Custom Folding Chopper

The design is cool but for me I prefer a little more belly. I feel the way your blade straight with the handle would take a bit away from the force behind a chop. I could be wrong. I like my blades to stick out just a little so the cutting edge meets the target a tad before my hand is level with it.
 
you're right Jon. I think I'll tweak the design some more, removing more of the backspacer to allow the edge to drop some, and then take a little off the spine as well. Pretty happy with the handle design for the most part, but there is definitely room for refinements especially since this knife won't be cheap to get made. I know who I'd like to have make it for me, and so far he hasn't said no, so we'll see what happens I guess.
 
Despite who Lynn Thomson is, the man was smart to hire Andrew Demko to design his latest folders.

I would contact Mr Demko, no one makes a stronger folder in my humble opinion.

Try doing this to your framelock and see if it still works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDDQGmW2Hrg

As far as I know, Andrew's still taking custom orders and is one heck of good guy too. :thumbup:

demkoknives@yahoo.com
 
Lorien,
I am very interested in this project. Like Haley said, I have been a folding chopper fan since way back. Despite the negative press on CS, I have to admit that FOR THE MONEY, I have been pleased with almost all of my CS purchases. The Raja II is as close as I have come to fitting the bill. Having said that, I still want more, and I have pretty much resigned myself that I am going to have to make it myself. This thread has renewed my interest, and shown me some interesting custom options.
Folders have not been my focus, but I want to add them to my list of skills. I have even thought about retro-fitting a factory folder that has a good lock and handle design with a custom damascus or carbon blade that is ground and heat treated for real use.

Some years back a friend showed me a WW-II vintage folding machette. Maybe you have seen one? It's a big ugly recurve chopper about 12-14 inches in blade with a folding handle. The lock is basically just a huge frame lock, and the pivot looks to be no more than a 1/4" bolt. It's not what we are looking for, but if it was Jar-head proof, it may be worth studdying. I kind of like the idea of a pivot that can be easily tightened with simple tools.

Looking forward to seeing how this moves along for you.

Adam-
 
It would be fun to work on something like this with you Adam.
 
Rajah II has a stupid long handle.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I checked that cs rajah thing out this morning, and I agree it's damn ugly. That knife is also too big I still want to be able to fit the thing in my pocket and be able to hike around in the bush comfortably. Maximum handle length would probably be about 6".
The triad lock is pretty friggin impressive though. Unbelievably strong from what I saw on Demko's youtube demo.
 
Large folding knives are not without historic example though called Folding Bowies as opposed to folding choppers.
Wostenholm, Wragg, W. Butcherand Sheffield among others made some pretty hefty examples. Seemed to be popular back in the early to mid 1800s.
One particular example by Mills of London was nearly 13" long and weighted about a pound and 1/2.

Interesting project Lorien.
 
Kevin, any links to or pictures of that old stuff would be great to see!
 
I think something like this would be awesome. But I'm seeing you probably would prefer a more curvy blade. I had two small fixed blades with this design by Burch and they chopped great.

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Speaking of folding bowies, I like them! I don't really have good pictures but I have seen Bradshaw do small dress versions and this Holdson shown isn't quite what I would consider a folding bowie but I like it and think its close. IMO the edge would drop more at the ricasso for it to be a folding bowie. I'm no expert and I'm curious..

MarkHolson14.jpg
 
Lorien, I have been fascinated by the d'Estaing pattern for a while now but I suspect this won't work with your "pocketable" requirement.

Bailey Bradshaw's folding bowies are exquisite but I think you'd need to beef the proportions up a bit to use for chopping anything besides herbs. :D
 
I got in touch with Andrew Demko, and he sent me these pictures;

shop013.jpg


4MAX001.jpg


The big one is his new 4MAX design which he said is meant to outperform most of the 4" bladed folding knives currently available. I don't doubt that he's on the right track. This is a pretty amazing design.

Hopefully I'll get a pic or two of his Rajah proto at some point.

I just have to say, that he was extremely fast and thorough in his response, I was very impressed.
 
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this one has a little more drop than I expected. It's quite difficult to design a folding knife- every one thing affects the other, and not just changing lines here or there to dial in the flow, but mechanical interference is a whole other thing. Anyway, this is a lot of fun! I need to get a proper drafting table.
 
5 1/4" blade;
IMG_51531.jpg
 
I'm getting pretty close to a final design. The most recent isn't complete yet, but I'll post it when it is.

Starting to think about various options wrt steel, your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

So far I've considered;
CPM 3V, 9V or M4HC
CPM S90V, S35VN, 154CM
Uddeholm Elmax

S35VN has a pretty good combination of wear and corrosion resistance and toughness, so I'm kind of leaning that way.
What do you guys think?
 
Lorien, Those Demko prototypes look pretty beastly, but for chopping I would stay away from hollow grinds. Go flat or convex and you won't have to worry about edge damage as much, and it will chop better. All those steels you mentioned are a bit of a mystery to me. I hear great things about the S35VN, but never used it. If it was me, of course I would go with carbon steel like W-2 or Cru-forge, or high performance damascus. Kevin Cashen's O-1/L-6 is hard to beat for strength and edge holding, and a smal piece like that may not cost much more than some of the CPM stuff. Matter of fact, I have some, and if you wanted to go that route I would donate it to the cause.

STeven, Have to agree about the Raja handle. It could be modified to look better and be a bit more compact.
Adam-
 
JParanee said:
Lorien I do not think chopper and folder really go together

Try a cs Espada they have a strong lock and are big

Here is the mid size one with a 9 1/2 inch blade Bowie for comparison

I still do not suggest a folding chopper my friend

knives091.jpg
Click to expand...


I disagree. Try a CS Spartan chopping through a 2x4, and you'll rethink that. Would I choose it, or any folder, over a comparable fixed blade? Nope. But there are good folding 'choppers' outh there that would definitely work.
 
Adam, thanks for the steel offer! That's very kind of you. I'll send you a pattern if you want, and you can go to town with it. Problem is, they're unproven! But I've done the legwork of coming up with a design which, hopefully, is half the battle. Anyway, if you're interested drop me a line and I'll put a couple copies of these in the mail to you.

Thing with carbon steel for a folder like this is corrosion. Personally, I'd prefer something which won't corrode too easily, but I hear ya on the performance aspects of carbon steel. Generally I prefer it for fixed blades.

As for the grinds- for sure, flat grind all the way. Not really a big fan of hollow grinds in any context personally, and on a knife like this that would be a recipe for disaster and poor performance.

This knife isn't to replace a fixed blade. It's for convenience, (and fun!) and for when a fixed blade isn't that practical to carry around. On my cycle commute to and from work, I use a variety of local trails which grow over quite a bit, and a folder in the pocket to chop away blackberry tendrils and the like would be handy. Carrying around my SMC might raise the odd eyebrow or two, and I don't really need to be raising more eyebrows than I already do ; )
 
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