- In need of a KNIFE MAKER for my design...

L

Lspade

Joined
Feb 3, 2010
Messages
21
Im done with trying to find a knife like this. It is time to pull out the big guns and have it custom made. I have never owned a custom knife and I don't even know if this is the right place to post this but here it goes:

LspadeNeckKnifeBentPressRivets.jpg


Purpose of Knife: worn as necklace, never removed, small enough to NOT get in the way while running/swimming/exercising

Steel: I need a good quality steel like 154cm, s30v, or anything else with great edge retention and rust resistance


If you would like to make this knife for me shoot me a price and the steel you will be using (you can pm me if you are more comfortable). I have no idea what kind of price to expect so keep in mind that i'm currently a hardworking STUDENT :D and I'm sure the price will be doable. Thanks for looking!
 
Whlie it's not specifically the design you have posted above, you may want to check out the neck knives J. Neilson has been making. Specifically the "thumbnail" and "spur" designs. They're reasonable in price and you know the quality is good coming from an ABS Mastersmith.

-d
 
^ Thanks! I do like the Thumbnail even though it is a little longer than I wanted and the site gives me a taste of what prices to expect. Would I be crazy in thinking that my knife could be made for under $100?
 
I don't know how you feel about suggestions so ignore this if you aren't interested, but I would absolutely put at least a hold for another finger on there, such as a nice extension for the middle finger.

you could do it without adding much mass or length, substantially increase the leverage you could exert and help the ergonomy.

i have no doubt several people here could make your knife within your budget.
 
Just a suggestion, have a water-jetter cut it out for you, then have someone grind/heat treat it.
 
I initially thought this knife could be built for around $50 since it is so small. But I think I am overlooking how much work it takes to even make a small knife :o.



bigern26 said:
I would build it for under $100
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Ya? Are you willing? Haha. I looked at some of your past work, I really like knife #12. What kind of metal would you use?



Canid - I have been playing with that idea for a little bit and when you say "you could do it without adding much mass or length" I think I will have to give it a shot.



Rayban - I don't know what a water jetter is but is that something I can do locally or are you saying that I should find someone online to do it?
 
if you haven't seen it yet, take a look at your visitor messages in your profile.
 
Lspade said:
I initially thought this knife could be built for around $50 since it is so small. But I think I am overlooking how much work it takes to even make a small knife :o.
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it depends. for somebody who's already got your preferred steels in suitable stock, or would use much of in in the near future, the materials cost for the knife itself isn't terribly high, but for somebody who would have to order a 48" bar of it or more of it, there would be a significant overhead.

i imagine heat treatment and specialty cutting are much the same.
 
If you were going to have 10 of these done, I would say waterjetting would be a good option. If you are just having one made I doubt it is worthwhile. A competent knifemaker can profile one of these in less than an hour with a drill press, grinder and perhaps a bandsaw. If they start with precision ground stock then the labor to complete such a design is actually pretty minimal.
Such a small project can only go up in cost if you get multiple people involved in the build, IMO. Find the right maker and it should be a pretty simple project.
 
Frank Barron said:
Something like this little wonder would be better if it was thick. Like 1/4 or 3/8's inch.

FB
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I've got to respectfully disagree Frank. With a blade so small, going thick would make something that would be a wedge, not a knife. I personally think that 3/16" or so thick would give you a good, solid feel in the hand aas well as proper geometry to cut.

-d
 
deker said:
I've got to respectfully disagree Frank. With a blade so small, going thick would make something that would be a wedge, not a knife. I personally think that 3/16" or so thick would give you a good, solid feel in the hand aas well as proper geometry to cut.

-d
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I was thinking the same thing, 3/8 is very thick. It's not a Kukri

1/8 5/32 would be my choice, thinner cuts better.
 
Ok, first is a little more info for you guys: My original plan was to keep it under 2 inches because that way I will never get annoyed by it hanging off of my neck which means I will never remove it. This knife will probably never be used and that is why it has such a minimalist design. If I ever get lost and need a knife the chances are that I will have a bigger one on me. This knife is my very utmost last resort and will likely NEVER be used.

Second, because I will probably never use it I don't want to spend tons of $$$ on it. I talked to another knife maker (I haven't heard back from him yet) and said:

"Like I stated in my thread, I have no idea what kind of work is needed or the prices for materials so I have no idea what to expect for a final price. I won't spend over $60 shipped for this knife. I did not state this in my thread because I did not want to be embarrassed if that price was too low. If that price is a slap in the face to you please tell me because I will just have to wait until I have more funds for this knife."
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SO! If this cannot be done please tell me and I will just buy a ladybug h1 and wear it like a necklace. It won't be as aesthetically pleasing but I can put it on and never worry about rust or maintenance.

PM's were all replied and I'll be checking out that custom knife shop, thanks.
 
...after doing a few cut outs from cardboard and tweaking the way it feels I now have the following shape. Next is to cut it out of some old 1/16 steel that I have in storage. If it feels good this will be the final shape (I have a feeling that the hole will need to be made slightly larger).

LspadeNeckKnifeBentPressAlotWithDimples.jpg
 
Lspade said:
Ok, first is a little more info for you guys: My original plan was to keep it under 2 inches because that way I will never get annoyed by it hanging off of my neck which means I will never remove it. This knife will probably never be used and that is why it has such a minimalist design. If I ever get lost and need a knife the chances are that I will have a bigger one on me. This knife is my very utmost last resort and will likely NEVER be used.
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I bet you'll find that once you have a necker on a lot, it will get used more than you expect. Sure, it may not be as a last ditch knife, but it'll see more use as a box opener then you can imagine :)

-d
 
Lspade said:
I have never heard of a knife BLADE made of G10???
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Well, I figured it was a last ditch type affair.

A Poke some bastard mugger a bunch of times and run type deal.

G10 would work fine for such an application, and weigh almost nothing, and never rust...

If you want to actually have a useful knife, then use steel.
 
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