CPM 3V fighter prototype

jdm61

jdm61

itinerant metal pounder
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
47,357
This a a little fighter prototype that i made in .207 thick CPM 3V. I went with a kind of modified San Francisco shape on the blade. It is not only one of my first PM steel knives (I did several at once) but also one of my first stock removal blades and full tag knives. Sorry for the ugly table pic. I will try to get a better one. It is a bit rough. One thing that I did learn is that on future "mid tech" style versions, the choil cutout will be ROUND so it can be finished more easily. The blade is 6 inches MOL and the handle on this one is black canvas Micarta. In the future, I will look at G10 or carbon fiber because that Micarta makes for a heavier knife IMO. That may be an issue with big ull tang blades, even with a skeletonized handle, but I want to examine the other possibilities. All in all, a very educational experience and I like the blade shape.
IMG_0089.jpg
 
Looks great. I like the hole in the spine/thumb ramp area. I would like to see a few more shots!
 
That looks really great Joe. I like that knife a lot. I don't think micarta is heavier than G10 or CF. Any weight difference in these materials would certainly not be noticable just by feel, IMO.
 
Hmmm. This one balanced about 1/2 inch behind the guard which is, well, about 1/2 inch back from where I normally like the balance to be on a mid sized fighter.:D Like I said, that may be because it is my first big full tang knife and because i still tapered the blade similar to how I would on a forged hidden tang blade. I don't want to change the taper. I know I can be a little more aggressive with the skeletonizing of the tang when using water jet cutting, so that might help. I am a bit of a stickler on the whole balance thing. Even the BIG bowies that I have done like the almost Musso sized one I did a while back balance right around the plunge cut. This is all kind of new to me.
raylaconico said:
That looks really great Joe. I like that knife a lot. I don't think micarta is heavier than G10 or CF. Any weight difference in these materials would certainly not be noticable just by feel, IMO.
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LOL. Aaron, I will say that you do take good picturtes and you did, in fact, get a picture of my damascus bowie on the Pelican Parts Porsche forum, IIRC. :D
bluejaunte said:
I will gladly take and post decent pics of that knife if you send it to me first. :D
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I will take some of this one and its little brother (4 inch bushcraft style knife in the same materials) tomorrow. I am thinking that I will also put a lanyard hole on the heel in susequent versions becuase I am all about choices. :D With that said, you will probably have to beat me with a Louisville Slugger to get me to put jimping on the ramp and serrations? Forget about it!!! :eek:;) I am thinking about using stainless (egad!!!!) like S35VN, Elmax or CTS-XHP in the future now that I have had to make a deal with the Devil (using commericial heat treating) :D
Bigfattyt said:
Looks great. I like the hole in the spine/thumb ramp area. I would like to see a few more shots!
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Welcome to the Bright Side. Not as easy as it looks, is it? :D Full-tang construction with tool or stainless steel means a lot more than just "grinding away everything that doesn't look like a knife".

jdm61 said:
This is all kind of new to me.
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Despite any skeletonizing, you will almost certainly have to taper a full tang to achieve the balance you want, no matter what handle material you use... and it's still tricky. .207" is pretty dang thick for such a short knife, and if you're putting a nice distal taper and full flat grind on the blade (removing somewhere in the neighborhood of half its mass, probably more?), you absolutely must taper the tang as well, or it will handle like a brick.

Frankly, you don't need stock that thick in the first place for a knife that size in 3V, unless you plan to disassemble brick walls with it. In which case, balance goes out the window.
 
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I must admit I don't worry about balance as much as you do. As long as it doesn't feel like a brick I'm good with it. I never measure whether the balance is at the guard or .5"'either way. I think that design looks great and I would be happy with it.
 
Yeah, grinding the blade isn't really any different aside from the amount of steel you have to remove. What is different is the tang and handle!!! As for the thickness, I am not sure that people will seriously look at a tactical knife this size that uses much tinner stock. I also think that I can sculpt the handle a bit more in addition to skeletonizing the tang more effectively. I used 3/8 micarta which didn't look all that thick before I put it on the knife. I think I could get away with .300 G10 or carbon as a starting point, I have some carbon in that thickness, so I may try it on the next one.
james terrio said:
Welcome to the Bright Side. Not as easy as it looks, is it? :D Full-tang construction with tool or stainless steel means a lot more than just "grinding away everything that doesn't look like a knife".



Despite any skeletonizing, you will almost certainly have to taper a full tang to achieve the balance you want, no matter what handle material you use... and it's still tricky. .207" is pretty dang thick for such a short knife, and if you're putting a nice distal taper and full flat grind on the blade (removing somewhere in the neighborhood of half its mass, probably more?), you absolutely must taper the tang as well, or it will handle like a brick.

Frankly, you don't need stock that thick in the first place for a knife that size in 3V, unless you plan to disassemble brick walls with it. In which case, balance goes out the window.
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IMG_0095.jpg
Here is another pic of the knife along with its little brother. The smaller knife has a blade a hair over 4 inches and was make from .172 3V.
 
jdm61 said:
As for the thickness, I am not sure that people will seriously look at a tactical knife this size that uses much tinner stock.
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And that's what I meant by "disassembling brick walls". There's only so much you can do, balance-wise, with a full-tang knife that thick and short... although tapering does help, with essentially zero loss of strength. Folks who want a tactical knife understand that, and generally it doesn't bother them.
 
BTW, these are both for sale over in the knifemakers sale area.
 
The big one apparently went over well. It is on its way to a new home. :D
 
I will James, but like I said, I have to tweak the designs a bit to make them a little easier to finish.
 
Hi Joe,
Try drilling a few holes in the tang to change the balance point. When you get it where you want it, mix some epoxy with micro-balloons to fill the holes. You don't want to leave them empty because after the scales are glued on, the holes become expansion chambers due to changes in temperature. That's how I do it and it seems to work quite well.
Tim
 
Tim, I actually skeletonized the tang by hand, which was a pain in the butt. I was hesitant to go as close to the edge as you might when you have then water jet cut,so I will probably loose a little bit more weight doing that. I am using West 105/205 with the colloidial silica filler as adhesive, but I might try the microballoon filler for, well, filler, in the future.
tim37a said:
Hi Joe,
Try drilling a few holes in the tang to change the balance point. When you get it where you want it, mix some epoxy with micro-balloons to fill the holes. You don't want to leave them empty because after the scales are glued on, the holes become expansion chambers due to changes in temperature. That's how I do it and it seems to work quite well.
Tim
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