Feelin' Groovy Today?

STR

STR

Knifemaker/Moderator
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Feelin' groovy are ya? Well here is one for size then. A LH PE SS Police Folder I was given artistic license to go crazy on. This one is already equipped with a Tom Krein sharpened swedge which I learned quite quickly is capable of biting. :eek:

I went easy on it though.

Almost across the board the comments seem to hover around how pictures never quite do these groove jobs justice. They always look and feel so much better in person.

Anyways all done Tizwin. Oh and excuse the finger print smudge in the close up. I was outside and got a bit of a smear on the handle but you can still get the idea.

Thanks for your patience. :thumbup:

STR
 

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That's my honey!! Thanks, man. I can't wait to get it back. How's the weather your way??
 
Thanks guys.

Weather is hot and miserable although not quite as hot as its been. We've had a lot of days hit the century mark this summer so far. At least my shop is air conditioned though. :thumbup:

STR
 
No no Sebbies. I've done a few of my own custom folders that way, Lava models, the mini and full size Manix models once I rebuilt the sides in titanium or aluminum and a Jess Horn I redid in titanium slabs also. And probably others as well that I've forgotten. The signature on the outside can make it quite hard to work around so its not messed up much. if at all.

STR
 
STR--are you still reluctant to D&T new screw holes into the handles of a stainless steel Spyderco? At one time, if I recall correctly, you were concerned about the fragility of the tapping screws in such small holes.

Is titanium a material more conducive to this process?

P.S.--I'll be haunting my mailbox until the grooved and blasted Police shows up.
 
Yes and the reason is there is no way really for me to know how hard that steel is. Number one is I'll probably need carbide drills to even make the holes on most and at the least a Cobalt drill for 410 stainles most times. If a liner is made from 410 stainless it can hover around 45 Rockwell. This I've tapped successfully even though I don't like doing it but even with cobalts it dulls the drills in no time drilling that a lot. Also, I caution folks asking me to do this as it can still cause taps to break off and get stuck even when it is something still not quite as hard as the threader like 410. I'm more cautious on the thicker materials actually when it comes to this steel. Unlike titanium, when a tap breaks in stainless steel you can't soak it overnight in hydrofluoric acid to eat out the tap.

Ti is softer by a bit hovering as I recall around 39 Rockwell most of the time plus or minus depending on type and also its an alloy mixture and recycled many times for what we makers use so there is no telling what the actual hardness is when tapping it. Ti is problematic enough by the way it hugs a tap the deeper it goes. This is why threading really thick titanium is something many makers just don't want to mess with especially by hand.

Thicker and harder are two things that add up to high risk. Thicker and a hugger like ti also. Its not that its impossible its that I'm really picky about getting outside my comfort zone. My comfort zone is still above that of a lot of folks and I realize that but some areas, especially when it involves someone elses knife that many times is expensive, is an area I try to avoid whenever possible.

STR
 
Thanks my friend. I appreciate your candor and the technical info. I had in mind another Spyderco Police SS PE to be waved as you may recall you have done for me previously. I contacted another knife maker/modifier for the D&T required for a tip-up carry. Between his work and yours, the final product, a waved SS PE Police model, has become one of my regular EDC blades and is the envy of all knife-freaks who see it. You may remember that you put a little strip of safety/skateboard tape on the handle to provide a more secure grip. Since I received it, I've replaced that little strip of tape with a short hunk of grey 3M stairway tape in the shape of a little pit-viper.

I'm considering embarking on another like it. I'll see if this other fellow can still do the D&T. If he can, I'd like to send the knife to you afterwards for a wave, grooving, and bead-blasting.

Stay cool. Up here in Maine, they're predicting high 80's and low 90's for the next couple days. Combined with the humidity, that's rough for us northerners. My wife, like yours, is asking me to put an AC unit in one of the upstairs windows.
 
The knife arrived in today's mail. It is gorgeous! Short of an expensive, fancy engraving job, a steel-handled knife could not be made to look prettier. STR, you've definitely crossed the line from craftsman to artist. Next, you'll be sippin' espresso, listening to Mozart, and writing poetry.

Maybe not. But you are truly creating "Steel Poetry."

Thanks again.

P.S. Temps in low 90's today, Dew point 70-plus. But by Labor Day, this war's gonna end.
 
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