BingaLor

Check this out!




So, the steel forging part is done. Tomorrow we'll get back into the assembly of this lil beauty. Actually, not that little- that blade is 4" long.
 
I have to apologized to everyone for the crappy pics. We will be sending this off to the young mister Caleb when finish I promise.


Thanks for following along.

Lot more to come.

Bing
 
Bing, your photos are just fine brother!

Time to work on the backspacer. While I'm not against the idea of a knife built with standoffs and an open construction, I feel that a full length backspacer is a great way to improve the feel of a folding knife. In the case of this particular knife, the backspacer gives Bing an opportunity to show off yet more damascus. That's an important feature, I think, for a knife that is made in this way as it can elevate the aesthetic that saavy collectors cherish.

Of note regarding this knife are the clearances, which are super tight. The blade in its closed position comes to within 1mm of the backspacer, which leaves little room to screw up.

Here the damascus backspacer is being roughed out to near its finished dimension;




Using some superglue to attach the backspacer temporarily to the liners. Only a few little dots of glue are necessary;




Clamping everything together with the glue cures;




Back drilling to get the alignment dowels in before back drilling for the screw holes;




Drilling for the 2-26 fasteners;




Liners and back spacer are doweled, and the fasteners are holding everything together. Bing will usually use 2, 2-56 fasteners with a backspacer, but this backspacer is longer than what he usually uses, so he's added and additional fastener for strength;




Next stop; stop pin assembly
 
Loving this WIP. Thank you Bing and Lorien. Good stuff.
 
gga357 said:
Excellent. The blade pattern turned out really nice.
Click to expand...

I agree with Greg--really like that blade pattern. The angle where the top line of the handle falls away toward the butt appears more rounded than in some of the sketches. Had been concerned that was too sharp a corner, but it's looking good now. :thumbup:
 
Today, we're on to the stop pin.

The stop pin hole has already been located in the liners. The next step, shown here, is to drill a hole through the tang which will locate the beginning of the stop pin channel. This hole is drilled with the blade in the closed position. Don't screw up here, or the tip will either be exposed, of the blade's edge will bang into the back spacer.




Now, the tang is drilled in the open position. Much less difficult to screw up here, or at least less chance of creating a fatal flaw.



*Interesting sidenote; I designed this folder with 170 degrees of rotation. This allows for a slightly dropped blade profile which I have a bias toward. Seeing this particular methodology of build has gotten me thinking about my design process. That, in itself, makes this project well worth the price of admission for me. As an aspiring designer, education and learning are of utmost significance, and working with Bing on this project so far has been a huge mind opener for me and an excellent step forward toward achieving my goals. Thanks again, Bing!


Now that the binginning, (see what I did there?) and the terminus of the stop pin channel have been established, it's time to mill in the channel itself. Bing's using a carbide burr, instead of an end mill, as that works best and fastest for him.




Another view;




The stop pin channel has been completed, and here's how it looks;




Before the end of the day, I will post up two more pictures, showing the blade and handle assembled. I have a feeling you are going to like what you see....
 
Thanks a lot, Dudley, John and Greg. I'm glad you're liking what you've been seeing! I think it's safe to speak for Bing here, and thank you on his behalf.

Will York said:
I agree with Greg--really like that blade pattern. The angle where the top line of the handle falls away toward the butt appears more rounded than in some of the sketches. Had been concerned that was too sharp a corner, but it's looking good now. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Will, sharp convergences of line are almost always to be avoided in handle design. I see a lot of contemporary knives, some of which are quite excellent in almost every regard, use these abrupt convergences of line to build a dramatic impression. Personally, I am more interested in creating as perfect an ergonomic handle as I can. As Bob Loveless was attributed to have saying, a knife handle shouldn't feel dissimilar to holding one's own phallus. It's an odd thought to have in one's head whilst creating a knife handle, but it's something that's always easy to check, since most of us carry our 'handle comfort gauge' with us, 24/7 ;)
 
Thanks so much for the WIP. I was wondering how the stop pin slot would be cut and the solution is quite simple but brilliant. I really love the action on flippers and the clean look without thumb studs or holes in the blade. However, I don't like the oversized hooks/guards... what ever you call them, that often break up the visual flow. I really like how this stop pin solution that allows for a very subdued flipper guard that really flows will with the lines of the knife. However, it does look like a potential weak point if the HT/Temper isn't done right.
 
FullyTorque said:
Thanks so much for the WIP. I was wondering how the stop pin slot would be cut and the solution is quite simple but brilliant. I really love the action on flippers and the clean look without thumb studs or holes in the blade. However, I don't like the oversized hooks/guards... what ever you call them, that often break up the visual flow. I really like how this stop pin solution that allows for a very subdued flipper guard that really flows will with the lines of the knife. However, it does look like a potential weak point if the HT/Temper isn't done right.
Click to expand...

you make a good point. If you look at the original sketch, you'll see that I located the slot as close as possible to the rear of the tang. I did that in order to build as close to a equillateral triangle as I could, (stop pin, pivot and lockface being the points) which is impossible to do but you can get close. And also to ensure that there is plently of meat between the edge and the stop pin. A hidden stop pin is going to be inherently weaker in a number of ways compared to a standard frame mounted stop pin and weaker than a blade mounted stop pin. But what are you going to do with a knife like this? Dig a hole? Chop down a tree? Baton yourself some firewood? If that was the intent, I'd have designed it differently.

A hidden stop pin is magic when you want to build a clean, fast flipper!

As for the points I made in the first paragraph, take note that the thickness of the tang is .16". There is lots of material there, and you can bet your ass that Bing will ensure proper hardness in order to keep wear from developing.

Thank you for your comment regarding the flow of the flipper guard. That's something I spent a great deal of time to get right.
 
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I wanted to draw this out a bit, get these following pics at the top of page 4, but I can't wait.

Check this out!




 
That is going to be one fine looking folder.

Lorien said:
Thanks a lot, Dudley, John and Greg. I'm glad you're liking what you've been seeing! I think it's safe to speak for Bing here, and thank you on his behalf.



Will, sharp convergences of line are almost always to be avoided in handle design. I see a lot of contemporary knives, some of which are quite excellent in almost every regard, use these abrupt convergences of line to build a dramatic impression. Personally, I am more interested in creating as perfect an ergonomic handle as I can. As Bob Loveless was attributed to have saying, a knife handle shouldn't feel dissimilar to holding one's own phallus. It's an odd thought to have in one's head whilst creating a knife handle, but it's something that's always easy to check, since most of us carry our 'handle comfort gauge' with us, 24/7 ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks, Lorien--I always wondered why Bob put such abbreviated guards on his knives. Makes perfect sense now. :thumbup:
 
Lorien said:
But what are you going to do with a knife like this? Dig a hole? Chop down a tree? Baton yourself some firewood? If that was the intent, I'd have designed it differently.

A hidden stop pin is magic when you want to build a clean, fast flipper!
Click to expand...

I definately didnt mean to criticize, so I'm glad you didnt take it as such. Dig a hole or baton with this beauty!? Blasphemy!!
 
FullyTorque

I definately didnt mean to criticize, so I'm glad you didnt take it as such. Dig a hole or baton with this beauty!? Blasphemy!!
Click to expand...

We didn't take you comment as criticizing in any way. We welcome all questions and will do our best to answer. When I first started doing liner lock folders this was a question I ask. With the hidden pins. It was explained to me much the same as Lorien explained. If we take the pivot / stop pin / and lock we have 3 points of contact. This will be solid if I get the lock the correct length. ( will be discuss more in a near future post). There is only a small amout of room in this triangle to stuff a lot of parts. It may appear to be a weak link.


Thanks for commenting

Bing
 
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