Good idea or not worth the effort?

EZ Bake

EZ Bake

Joined
Mar 5, 2009
Messages
1,752
I've been thinking of having a custom folding knife made for my dad. I don't know if anyone's ever done this before, but I was thinking that it would be cool to kind of make an improved version of a classic looking knife.

What if you took... say, a basic design inspired by (and by that I don't mean a stolen design, but something similar looking or similar shaped to) a sod-buster, Case-style, Buck 110, or even one of the swiss-army style knives, and just made it out of high-end modern-day materials?

Something with one of the new Carpenter steels, or a CPM S90v, or CPM M4 for the blade.

I was thinking of something like 3D G10 in layered colors that looked like stag or bone in the scales, Maybe layered Linen Micarta with some brown/black coloring to look similar to wood-grain.

A bronze or high-end bushing would be cool, and maybe titanium for the frame (or even a high-quality steel for the frame, and Ti for the bolsters that hass been heat-treated to that bronze/brass coloration).

Anyone ever done this?

I'd love to know if its worth the trouble (I don't have a $1000 budget for a folder as a gift and I know that high-cost materials are more expensive and harder to work with).
 
Not good, but a great idea in my opinion.
Something that you put the effort into having made or make yourself always seems to be
a more personal and thoughtful gift than something which is just purchased off the shelf.
 
I think it's a great idea. A sodbuster in CPM M4 would be great for a slip joint fan, but I'd be willing to bet that whatever it might be your dad would be thrilled.

James
 
There are some very talented slip joint makers that frequently post in the Knifemakers For Sale; Folder section.
 
Could I recommend talking with Mike Vagnino? He is a mastersmith and is a premier folder maker. Also, he is using quite a bit of M4 now. Anyway, PM or e-mail me if you need the contact info. He is a real nice guy.
-M
 
Just took a look at Mike's site - very nice stuff there. I think the first thing I need to do is decide on a style and then start hitting folks up for pricing/time-tables/etc.

Appreciate the feedback fellas - I think my dad is going to like his next gift.
 
Thanks for everyone's input so far (and for the PMs I got). Lots of good info there. I thought Bladeforums in general was a pretty cool community, but the custom knife folks appear to be a very good group of people who genuinely take an interest in their community (which is impressive to say the least). I'm new to the world of custom knife making, but it looks like I'm in good hands now.

I'm trying to pick my dad's brain to get an idea of what classic looking knife he liked the best, and as soon as that's done, I'll probably start contacting some of the recommended smiths.

Again, I appreciate all the help so far - Thanks a bunch!
 
Take a look at the Traditionals section here on BF too. There are several guys doing what you're thinking about, and they've got work posted there. I'd think he'd love something like a KR Johnson sodbuster, or Matt Lamey's version of the Buck.
 
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