Finished my third knife: a lockback folder with koa scales

B

bobasaurus

Joined
Mar 13, 2013
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I've been working on this lockback folder as a gift to a longtime friend/coworker who is retiring soon. Finished it on Sunday after about 3 weeks of work. The blade is O1 steel, hardened at 1475 deg F for 15 min, quenched in warm canola oil, then tempered at 400 deg F for two hours. The scales are Hawaiian koa wood, which the recipient chose since he's spent a lot of time on the big island. The rivets are brass rod with a copper core for some visual flair, peened and epoxied to keep the knife together. Brass liners and pivot, stainless thumb opener.

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I also have a full album of pictures, including all the build progress:

http://imgur.com/a/Uxgjo

I'm pretty slow at making these things, but the result is a labor of love I guess. Hopefully it's well received.
 
I think that is a special kind of beautiful! I love it and I'm sure you're friend is going to as well! What a wonderful retirement gift! You get around to another one of those you let me know. I'd certainly love using one of those and 01 steel to boot! What a classic! Wood is good! Wood is very good and the timber on that one is quite stunning! Great job!
 
How do you get the blade pattern just right when aligning it to the locking mechanism. I had an issue on one of my folders I tried to take the blade out and jig saw a new blade for the existing folder handle. Well I didnt cut the blade right so it didnt lock right and it would wobble when open. I guess I should build the folder handle to fit the blade right instead of trying to use store bought folder handles?

Btw nice knife very good job done.
Im a beginner if you didnt notice. I noticed you said this was your third knife made?
Can you provide pics of the first two? I am interested.

Thanks,
Tyler Jacobs
 
Thanks guys. Tyler, getting the lockback mechanism to fit is the hardest part. I made the slot in the blade first, then slowly slowly filed down the head of the lockback bar until it fit perfectly. This takes a lot of finesse and patience, and is a huge pain... wish I had access to a water jet or CNC mill sometimes. Check out the imgur album I posted below the pictures for more build details. I'm not sure about your store bought folder handles, but making a perfect replica with a jigsaw is no easy task. I think it would be easier to make both sides yourself and tweak them until a perfect fit is achieved.

Here is knife #2: http://imgur.com/a/kmQLH
And knife #1: http://imgur.com/a/9L65E
 
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