Designing a flipper advice

bradlox

bradlox

Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
389
Hey Bfers ,
Question regarding flipper tab position..
I gather the " best " location for a flipper tab ( closed ) is just forward of the pivot . Offering the most leverage?
I'm wondering how this can be overcome allowing designs with the tab behind the pivot ??
As an example there's a Fox Anso flipper with the tab just behind the pivot and seems to flip quite well . Is it a matter of perfecting the ball detent ?
I'm a novice knife maker and in early design stages of my first flipper.
Any advice would be great !!
Thanks
 
Flipper action is a matter of hard earned experience and voodoo. Everything affects everything. A stronger detent can certainly help overcome less-than-ideal tab placement. There is a new video out that Tracy Mickley and Les Voorhies put together. I understand it is pretty good. You might want to pick that up from USA Knifemakers Supply.

Bob
 
Hey thanks I'll look it up , I had a sneaky feeling voodoo was involved . I guess trial and error is a major factor.
 
Ive been drawing one on cad for about 20 hours or so. Finally have something i'm going to try, but it doesn't take long to realize how much work custom makers put into their work to get a nice working flipper.
I made a model out of card stock too and still know I'm going to run into issues when i build a prototype.
It's fun though!
If you look in the stickys, there is a great wip by Salem Straub. He took alot of the guess work out of it.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/916004-Virtual-BBQ-WIP-GNiCr40Al4-frame-lock-folder
There are some other tutorials on other sites as well.
 
I'm not at computer stage yet .
totally is fun , my desk is littered with blades and handles cut from plastic sheet as mock ups .
i developed my own method of "riveting" parts together to get a feel for the action . i use nylon thread and a needle to go though the pivot / standoffs , cut leaving 1/8 and hit with a lighter to make a hot blob that i flatten . holds the mock up together quite well .
 
The cool thing about cad is you can alter it while you're designing rather than have to cut another prototype. There are a few nice free cad programs out there. I'm using inkscape right now. I had 0 experience with cad so it took me some tutorials to learn it. But it's great because you can movr your pivot point and see how your knife will fold/flip.
 
Tolerances are critical to building a good flipper.

I have lots of flippers in my collection. The best have the tightest tolerances. I know a few knifemakers who try and get their tolerances to +-.0001". These tolerances are challenging, but the knives work great and sell well.

Chuck
 
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