Feedback on My Knife Design Please

T

TempusExMachina

Joined
Nov 30, 2012
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54
Hi all,

Please let me know your thoughts about my knife design that I plan on getting built by a knife maker.

CustomKnife10Inch_zps16ce0dd3.jpg
 
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Looks good. Only thing I would be worried about is that pommel poking me in the side. So get a good drop-leg sheath.

Watch your choice of steels. Some are what is called notch-sensitive, which means they can become more highly stressed in the heat treat, around notches in the blade, such as your cap lifter or the notch that you intend to use as a wire breaker.

It's not a problem, just make sure you use a steel that isn't notch sensitive. Check this out about your Nitinol, before committing.
 
Shorttime said:
Looks good. Only thing I would be worried about is that pommel poking me in the side. So get a good drop-leg sheath.

Watch your choice of steels. Some are what is called notch-sensitive, which means they can become more highly stressed in the heat treat, around notches in the blade, such as your cap lifter or the notch that you intend to use as a wire breaker.

It's not a problem, just make sure you use a steel that isn't notch sensitive. Check this out about your Nitinol, before committing.
Click to expand...

Even the DPx lion steel (either Sliepner or Niolox) broke at the notch in one of the reviews for the steel HEST knife. I'm a bit concerned about Nitinol after pulling up a report on Nitinol-55 via Google, which has the impression of having poor notch sensitivity. Nitinol-60 may be completely different in terms of its performance over Nitinol-55, but there doesn't seem to be much field testing on such an expensive knife material. A side-by-side comparison with a super steel like M390 would settle it, of course, but I don't think too many forum members (aka non-companies and their reps) would put in the investment to test it.
 
My .02...
Ditch the bottle opener. You have a pry tool on the end, for Pete's sake :)

That has always been my major complaint with the HEST.
 
+1 for ditching that bottle opener, wire cutter and that "bird beak" pommel. Just my 2c, but from experience and dealing with those with experience on a variety of knives over many years now, one thing i know for certain is that pointy things on the pommels of knives are just pointless (pardon the pun) and cause more discomfort for the user than they are worth regardless of their intended purpose. In fact most cover up points such as this or "skull crushers" with tape or grind them down and from what i have read, that goes as far back as the classic V-42 which caused more damage to the guy carrying it than the enemy. The bottle opener as well is nothing more than a stress riser in the blade and "if" the blade is going to break under heavy use, such as prying or whatnot, that's most likely where it will occur. Any bottle can be opened by the spine of any knife (just ask any clever beer drinker) rendering the addition of a bottle opener cut out nothing more than something to catch attention (and possibly your clothes or gear when you are trying to use it). Sorry for being negative on those two things, but they have been a pet peeve of mine on other knives in the past and when i saw the DPX model come out it was like two bad tastes in my mouth at once. On the bright side, yes, the drop point is a great design and the size and shape of the knife look like a sensible EDC user. good luck on your endeavour and please post pics when you finish.
 
Have you asked RYP for his approval in using such strongly similar features as his design? Right thing to do.
 
Is that not just a HEST? I am afraid that design of yours is a little..."derivative".

That aside. All of the thing that make that knife different, whatever you want to call it are a problem. The bottle opener would weaken the blade and just makes it look funny. The prybar at the pommel is useless because you can't get a decent about of leverage and get your fingers out of the way. And I am a little past storing things in the handle of knives. And all that's what's wrong with the HEST.
 
How about just plain old 1095 or 5160 for the blade steel?

Metallurgy, stylistic, and copyright questions aside, you should be asking yourself what features you are really going to use, before tacking a bunch of things onto your knife design.
 
I would get rid of the bottle opener, and the pointy pommel. Would also extend to scales back to the end of the pommel.
 
OK, I'll come out with a new design taking into consideration some of the feedback I've received. Some more questions:

1) How about the balance point? Where would it be best for a survival / camping / tool knife? At the ricasso? Blade heavy? Handle heavy?

2) What curve / angle would be most effective from the spine down to the cutting edge? Convex? Straight?
 
TempusExMachina said:
OK, I'll come out with a new design taking into consideration some of the feedback I've received. Some more questions:

1) How about the balance point? Where would it be best for a survival / camping / tool knife? At the ricasso? Blade heavy? Handle heavy?

2) What curve / angle would be most effective from the spine down to the cutting edge? Convex? Straight?
Click to expand...

Best for what? Most effective for what? Establish your typical tasks first and order them by priority this will help you identify which features will provide the most balanced design for your needs. :)
 
Hi Tempus.
Honestly your drawing looks like some of my first drawings. I was going to make a knife for my Army buddy and he didn't know what was a good design, he wanted rip teeth, serrations, bottle opener and more; so I drawed it. Now after making lots of knives I have learned thst the overall shape is not bad, but from my own personal experience simple is better. Less to go wrong in making them. And less to detract from the knives use. If you need tools, just pack a multi tool.

I like the design. I would lose the bells and whistles and focus on precise yet simple and enjoy it. As for copying other designs I have two thoughts on that. If you aren't selling them I wouldn't worry about it. And there is nothing new under the sun look at what works for your needs or goals and make it your own.

Best of luck!
 
Maybe I'll get the knife made in M390 first to see if it grows on me or not. I'm sure tastes get refined over time, but there's a cost to everything - M390 would be about 5x cheaper, too.
 
I was thinking about how the bottle opener at the spine would weaken the knife. However, though that may be true, aren't deeply serrated spines down to the tip just as weak or perhaps more so? Relatively speaking, then, wouldn't it make the bottle opener an extra bell to the other whistles that may not pose too serious an issue for the spine's integrity?

Also, I'm starting to think the chain bolts for the scales are a bit tacky. So, here's a touch of WWII history on the same knife, where spent ammo primers are used as bolt heads (perhaps conventional Corby bolts can be used on the inside with the primer head epoxied on the bolt head). Also, rifle rounds tend to be at least 1/2" in diameter (e.g. 303 Brit), so they may appear disproportionately large compared to other bolts on scales, especially on smaller knives like EDCs. A smaller caliber may need to be used - the bolt heads on the picture below would be about 3/8" or so.

CustomKnife10Inch_zpsddc74817.jpg
 
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I'll come out and say it, if you don't even understand the balance points on a knife and why it should be where it is, you aren't ready to design real "usin" knives yet. Bottle opener? Asking if notch would work as a wire cutter when you have several inches of blade? Prybar pommel? -You're more likely to dig that point In to your side if you take a fall than any benefit from prying with it, also with such a short prying bar v. grip location, did you think about the chances of slipping and pulling that point into your face?

I suggest you buy and use a couple existing outdoors knives, play with them for a while to understand the reason behind the design, before you go back to the drawing board.
 
CWL said:
I'll come out and say it, if you don't even understand the balance points on a knife and why it should be where it is, you aren't ready to design real "usin" knives yet. Bottle opener? Asking if notch would work as a wire cutter when you have several inches of blade? Prybar pommel? -You're more likely to dig that point In to your side if you take a fall than any benefit from prying with it, also with such a short prying bar v. grip location, did you think about the chances of slipping and pulling that point into your face?

I suggest you buy and use a couple existing outdoors knives, play with them for a while to understand the reason behind the design, before you go back to the drawing board.
Click to expand...

I'm merely rendering the knife's design - a knife maker will be creating the knife. And, the HEST 2.0 knife seems to be either a like it or don't like it knife - I'll have to see how its design grows on me or not, but so far, I've found myself modifying more and more of its elements. You mention a lot of good points about the knife as others do, namely from a safety perspective, so I'll have to take that into strong consideration. I see this project as a balance between design elements I want and their pragmatic function - sometimes you can't get both.

And, most of these questions like the notching and the spine's shaping are out of curiosity - I may understand the way they do experientially, but why they work the way they do is what I'm trying to understand. It's more granular. It would be analogous to understanding intuitively that super cars are much more aerodynamically shaped than typical sedans. But, why? Where are the car's shaping points that determine the coefficient of friction? Naturally, a knife maker would understand the ins and outs of a knife - I wish I knew as much about knives since this is quite interesting to know.
 
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First, I think many makers will balk at making such a close copy of another maker's design. I wouldn't be surprised if Hest Knives even has trademarks or patents on some of the distinctive features.

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Second, that pummel looks dangerous and is aesthetically unattractive.

You know what though, I do prefer your blade over the Hest. Lose the beaked pummel. Lose the jimping. Lose the bottle opener. In short, take your nice flowing blade design and clean it up by removing the clutter.

Just my opinion, since you asked. :)
 
wow good post Bob... i had no idea someone had already made that knife

Still don't know why you'd want a pommel that could puncture you while you're carrying it
 
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