Gent's Auto with MY Carbon Fiber

Laredo7mm

Laredo7mm

Joined
Jul 8, 2002
Messages
1,240
Well, here is the latest and greatest version of my auto. I added a bushing that the pivot pin rides in. I also separated the pivots. The bolster and blade used to share the same pivot making setting the tension a pain in the butt.

This is also my own hand made carbon fiber. I tried to get a good shot of it, but I couldn't. the last photo is over exposed just to show it. I will have to get a better pic tomorrow in the day light. The video shows the CF better.

Same specs as usual. 1095 blade, back spacer, and bolsters, all of which have been colored with a cold bluing.

This is the one with my "new and improved" quality grind. ;)

Lightening fast as always. Let me know what you think, good or bad.


CF Gent's Auto Video


CF_col.jpg
 
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that by using the bushing I deleted the washers. So now i have about 0.005 between the blade and the liners as opposed to 0.011. Them there bushings are pretty slick. I tried little miniature ball bearing but they had too much slop.
 
Very nice, I can't make out the pic to well out here, a little on the dark side. Like the looks of your carbon fiber though. A few years ago I could have gotten all the scrap aircraft carbon fiber I could want, now that I'm making knives I can't get it anymore.
 
I think I'd file that one under "good"! You should build yourself a lightbox ala Coop. It isn't completely dummy-free, I've found, but it's leaps and bounds better than anything else (except pictures outside, but then in Michigan the weather rarely cooperates).
 
Thnaks guys, I appreciate it.

I updated the pictures too, one of these days I will build a light box. :rolleyes:
 
are you talking side ways slop with the mini bearing?
I use the mini bearing with washers. and I have been thinking in the lines of thrust bearings also just need to figure the sealing of them.

looking good guy.. :) I like that grind line..
 
I bought the bearings that were sealed with a raised inner ring. That way I could tighten down on the inner ring without binding the bearing. But even when tight on the inner ring, you could move the blade back and forth, perpenicular to the longitudinal axis of the knife (I guess that would be sideways ;) ). Just must be the tolerance built into the bearings between the balls and the races.

Those little ball bearings were $6.40 each from McMaster Carr. For me the bushings worked better and I can't tell a difference in how smooth the action is, especially in the auto. I think the bushing will be more robust also.

Check out www.mcmaster.com They have scads of bearing and bushings.
 
I never had much appreciation for what a "smooth" folder felt like until I went to the Badger knife show in 1999. A bunch of Bladeforums people met at Damon's afterward for show and tell and someone had what I think might have been a Larry Chew liner lock. It didn't open easily (like it wasn't sloppy), but once you got that blade moving past the ball detent, it just opened like it had zero friction. I've never felt anything like it. And the craziest thing was that it had absolutely ZERO play in it whatsoever at any point in the opening movement and it was dead solid when fully opened and locked. It was hard not to chop your fingers off when closing it it moved so easily. I couldn't believe how that moved. He must've used some sort of internal bearing of some sort. But, if yours are half as good as that then they're twice as good as any production folder I've felt!
 
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