CGFBM Mod...a Work In Progress: Updated 1/17/11

Lookin good! I'm not a big fan of carbon fiber handles, but that's me. I'm looking forward to seeing the end result. Any thoughts of grinding down the bevels on the blade?
 
gruntinhusaybah said:
Lookin good! I'm not a big fan of carbon fiber handles, but that's me. I'm looking forward to seeing the end result. Any thoughts of grinding down the bevels on the blade?
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You know, when I started this whole thing I had black G10 in mind. I was on USAKnifemaker.com looking for some G10 and then I saw the carbon fiber. I never had a knife in carbon fiber before so I thought it'd be worth it to try...but G10 is still an option. As for the bevels, I don't plan on getting rid of 'cause I like the way the knife looks. There's always time to change them later if I decide to though.
 
I made a little headway on some sheath orders this weekend and was feeling like I needed a break so I started work on my FBM project again.

Yesterday I met up with a local custom motorcycle builder and had him tig weld some rough-cut steel onto the general area where I wanted the finger notch. After that was finished up, I ran over to a local finishing shop and had them put a bead blast finish on the knife. This won't be the final finish of the knife...I just wanted to get an idea of what type of finish the shop was capable of producing. I think I like it just fine, so after I've got the handles epoxied on I will bring the knife back and have them got at it again.


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Now fast forward to today and the original piece of steel that was welded on has been transformed into a nice shapely finger notch by way of a lot of time and work. I did a rough-shaping of it on my belt sander and once I got to the point where I knew I could make a mistake and have to start over again, I began final shaping with a file. I didn't expect to have to hog out some of the actual knife steel but, as you can see in the pictures, I did to maintain the aesthetics of the knife. If I hadn't the notch would have looked oval-ish instead of round. You can see how much steel was ground away in the pictures where the original scales are laid on the knife.

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great work - nicely done. Reckon carbon fiber would be an awesome choice with some nice bright liners !
 
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Nice project. I would stick to canvas micarta rather than carbon fiber, especially if it is a user. Carbon fiber is real messy to work with, plus harder to shape if you don't have the right tools. It produces a very, very fine black dust that gets everywhere, plus the dust is real bad for the lungs, but you should have the proper breathing filter even with micarta. I also don't think the grip will be as good as canvas micarta, especially for a chopper. The carbon fiber will also be about two to three times as costly.

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The FBM is looking great, cool idea for it too. Hope it turns out to be a great chopper, will stay tuned:thumbup:
 
Those are some cool mods. :thumbup: The CG FBM is a great chopper in its stock configuration. ;)
 
I'm with Ducci on the carbon fiber concerns. It looks great and is nice on smaller knives, but I don't think I'd do it on a chopper. IIRC, I think I also read that carbon fiber tends to splinter on impacts. Of course, you don't usually plan on impacting a knife handle, but on a hard use chopper, you never know what may come up out in the woods.
 
Coming along great. I personally don't dig the finger grooves, but whatever floats your boat.
Very professional appearance so far. If that gets a coating or polish job, the weld will disappear.
:thumbup:
 
Coupchoux said:
Nice design, but you take a risk with the original heat treatment.
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Agreed. You take a risk with the original heat treat in the immediate vicinity of the weld. The blade is far enough away that it remains unaffected.


randucci said:
Nice project. I would stick to canvas micarta rather than carbon fiber, especially if it is a user. Carbon fiber is real messy to work with, plus harder to shape if you don't have the right tools. It produces a very, very fine black dust that gets everywhere, plus the dust is real bad for the lungs, but you should have the proper breathing filter even with micarta. I also don't think the grip will be as good as canvas micarta, especially for a chopper. The carbon fiber will also be about two to three times as costly.
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on_the_edge said:
I'm with Ducci on the carbon fiber concerns. It looks great and is nice on smaller knives, but I don't think I'd do it on a chopper. IIRC, I think I also read that carbon fiber tends to splinter on impacts. Of course, you don't usually plan on impacting a knife handle, but on a hard use chopper, you never know what may come up out in the woods.
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Also agreed. The more reading I do on carbon fiber and how difficult it can be to shape, the more I am leaning towards canvas micarta or G10. At this point, it's a toss-up between the two :D.
 
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kfgk14 said:
Coming along great. I personally don't dig the finger grooves, but whatever floats your boat.
Very professional appearance so far. If that gets a coating or polish job, the weld will disappear.
:thumbup:
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Thanks much :). I need to clean up the area around the notch to blend it in. After that, it should be ready for the handles.
 
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Wow, welding bits on even!!!!

Looks like that weld might have needed a bit more length on the piece you have left. Almost looks like there is a tiny gap fore and aft of the finger bump.

Great Idea, and one I would have never even though of what with the welding being so far out there!

Keep us posted!
 
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