Drop Point Integrels

J

jchubb

Joined
Sep 14, 2000
Messages
224
Hello, Why are these cosidered to be one of the more difficult knives to make?? Is it because of the machining?? I sure love them though. I like the folders also , particularly the Chris Reeve Sebenza. I was just wondering on the issue above though. Thanks, JC

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Jonathan Chubb
 
The master is Edmund Davidson for the type of knife you are discussing. Check his stuff out.
Bob
 
Here's a Terrill Hoffman pic of an Edmund Davidson intergral camp knife. That whole knife - except for the ironwood handles - is made from one solid chunk-o-steel, BG-42 if I remember correctly. Most knives have separate blades, guards, buttcaps, etc... When you think about how many chances there are to screw something up on a knife, I would think that the degree of difficulty is much higher when trying to make a whole knife out of a single piece of steel.

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Kelly
My Custom Knife Collection

Member NCCKG, SCAK, and AKTI

Deo Vindice
 
Ricardo Velarde and Dietmar Kressler make integrals. So does Steve Johnson, Flavio Poratelli and Aad Van Ryswyk.

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"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
George Orwell
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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by dogman:
Ricardo Velarde and Dietmar Kressler make integrals. So does Steve Johnson, Flavio Poratelli and Aad Van Ryswyk.

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Click to expand...

These guys are the creme de la creme. Add to them another relatively unknown guy from Northern Italy who is absolutely in the same class with Kressler and Johnson & Velarde, IMO:

Reinhard Tschager
Piazza Parrocchia 7
I-39100
Bolzano, Italy

This guy Tschager...amazing. He's more artistic than Kressler... a bit more flair, but man, you talk about precision and beautiful integrals! Highly recommended.
 
I think RD hit the nail on the head "precision". I've been fortunate enough to have been with Ricardo and Dittmar and they talk "precision". Light reflection is the gauge. The reflection must be straight , no curves, difficult! Also, if you look at one of their knives the rounded edges are perfect.

On my Velarde semi skinner the thumb rest is
checkered, detail. Got to love it.

View


Win Heger
Preferred Edge
908/359-2008

 
Speaking of Integrals...one knife, two grinds:
stagpair.jpg


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"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
George Orwell
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[This message has been edited by dogman (edited 04-01-2001).]
 
Here are a few integrals to look at.

View

This one is made from 1/4" stock and Mother of Pearl inserts.

View

This one is cut from 5/8" stock with polyester MOP inserts.

George
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com

[This message has been edited by george tichbourne (edited 04-01-2001).]

[This message has been edited by george tichbourne (edited 04-01-2001).]
 
Bob,

That Velarde you posted is one knife, two
grinds! He had this at the ECCKS. Hunter or fighter, a real Chameleon.
Hopefully Ricardo will start posting here. I
just sent him this link.

Win
 
You know what, Win? You are absolutely right. I have been formatting so many pictures I totally forgot about it. I have a picture of the symmetrical integral-interframe dagger that Ricardo and Steve did which is the same concept. Ricardo did one side of the knife with MOP and Steve did the other with stag. Thanks for the correction.

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"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
George Orwell
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You might try BILL DUFF also..I have a nice integral he made in the 80's..very reasonable and built tuff...mine has seen many days afield....He also backs his work, Bill just replaced the wood handles after twenty years of use...That's a gaurantee
 
I wonder why intregals are so much more popular with European makers than American?Anyone know?
 
I know that the first German fellow's integrals made me suddenly start wondering about the dollar/mark exchange rate.

George, I really like both your knives, particularly the pearl handled one. Must admit am not overly fond of multiple finger grooves, but they're obviously extremely well done. Since you do so many things you ought to know better than most, are integrals indeed more difficult to make than say folders? Off the top of my blank head, I'd think that the more parts that had to be precise the more difficult it would be. Though, of course, I imagine that getting both sides symmetrical must be extremely difficult.


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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
Mr. Chubb. I will try to answer some of your questions about Integrals.
On your normal type of straight knife, if you make a mistake on the blade you can always clean it up withought the guard on the way. Or if it happened once you had the guard on you can take the guard off.
If you make a mistake on the guard, you can always make another one.
If you want precision milling a blank with different angles and tapered it will take a lot more time .
After you have cut out your knife it takes a lot of time and practice to clean the Riccaso, shape the choil, shape the guard, etc... This is a one time deal. No mistakes are allowed. Most likely if you make one your knife will start getting smaller if you clean it up.
The only right way to do it is by useing files and keeping all your lines crisp.
I profile the knife with files. I can keep the radiuses the way I want, but you have to clean it up to about 1200-1500 grit to see if you are making any mistakes. Meaning that you will see if there are any lows or high spots on the guard or on the handle by looking at the light distortions. So you have to go back and forth to clean those up.
Meeting a straight line with a radious with no light distortion is no easy job, and probably one of the most difficult ones.
Have I mentioned trying to fit a piece of Mother of Pearl on a Full Integral that is only 1/6" wider than your handle and you just payed $240.00 for it. this one will make you sweat. This is where the mistakes start to get VERY expensive.
Would you like to make Integrals out of some great material. To be able to aquire some BG-42 for example, you have to order 400 lbs minimum at the blue light special price of $14.57 pr/lbs.
Do you want to play around with Integrals or be a little bit more serious about it.
To start with those are a few things to think about.
Good luck on your knifemaking.
Ricardo Velarde

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R. Velarde.
www.velardeknives.com
 
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