frame lock steel

J

Juice29

Joined
Jan 18, 2021
Messages
12
Hello
I am planning to start working on my first frame lock folder, and I was wondering what type of steel I should start with. Is a basic 410 stainless ok? Or is there something more specialized? I know titanium is probably the best for this purpose, but I've heard it's mega hard to work with and it's definitely outside my budget haha

Ooh just thought about this too

Probably a dumb question, but would the same steel work well for a detent or double-detent lock style slipjoint like the Serge Panchenko bean? If not, what would be a good steel for that? I know the bean uses titanium and is really popular.
 
Are you sure Titanium is outside of your budget? Any steel you use would have to be heat treated and spring tempered. I find titanium much easier to work with once you know how to work it. Enough Titanium to make 4-6 frame locks is about $65-70. Similar sized sheet of 410 is $20. A steel frame lock will be quite heavy and don’t see any advantage. The small increase in price, $5-10 each, is worth it to use titanium
 
Oh wow I didn’t really think of it that way. It is for sure. Are there any differences in how to work with it that I should take into consideration?
 
Understand speeds and feeds when drilling and cutting. Other than that not a big deal. I used a hacksaw and drill press to make my first one with a 1x30 grinder.
 
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