First Annual Pay It Forward Buildoff

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Ryan, that is excellent! Great job all around.

 

[Mike Davis]

Ok so i finally managed to get some shop time in. Here is where i chiseled out the guard to do 2 things. One i can drop the blade down into it about 1/16th of an inch. The other, i stepped it on the mill and hammered it onto the blade, making a 99% gap free fit. Also with the carving i have in mind, the step is going to be pretty cool.

Here is the chisel i made earlier today to do this. O-1 and antler...silly

Final sanding of the blade before etch.

Here is the guard and blade, along with the drawing i did over Lorien's design. Trying to keep to this...

And here it is now... Too tired to keep going on this, don't want to screw it up lol.

Finishing this beast up tomorrow. Thanks for looking

 

[RyanW]

Mike that is Cool! The guard is going to look great, is it Copper? I like the "Silly" chisel too. You should take some copper wire and pound it into the groves on your blade engraving! what are you using for spacers between the guard and handle material? what kind of wood is the handle. Have I asked enough questions? Looks Great.

 

[Lorien]

holy, you guys! I can't believe what I'm seeing here in this thread.

Remember, when you're done your knife, send me some pictures and I'll post them up in a new thread once everyone is done their knife.

Ryan, I missed your message cuz my inbox was full but it's cleared out now so if you wanna try again you should have success this time.

 

[Mike Davis]

Thanks Ryan. I have some annealed copper wire i plan on doing some inlay in the handle. Yes, guard is copper. Didn't use any spacers material...Wanted to, but didn't have any lol. Handle material is a pretty wicked birdseye maple. I have some minor adjusting to do to the handle. It fills the hand for sure!

 

[Erin Burke]

Mike... I'm really interested to see how yours plays out.

Ryan... I'm really interested to see how many entries you have for this build-off when all is said and done.

I've been plodding along here. I have a couple of photos from this morning.

This first photos shows the way things looked when I went to the shop at 8:30.

Some of the key items I completed since my last posting:

• Soaked heat-treated blade in vinegar over night to remove any vestiges of scale and give a VERY rough preview of hamon.
• Lapped the blade pivot holes to a snug fit with the pivot bushings. The fit that I look for is one where the bushing can be pressed in easily with my fingers with just a bit of resistance. After some lubing and a flipping, I find that this gives me a smooth action and minimizes the final blade play.
• Lapped the end of the pivot bushings to be slightly proud of the blade ricasso. "Slightly" is achieved by lapping, assembling the handle/pivot, checking pivot tightness and blade play, then repeating the process until everything fits together. You can see the Knifedogs Pivot Lap that I use for the bushings on the left side of the photo. You can also see one of my new HF torx drivers. I lost my old one and decided to buy a few more... just for fun.
• [Bite handle only] Drilled and tapped a piece of 0.15" titanium for a spacer. (That's the large chunk of Ti with the two holes in it.)

The next photo shows where I left off after the hour that I was down there this morning.

You'll noticed that the spacer and the stop pin have both been rough-fit into the bite handle. You can also see the safe handle bushing in the pivot hole. I have temporarily pinned the safe handle sides together for some additional grinding around the pivot area. At the bottom of this photo, you can also see my home-made pivot grinding/lapping plate. It has reamed holes in 1/8", 3/16" & 1/4" for grinding pivots/pins/bushings/screws/etc. to length and makes sure that they are kept square.

My next steps are to make sure that both handles get installed and operate cleanly. This means:

• Additional profile grinding to both handles.
• A spacer for the safe handle.
• A latch-pivot/spacer for the safe handle.
• A stop pin for the safe handle.
• Fine adjusting to the blade pivot stops for open and closed positions.

After the handle operates smoothly, I'll:

• Build a pocket clip and mill a receiving area for it in the bite handle.
• Clean up, polish and etch the blade.
• Rough contour the handles and begin finish sanding.
• Install inlays (maybe).
• Complete finish sanding on the handles AND
• Fit and install spring latch.

It sounds easier than it is.

I hope to spend some more time in the shop in the next couple days.

Erin

 

[glocktenman]

Wow, You guys are making some great looking knives. I'm just hoping that mine will look something like a knife!

 

[Lorien]

Wow, You guys are making some great looking knives. I'm just hoping that mine will look something like a knife!

me too

 

[Mike Davis]

Ok here is a few in hand pics. Had to wait overnight for the epoxy to set so i started working on a folder to pass the time lol. anywhoo here is where i am at. I need to do alot of handle profiling yet, and carve the handle/guard. This should be done later tonight....Thats the plan anyway.

And for shits and giggles i thought i would post the framelock. It is a bulldog kit from Tracy at USAKnifemakers supply...Dont let anyone tell you it can just go together...No way..

Thanks

 

[Erin Burke]

Nice Mike.

Here are a few more photos from today's work. The first one shows the first view of the closed profile. I cleaned up the shape of the tang... I think it looks fairly cool.

This photo shows the handles after rough contouring on 8" and 1-1/4" wheels. Looking kind of ugly.

Next I did a pile of hand sanding of the handles at 240 grit. Here's a preview.

My right arm/hand is killing me from the hand sanding. I still have to build a spacer for the safe handle. I'm also not sure what I am going to do with the pocket clip... I had a plan, but my mind hasn't been made.

 

[RyanW]

Mike - That damascus and engraving looks great, and that Maple is gorgeous! Looks like it is really coming together. is that Romeo y Julieta for when I visit?

Erin - Too bad this isn't a KITH I would love a chance at getting that when it is done! Are you going to have some type of locking device on the butt end?

 

[Erin Burke]

Erin - Too bad this isn't a KITH I would love a chance at getting that when it is done! Are you going to have some type of locking device on the butt end?

Thanks Ryan. My plan is to build a spring latch. In this case, it will only lock in the closed position.

 

[Mike Davis]

Ryan, i have a humidor full, I also have 2 grilles and some mean ribs
Erin...That thing is so bad ass!....droool
Ok well....Here is as far as i got today. Guard needs a patina...Not sure if i can get the chemicals locally, but am going to try before work. I have a little more clean up work on the handle, but considering it is only my seventh knife, i guess i can be happy with it. I sanded the damascus a bit more, gives it a cool semi polished look. Sorry took a lot of pics.

 

[Lorien]

#7??? Wow man, nice work!

 

[RyanW]

I don't believe that is your 7th! but OK! I Really like how you tied the guard into the handle, I didn't understand on your design drawing. but that looks amazing. What are you going to use to Patina the Copper.

Hmm... Gars and Ribs, too bad you are so far away. We had snow yesterday so I am really chomping at the bit to get outside (And be warm)

 

[Mike Davis]

Yes, my 7th actual finished knife. I have a few that i didn't like the grinds on and pitched them. Yeah, too bad you are far away Ryan, it is 90* here Thanks Lorien, i know you are a pretty good judge of nice custom's, makes me feel like i did something right lol. There are a few things with the knife i am not too happy with, but it is a little late to change them now. I planned on getting some Liver of Sulphur, but looking like i am going to have to order it. I guess i probably should order some stuff to make a sheath also....I was thinking about a copper throat and tip but think i am going to do it a bit differently. I have made one sheath...and it sucked lol. I hope this one turns out better.

Thanks for the kind comments guys

 

[Lorien]

I'd leave the copper as is, it will take on a nice warm brown patina if you just keep rubbing away at it with your fingers.

 

[NickWheeler]

Wow guys!!! You're all aiming for the upper deck!!!

Mike and Erin... you guys clearly were destined to be knifemakers. Guys like you come along, pick up some tips, and next thing you know you're building knives that look like they have YEARS of experience behind them. Great stuff!

I agree about copper. It's soft, but it heats up in the blink of an eye and is very gummy. In theory, it seems like it should be easier to use than steel or stainless, but it sure doesn't work out that way in reality!

 

[Mike Davis]

Thanks Nick! I was pretty worried about this one...Especially the sculpting after hardened thing....Yeah, copper sucks lol. Hopefully this will sell.

 

[Erin Burke]

Mike and Erin... you guys clearly were destined to be knifemakers. Guys like you come along, pick up some tips, and next thing you know you're building knives that look like they have YEARS of experience behind them. Great stuff!

Thanks Nick. It all depends on who you pick up tips from. Let me know when you're planning your big move... if it fits into my schedule I'll make the drive and help out.

I'm still really concerned about this knife coming together. It always seems a miracle when one of these works out.

I agree about copper. It's soft, but it heats up in the blink of an eye and is very gummy. In theory, it seems like it should be easier to use than steel or stainless, but it sure doesn't work out that way in reality!

Yeah, copper sucks lol. Hopefully this will sell.

I really like the look in certain applications with certain color schemes (looks fairly good against Amboyna in my opinion), but wouldn't want to use it as a guard. Spacers on the other hand...

Erin