I'm gonna make a slipjoint! (pics inside)

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psycho78

Joined
Jun 17, 2006
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I've decided to make a slipjoint for my very first knife. I probably should have started with a little fixed blade or something, but I'm feeling confident that I can do this.

My inspiration came from the wonderful knives on the Tony and Reese Bose sticky up here, the "old knives" sticky, and the great tutorials on the Bose site.

Chris Crawford's slipjoint tutorial also helped me greatly.

Like all other production knives, fixed and folding, I have a hard time finding something that I REALLY like. The things that I do like are well out of my price range, unobtainable, or are too rare or pretty to put to use. So I'm going to try and attempt to make something that suits me.

I put in an order at Jantz Supply for a few things. These are just half the materials that arrived today. I'm still waiting for sheet and pin stock (nickel silver and stainless).

Here we go. This is what arrived.

Belts in various grits. It's for my little 2x42 Craftsman machine. Havent got the Coote set up yet. :o

belts.jpg


Got some 3/32 O-1 precision ground tool steel.

steel.jpg


steelthick.jpg


I picked up some red jigged bone handle scales (I'm a sucker for red bone!)

redbone.jpg


This thing looks like Twizzlers candy or something. I kinda wanna take a bite!

redbone2.jpg


I went ahead and picked up some black paper micarta. I'd like to use this on another knife sometime later.

micarta.jpg


And like Chris Crawford's tutorial, I have a cheap sacrificial knife to learn from, and to use as a template. He used a little Schrade Old Timer, and I'm using one of the new Scrade florist knives from Taylor cutlery. It cost me a couple of dollars, and I really do like the simplicity, shape, size, and utilitarian qualities of this pattern. I'm a big fan of the sheepsfoot blade, and I think this would be perfect for me to try and duplicate and make better.

Love this little knife. Don't love the manufacturer.

sacrificial.jpg


I've reground the bevels on this knife and a few others in the past. I hope this experience helps when I get to grinding my blades from the flat stock.

sacrificialopen.jpg


Group shot. (bad pic)

groupmaterials.jpg


Well....thats the plan. I'll get to work and keep you all posted on the progress. more in progress pics to come!
 
Good luck and keep us posted. I think sooner or later most of us (whether we admit it or not) have the desire to try to make a knife. I doubt I'll ever actually try it, but I've thought about it:D
 
I'm pretty darn good with a popsicle stick!

Good luck with the project! :thumbup:
 
O1 will make you a good knife. Are you making this knife with brass liners, or just with the bone handles, or?
 
I'm gonna use nickel silver pins and liners for this one. I think it will go with the red bone nicely.

I'm going to try and fit a shield for this one too. I have a Dremel, and I think I could do it without a whole lot of problems. I'll practice on it some before I mess up that red bone.

What kind of shield should I put in there?
 
psycho78 said:
I've decided to make a slipjoint for my very first knife. I probably should have started with a little fixed blade or something, but I'm feeling confident that I can do this.

My inspiration came from the wonderful knives on the Tony and Reese Bose sticky up here, the "old knives" sticky, and the great tutorials on the Bose site.
Click to expand...

STOP! Turn back now before it's too late!!!!:eek::D You might be dooming yourself to a life of pain and suffering....always trying to make the next one better than the last, and never quite measuring up, you start the process all over again. If you WANT to make one now, you will HAVE to make one later, and another and another and another... Consider yourself warned. :thumbup::cool:

It's not impossible with limited tools. Don't give up if your first one doesn't turn out the way you like and always remember, If it was easy, ahem...well, you know.:o

And my goodness yes, those tutorials on the Bose site are simply wonderful aren't they. ;)
 
I've made a few folding knives. My first was with that very same jigged bone from jantz. If I remember correctly Crawford's tutorial has you using a piece of wood with holes drilled for the pins to get your adjustment for the spring. I suggest a scrap of Micarta or diamondwood for this process. When I first tried this method the wood I used was too soft and the holes didn't hold up well. Also to transfer my holes to the liners after I had the spring adjustments, I drilled the holes all the way thru the micarta jig. Then I took slightly oversized pieces that I had cut for my liners and duct taped them to the underside of my jig. Then I drilled the holes all the way thru the original holes and my liners. Then I would take the spring and blade and pin them on each liner and trace where i wanted to make my precise outlines of each liner and then cut them out. I can't remember if I came up with that or learned it from some other knifemaker on blade forums. I hope this made sense and helps some. I hope soon to be making knives again (I moved and don't have a shop yet at my new house). As Knifehead said, you won't be able to stop at one. You will eat, sleep and dream about making the next one. Good Luck!:D:D
 
Oh and by the way, My red jigged bone from jantz was not evenly dyed all the way thru. On side turned out red and the other had alot of white in it. Everything else I have used from Jantz has been good though.
 
Just got the liner and pin materials in today. Various sizes of stainless and nickel silver rod, a big stainless sheet, and a smaller nickel silver sheet. I'll try the nickel on this one.

Time to disassemble the old knife and get everything ready. More pics to come. ;)

And thanks guys for all the kind words and encouragement.
 
You asked about a shield....well, check out the various metal contents of your US quarters...you will find a year series that is likely 99% nickel....make great shields, and the nickel silver pin stock blends right in. Off the top of my head, not sure what year, but Google will yield results.

Since this is your first, you may find that the old adage of "measure twice, cut once" should be adjusted to read: "make a detailed list of all steps, rewrite that list twice, do it again, measure 5 times, cut once"...

Cheers,
D
 
Diligence said:
You asked about a shield....well, check out the various metal contents of your US quarters...you will find a year series that is likely 99% nickel....make great shields, and the nickel silver pin stock blends right in. Off the top of my head, not sure what year, but Google will yield results.

Since this is your first, you may find that the old adage of "measure twice, cut once" should be adjusted to read: "make a detailed list of all steps, rewrite that list twice, do it again, measure 5 times, cut once"...

Cheers,
D
Click to expand...

I'd love to know which you're referring to. Quarters have been roughly 91-9 copper-nickel since the 60s.
 
Sword and Shield said:
I'd love to know which you're referring to. Quarters have been roughly 91-9 copper-nickel since the 60s.
Click to expand...

U.S. quarters have been 75% copper/25% nickel cladding over a pure copper core since 1965 (before 1965, they were 90% silver/10% copper). Canadian quarters used to be pure nickel from 1968-1999. I believe Diligence is in Canada, hence his familiarity with pure nickel quarters.

Canada is a major producer of nickel, from the Sudbury mines in Ontario.
 
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