Kevin Wilkins
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 7, 1998
- Messages
- 1,487
Like most most people who get into making knives I've been wanting to make a folder since just about the beginning. The problem is to make one that looks good and functions without a hitch. Those makers who have a background as tool makers or machinists have a big advantage over us mere mortals 
in this regard: cause it's one thing to make a fixed blade knife and quite another to make a small machine - which is what a folding knife amounts to. So I've been drawing and fooling around the last couple of years trying to get the best of the problem but never reached to point where I could present a working prototype is was proud of. Until now.
Last year Bob Terzuola brought out his super book on liner lock folders which I've read about 700 times now. But as I have no access to a milling machine I was still a bit stuck. Then I had the opportunity to spend a week in south Germany in a small villiage near Nürnberg where my friend Peter Herbst http://www.messerherbst.de has his knifemaking shop. Peter is one of Germany's most best and most experienced knifemakers and is a member of both the US Knifemakers Guild and the German Guild and also a master machine mechanic. I had prepared my design drawings (kept it simple and clean to concentrate on the mechanics) and ground the blades in my shop and headed out onto the autobahn with a carload of G-10, titanium and high hopes.
Peter taught me to make folders the way he does: robust, and built to last. The knives have a bronze bushing in the blade for smooth operation and don't require loctite to control the pivot. Speaking of which, all parts except the torx screws and the clip are hand made. The pivot includes a special tool Peter made to tighten it.
I'm working on a totally new website for myself where I'll have some more photos of the whole process, but I wanted to put up a few shots of the 2 knives we made. These knives aren't for sale, I carry the red one everyday. I am working on several new designs now which I plan to make here in Berlin using the mechanical system Peter taught me.
I want to thank Peter and his family for their hospitality and generosity. I learned more from Peter in a week than I would have learned on my own in a year. And we had a blast!
in this regard: cause it's one thing to make a fixed blade knife and quite another to make a small machine - which is what a folding knife amounts to. So I've been drawing and fooling around the last couple of years trying to get the best of the problem but never reached to point where I could present a working prototype is was proud of. Until now.Last year Bob Terzuola brought out his super book on liner lock folders which I've read about 700 times now. But as I have no access to a milling machine I was still a bit stuck. Then I had the opportunity to spend a week in south Germany in a small villiage near Nürnberg where my friend Peter Herbst http://www.messerherbst.de has his knifemaking shop. Peter is one of Germany's most best and most experienced knifemakers and is a member of both the US Knifemakers Guild and the German Guild and also a master machine mechanic. I had prepared my design drawings (kept it simple and clean to concentrate on the mechanics) and ground the blades in my shop and headed out onto the autobahn with a carload of G-10, titanium and high hopes.
Peter taught me to make folders the way he does: robust, and built to last. The knives have a bronze bushing in the blade for smooth operation and don't require loctite to control the pivot. Speaking of which, all parts except the torx screws and the clip are hand made. The pivot includes a special tool Peter made to tighten it.
I'm working on a totally new website for myself where I'll have some more photos of the whole process, but I wanted to put up a few shots of the 2 knives we made. These knives aren't for sale, I carry the red one everyday. I am working on several new designs now which I plan to make here in Berlin using the mechanical system Peter taught me.
I want to thank Peter and his family for their hospitality and generosity. I learned more from Peter in a week than I would have learned on my own in a year. And we had a blast!
