DDR knifekits?

M

Manji

Joined
Feb 21, 2002
Messages
1,205
was looking over the knife kits on knifekits.com and was wondering if anyone has one of them. They look pretty nice and the price is very reasonable imo. the Aus8 steel is not the greatest but will do i guess, and putting it together doesn't look to hard but how is the nice compared to similar priced production knives?
 
Hm... that got me interested too.
I wonder how hard it is to do the tapping for the clips. Some of them said that you have to tap the holes for the clip screws.
Also does anyone understand what they meant by the following?
Question: How do I align the blade in the center of the folder when installing it?
Answer: To put the blade in the center of the locking liner knife, make sure the pivot is snug to the washers. Then, tune the blade, so it has no wobble with the lock disengaged, but free enough to open and close .
Once this is achieved, loosen the screws that hold the bushings in place a small amount. Then, torque the liner with your hand in the forward or reverse direction to adjust the blade into the center of the liners. Tighten the screws to hold the liners in place, once you have it where it's correctly positioned. This should do it.
Click to expand...
 
I bought one last year, they are well worth the money and an excellent way to get your feet wet trying to make your own knives.
You can try to personalize/customize the kit to suit your tastes. Darryl Ralph designed the kits with exacting tolerances, the fit and finish as the kit comes is quite nice. There are many handle/scale options, including G-10, and Carbon Fiber. I'll edit this post later and add a picture of mine.

ddr1.jpg
 
I've done both of the 605 designs, both were a great time. One large with birds eye maple and the the smaller with Eucalyptus Burl. I was able to do both while living in apartments. The only hard part is drilling and countersinking the holes for the scales. As to quality compaired to similar priced productions knives, Great! It comes down to how well you finish it. I've been carrying smaller sense I finished it and it's a great small knife. You can take it out and no one gewts scared, and even the older ladies think it's a "handsome knife".
Later
 
How do you center the blade?
I've read the FAQ on knifekits.com and couldn't really understand how they do it.
Was the way described successful? I certainly got a blade that need centering.
 
I know some finishing is required, but that ain't one of my strongest points!

So how hard would it be for me to do?

Joe Shmoe - a cheaper a$$ed a dude as you will never find!
 
Calyth,
If you go to knifekits.com we have a forum where folks come and give advice on how to build the kits.
Just ask the question. If you dont understand keep asking .
Centering the blade is a simple procedure that just sound hard.
If you want give me you phone number and I will be glad to touch base with you and explain it.
Here is a link to the kit forum.
http://www.ckdforums.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=19
 
hey darrel are all the holes pre-drilled for the scales? I mean basically all you have to do is assemble the knife and screw it together? or is drilling necessary? Basically if you can completely take apart one of your knives and put it back together you can do the knife kit no problem right?
 
Yes they are. All the holes are drilled and tapped to assemble the knife.
They go together in about 15 mins (basic frame). Then you have to finish the handle scales, file work ect!
 
they come out pretty good, i like Jason Burns' one with the maple scales, very classy

is there much room for permanant error ? ie, stuffing up the knife completely while trying to put it together, or to put scales on ?

Daniel
 
Originally posted by Darrel Ralph
Yes they are. All the holes are drilled and tapped to assemble the knife.
They go together in about 15 mins (basic frame). Then you have to finish the handle scales, file work ect!
Click to expand...

i'm sorry but i've never had any experience with this sort of stuff, what exactly do you mean by finish the handle scales?
 
Darrel: Thanks for the help. I'll be very busy this and next week (stupid homework) so it wouldn't be convenient. I'll bet I'll find the info I'll need.
I can tell you, your knife kits are trying to throw off my plans of an engraved triplet. Man I need to win the lotto, knife knutting got me bad!!!! :D
 
I can't tell you how to center the blade either. I've built both the large and small folder and everything fit together perfectly with the blade centered both times so I didn't have to worry about it. When you're finished you'll have a knife that looks and functions like a more expensive knife. I enjoyed building both of them and use them regularly. I spent less than an hour on each one with the majority of the time spent finishing and polishing the knife because assembly is very easy. I used a woodworking stationary belt sander so I didn't spend much time grinding everything even. Then I used a bench grinder with buffing wheels to polish up everthing. You can do it by hand with sandpaper, of course. It just takes longer. It's a fun project that yields a nice knife. Take care.
 
Manji:

As far as I understand it, you get the complete knife, minus the scales on it. The scales you can buy are little slabs, so you have to frill the holes, sand the handle material to finished size, etc.
 
Cray,
You can either put your own handles on the kits orwe have handles scales that are pre-drilled and ready to assemble on to the frame.
With the upgrade handle scales you just screw them on to the frame then finish the handles out.
 
I hope he doesn't mind but I have to post this pic. Blade747 made this one for himself. The picture was originally posted in the Gallery section.

orig.jpg
 
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