Anyone like friction folders?

Yep Dave Cole is a top bloke, I have 1 on order with Dave. He's a mate of John's too.
Mitch
 
Thanks all! Mitch is right, Dave is a class act and a good friend of mine.In fact the weathered oak friction folder I posted belongs to Dave. We did a knife swap earlier in the year and that one was my offering to him. Yeah, I'm surprised to Lycosa!
 
Yes Dave is a GREAT!!! guy. He has donated time,knowledge and materials to me for the sole reason of helping me learn to make knives.

The FF you swapped to him an the sheath are AWESOME. I feel privilaged to have groped it :eek:


Good stuff John, do you have anymore you can post pics of?
 
Here you go.The first pics are a matched pair I made for a customer in Ohio.As you can probably tell, I like and use a lot of weathered oak, as do my customers!
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More nice 1's John.
What's the burl on the last 1? has a bit of character to it.
Xheers
Mitch
 
Wow, thanks for all the nice words guys. And Yes I have one of John's folders as they are top notch as is he.Here's a few of mine, a bit more contemporary than John's.Dave:D

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Hey Dave, glad you put a few of yours in here! Make no mistake, your folders are awesome too.Actually yours are probably more traditional than mine, with yours being of slotted construction.
 
This seems a good place to ask the makers of these very interesting knives: friction folders always have the tang extension and some appear much longer than others. Assuming longer being more secure when open and shorter more convenient when closed, what would be your opinion for a practical minimum length? Are there ways to minimize any inconvenience of a long extension in daily carry?

Thanks :)
 
Blue Sky said:
This seems a good place to ask the makers of these very interesting knives: friction folders always have the tang extension and some appear much longer than others. Assuming longer being more secure when open and shorter more convenient when closed, what would be your opinion for a practical minimum length? Are there ways to minimize any inconvenience of a long extension in daily carry?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

I'm no expert by any means, and these are my opinions only. I would think that a tang extention of 1 inch would be about the minimum for good thumb purchase. As far as the second question,it is recommended that friction folders be carried in a pouch or sheath to reduce the risk of it coming open in your pocket. All of mine come with multi carry sheaths, meaning they can be worn either on the belt, or around the neck via a removable lanyard. The only exception to this was a couple I made early on with belt carry only. I have since went with a different design that allows multi carry. I might add that the sheath design I use now is most probably an original design of Karen Shook. I find this sheath design to be perfect for this application as it is small enough to be comfortably worn around the neck, and large enough to be worn on the belt.
I hope this answers your question to your satisfaction.
 
I made my first friction folder about 18 years ago and they have been alot of fun.I totally agree with my good friend John, one inch is about the minimum unless you are making a very small one.I also agree with sheath carry for most cases.That being said,I still have my first and carry it daily in my pocket,but it is a small one.The thing about friction folders is that the blade tension is controlled by peening the pivot so you can snug it up for pocket carry, but must realize that temperature changes and wear will loosen it up and could result in getting cut.For the last several years I have been using bronze bushings in my blades for the pivot and using washers to allow me to tighten the tension without hurting the ease of opening. Dave:)
 
Dave, YVW. I,ll be callin you soonish as ive a couple of things i need your help with.

Blue, im just a beginner but the ones i make only protrude 1\2 to 3/4 of an inch and FLIP open one handed ( fingered) very nicely. I carry mine in pocket.
 
Good work Dave!!!
Blue Sky said:
This seems a good place to ask the makers of these very interesting knives: friction folders always have the tang extension and some appear much longer than others. Assuming longer being more secure when open and shorter more convenient when closed, what would be your opinion for a practical minimum length? Are there ways to minimize any inconvenience of a long extension in daily carry?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

I think it's persomal preferennce, I don't like them too long. I do like the scroll style on John's tang & the pin & slot on Daves's let's you know where it is. Friction folders are like any knife, the more you use it the better feel of what it can do. As said above sheaths are a must in my opinion.
Cheers
Mitch
 
mitch13 said:
Good work Dave!!!


I think it's persomal preferennce, I don't like them too long. I do like the scroll style on John's tang & the pin & slot on Daves's let's you know where it is. Friction folders are like any knife, the more you use it the better feel of what it can do. As said above sheaths are a must in my opinion.
Cheers
Mitch
Click to expand...

You are right Mitch. I think it is a personal preferance as well. The nice thing about friction folders is you can make them as plain and simple, or as fancy and decked out as you want them to be and everything in between. One day I am going to get around to making one for my own personal use, if I can ever get time!
 
Yep you need 1 yourself. Don't you keep protos for youself when you try something a little different?
Cheers
Mitch
 
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