Just for fun: Tiny folders needing scales

tryppyr

tryppyr

Joined
Feb 5, 2010
Messages
3,911
While on my travels in Oregon I came across some tiny folding knives from China that harkened back to my childhood. I vaguely recall as a kid seeing these teeny little knives ... only then they had colorful plastic scales attached. Well, the knives in the antique mall were only $2 apiece, so I bought three. Here's the specs:

OAL: 2.25"
Blade length: 0.75"
Width: 0.25"
Thickness: Who knows...
Blade steel: Who knows...

Yes, they are sharp, so I guess they can be considered real knives.

DSCN7690.JPG


Now, you might be wondering why I'd buy these. The answer is obvious... I have a lot of small pieces of ivory scrap that I have no other use for, and I want to mount some ivory scales on these little guys.

The really good news is that this project lets me consume some pieces of ivory that were WAY too thin or otherwise problematic to be used on larger format knives. :)

- Greg
 
Warning, Warning Will Robinson. Danger, Danger. :) I am not familiar with the maker's name stamped on the blade. Would that be LeRoy J. China from south Texas?

You can put a dress and lipstick on a pig, but when its all said and done, you probably still have a pig.

Just joshin' ya, but if it were me, (and it ain't), I would probably wait until some other monumental idea came into my head as a use for scrap ivory. One that didn't have "LeRoy's" name on the finished project.

You seem like a pretty squared-away guy........ Make your own tiny knives, then put the ivory on them.

Robert
 
Don't worry, Robert. I have LOTS of ivory scrap... over 6 pounds of it. I'll likely never see the end of that bag. :)
 
I'd take one apart and make a custom copy, if it was me. Agree with Robert's pig argument.
 
Last night, largely out of boredom, I glued the first set of scales onto one of these knives. It's not perfect nor finished yet, but I'm certainly not worried about showing my mistakes (as you already know). Still a fair amount of filing and sanding to do, and then I'm going to resharpen the blade.

DSCN6186.JPG
 
Maybe you could paint on some of the experimental composite ivory.
or...might not be a good idea. Might cause Big Trouble in Little China if you"re not careful.
Just teasing you Greg.
 
Stacy, I wonder if that's the stuff that C.Reeve uses to glue on their scales for fancy knives.
 
That is possible.
It is used extensively in many industries to assemble things. Because it is a sheet product, a factory will order it punched into a shape that matches the object.
Peel off backing - stick on smaller object - peel off second backing - set in place on larger object....strong and fairly permanent bond....done in seconds and you are ready to do the next item.
No pot life like with mixed glues, no clean up, no drying/curing time, no clamping. The bond strengthens over the next several days, but is ready to handle and strong immediately.

I used it on a fillet knife as an experiment and the scales are still going strong.
 
mete said:
Stacy, I wonder if that's the stuff that C.Reeve uses to glue on their scales for fancy knives.
Click to expand...
Yep, sure is.

Stuff sticks like the dickens.

I made a product using this adhesive some years ago bonding aluminum to fiberglass in the snow.
Not near the snow, or outside in the snow, I mean covered in snow.

Failures were always delamination of the fiberglass.
The bond always held.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top