Buying folder frame parts?

[lanternnate]

Im toying with the idea of making a folder. I'm not really tooled up to do a folder from scratch. I'm just a hobby tinkerer who makes knives for the fun of it, and making a folder will fall into the sub tinkering of tinkering category for me (as in I may only ever attempt to make one). That leaves me not really wanting to tool up to make one. I was trying to figure out if I could purchase most of the parts that would require more tooling and just make the blade and scales. I've found a lot of folder parts and pieces that can be purchased, but I haven't found a place to buy the frame or frame and spring (depending on type of folder). Are there any places that sell such?

My other thought was buying one of the inexpensive kit knives and using it for parts but make my own blade to fit in it and scales to go on it. If it's not possible to buy the parts separately, I'm wondering if anyone has tried this and if so how well it worked out. Thanks guys!

 

[AVigil]

You can buy kits from usa knifemaker and knife kits.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I have bought a knifekits.com kit and tossed the blade and bolsters. I use the liners/frame for making a damascus knife. The old blade and bolsters can help as patterns. This is a good way to learn how the parts are made and fit together. This way you can change the blade shape/type, do any amount of customization, embellish, etc.

 

[lanternnate]

Thanks Stacy. That's a good point on using the binned bits as patterns to get started. I think that's the plan I'll go with.