/2 inches opened, and the blade is 2 3/8 inches. The bolsters and liner are nickel silver, the blade is 01 tool steel, and the scales are dyed bone by Chuck Helton. The action is driven by a coil spring, and it’s smooth and quick. The knife actually turned out better than I had expected, and I’m looking forward to making more of these.

Questions and comments are welcome.

Thanks -chris

image.asp
 
Excuse the shouting, but "WOW!!"
Very nice, like the looks of that bone too.
Regards,
Greg
 
That is a beautiful knife, Chris. I love the overall design and that is a very nice looking piece of bone. Can't wait to see where you go with these!:)
 
Nice looking knife. I don't see a lock. Is it a lock back or does the scale release also serve to lock the blade in the open position?
 
That's a beauty. I don't usually like natural handle materials, but those bone scales work really nicely with the shape of the handle. Nice to see O1, too.
 
Thanks for the compliments.

Krept, I'm not sure what the actual regulations are reguarding the marketing of these knives. I've been wanting to make one for a while for me to carry. I like the way that it works so much that I plan to make a few more.

Andrew, This knife is made like a lockback, but the tang of the blade has a second notch on its underside. The tooth of the lockbar drops into the bottom notch to lock the knife closed, and into the top notch to lock the knife opened. The pivot for the lockbar is hid under the scales. The round looking thing in the center of the bloster is the blade's pivot pin and not a push button.

The nice thing about this style of knife is that if you didn't know it, you can not tell that it's an auto. In fact, nobody that I've showed the prototypes to has been able to even figure out how to open the knife. You have to know the "trick" to open it.

-chris
 
What a smart looking blade! Definitely a Gent's knife.
 
Michael, No it's not my own design. It was explained to me by David Winston of Starkville, MS. I believe it's how most scale release autos work, but because I've never been able look at one, I still had a good bit to figure out. -chris
 
Thanks Dan. I hope to write a tutorial on it, and I've thought about making a video. When I started this knife I video taped about an hour and a half of footage. I stopped because it took an hour and a half to do about 45 minutes worth of work. I wanted to go ahead get this one finished so I would have something to carry. Maby I'll give the tutorial/video another shot when I make another one.

-chris
 
Wow, what a nice knife! You're planning on carrying it? You lucky dog! I would buy a video if you get one together. Please let us know if you do.
 
Chris, great knife. Mel Pardue showed me how to make the button release last year using the same type of spring mechanism. I looked at the components of your prototype on your web site. What I don't understand is the "trick" to unlock the knife.
Paul
 
Nice one Chris
I like it
RI and Oregon is the two I know of that's OK with autos.
It would be real nice and I'd be glad to add it,
if you wanted to add to the knife makers tutorial page.
thanks for showing it.
 
Chris, Nice knife! I think its cool when makers tackle the difficult ones and succeed. Classic styling.
 
Chris, there isn't much left for me to say, that's a beautiful knife and figuring out the scale release is a respectable accomplishment. All your knives show a deceptively simple elegance you almost never see anywhere else. You can count me in for the video or tutorial.

Did you ever get that sunfish made? A scale release sunfish sounds like a match made in heaven to me. :cool:

Dave
 
PaulS, Did you see Mel Pardue at Batson's Symposium last year? I got to go this past spring, and I spent most of my time listening and talking to Mr. Pardue. I was hoping that he would cover the autos in his sessions, but we ran out of time. However, he was nice enough to stay an extra hour after the symposium and go over how they work with me one on one. I also got to see his MasterSmith Damascus series of autos that were featured in Knives Illustrated a few months ago.

The "trick" to opening the scale release auto is knowing that one of the scales actually pivots on the blade’s pivot pin and moves up allowing the blade to fly open. Because pins go all the way through both sides of a traditional folding knife, the idea that one side can move independent of the other is foreign to conventional thinking. When I hand the knife to someone and ask them to open it, they do everything from pressing on the bolsters to trying to open the blade by pure force. (That usually when I take the knife away.) Even when I tell them how to open it, I usually have to show them before they can do it for themselves.


ddavelarsen, I've not made the sunfish yet, but I still plan to sometime. When I was at Batson's Symposium, I got to meet and talk to Don Hanson. He's the guy that made the automatic sunfish that had the mosaic bolsters and the bluegill scrimshawed on the scales that was featured in one of the knife mags a few months back.

I do plan on making a video tutorial of the scale release auto, and I may do it on the next auto that I make. I realized the other night, as I was filming, that I was filming too much information. If I had continued, the video would have lasted from 4 to 6 hours after editing. My plan is to make the running length of the video be between an hour and an hour and a half. I don't think I’ll film things like "Here is how you chuck a bit up into the drill press." I think I’ll exclude detailed routine information that anyone would know if they have made a folder. (Which I would recommend before trying an auto.) I'll let you guys know when I make it and get it finished. It will probably be a couple of months though.

-chris
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top