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Done Good Bubba!!!!:thumbup: 
-
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Learning how to make slip joint folders
- Thread starter KnifeHead
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I recieved a knife just like this from Tony a few months ago and it is flawless.
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Kerry, Im impressed with your project. Did you mention the spring material and thickness of it and the blade? Is the spring the same thickness as the bushing?
I cant wait to see yours finished. Stag would be cool.
I cant wait to see yours finished. Stag would be cool.
KnifeHead
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I tell ya, my head is spinning with all the information I have been taking in from Tony. I forgot to mention some of those details so so thanks for asking.
Essentially the spring and blade need to be the same thickness. This set is .1215" thick. The bushings Tony buys come in at about .130" thick and have to be lapped to about .0015" over the thickness of the blade. Tony uses a shop made device that is simply a round piece of tool steel about 3/4" thick with a 3/16" hole in the middle. There is a rod that fits the hole that is used to hold the bushing down under that while sliding the whole unit over a flat surface covered with sand paper. So simple its stupid
My blade is Thunderforged Twist pattern(Nickel and ?), originally .125" and the spring is A2. BTW Tony HT's his springs so that they are the same hardness through and through. I notice that some books say to make the back softer and spring hard from the middle hole to the run up.
I already bought a nice set of mammoth ivory for it that is cut out and ready to glue up. I soldered the bolsters to the liners today and had great success my first time out hookin up stainless. What's the big deal with that anyway
KnifeHead
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I can believe it was flawless. I watched Tony hand sand the handle assy's. for about 3 hours on this ivory one posted above. It looked like glass when he was done. He has a system...a pattern that he adheres to religiously while building the parts, assembling, and finishing a knife. His attention to detail is amazing but the real amazing thing is that he only has one good eye. His right eye was injured when he was six.
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Thanks Kerry, how did you do the soldering?
Cool ivory
Cool ivory
KnifeHead
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Prior to soldering, a line is scribed where you want your bolster to line up behind the pivot pin. Mine is about 3/4" from the end.
1. The parts were sanded flat by hand and cleaned with acetone.
2. Lightly put some oil on the places you don't want solder. The pin for the bolster will be used to help align it for soldering so make sure some oil is on the pin.
3. A small coil of Stay-Brite and Stay-Clean flux is placed on the piece and it is heated till the solder starts to melt. Dab the solder around on the piece with some scrap rod to ensure it covers the surface to be soldered. **This is pretty important - If you overheat it, it will turn a nasty brown and won't work. Heat slowly and back off on the heat once the solder starts to flow.**
4. Flip off the excess solder while it is still hot. The piece should be brite and shiney. Do all liner and bolster parts the same way.
5. Line up and clamp the tinned pieces on one set. Make sure you use the pivot pin to help align the parts. Heat up the bolster side till the solder begins to flow. Thereafter you will notice the liner side solder will begin to flow...stop with the heat and let it cool.
I used this method on mine and overheated my first set. While it was cooling I "got back on the horse" and soldered the second set. It worked great! I cleaned up the first set and did a re-run....no problems. The important things are to clean well and not overheat. Tony says he has soldered all his liners this way and has never had one come apart.
That's basically it and thanks for the question. Take a look at http://boseknives.com/backpocket-construction/ and peruse pics 3 thru 14 for the soldering sequence.
By the way I registered http://boseknives.com for Tony back in November and plan on building this site from the ground up. I know a lot of you professional knifemakers have web sites with some great content. If you're open to sharing them, I'd like to here your ideas about things you would like to see on BoseKnives.com. You can send me messages off forum if you like.
1. The parts were sanded flat by hand and cleaned with acetone.
2. Lightly put some oil on the places you don't want solder. The pin for the bolster will be used to help align it for soldering so make sure some oil is on the pin.
3. A small coil of Stay-Brite and Stay-Clean flux is placed on the piece and it is heated till the solder starts to melt. Dab the solder around on the piece with some scrap rod to ensure it covers the surface to be soldered. **This is pretty important - If you overheat it, it will turn a nasty brown and won't work. Heat slowly and back off on the heat once the solder starts to flow.**
4. Flip off the excess solder while it is still hot. The piece should be brite and shiney. Do all liner and bolster parts the same way.
5. Line up and clamp the tinned pieces on one set. Make sure you use the pivot pin to help align the parts. Heat up the bolster side till the solder begins to flow. Thereafter you will notice the liner side solder will begin to flow...stop with the heat and let it cool.
I used this method on mine and overheated my first set. While it was cooling I "got back on the horse" and soldered the second set. It worked great! I cleaned up the first set and did a re-run....no problems. The important things are to clean well and not overheat. Tony says he has soldered all his liners this way and has never had one come apart.
That's basically it and thanks for the question. Take a look at http://boseknives.com/backpocket-construction/ and peruse pics 3 thru 14 for the soldering sequence.
By the way I registered http://boseknives.com for Tony back in November and plan on building this site from the ground up. I know a lot of you professional knifemakers have web sites with some great content. If you're open to sharing them, I'd like to here your ideas about things you would like to see on BoseKnives.com. You can send me messages off forum if you like.
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sorry for the off topic but wow..i just realized where you live kerry, this summer I'm moving to my dads in columbus indiana and i have a BUNCH of relatives in Terre Haute, you know the drag strip in town? my uncle Jimmy owns that place
KnifeHead
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No problem...and welcome to the thread.
I love the smell of burning rubber in the afternoon
. Your uncle Jimmy keeps the smoke rollin out of that place during the drag season. Looks like he is doing quite well if the attendance is any indicator.
KnifeHead
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I have the handle material glued to the liners and I'm going to TB's to shape and pin them tonight. Tony says he doesn't glue the handles on to liners until he is ready to assemble the knife.....OOOPS! Who told me to hurry up and get the knife finished dangit!!!???
I will counter sink the end and center pin holes with a 2 degree bit so that pin pressure is laterally on the liner and not on the handle material. The bolster gets a 10 degree counter sink in the pivot hole.
I have added more text on http://boseknives.com/backpocket-construction from #14 thru #104. I would have taken more pics of my knife project but it was easier to take pics of his and add text.
I am following his process so my knife will turn out exactly like his... HAAAAAAA...big funny there. Actually I am really surprised how well this knife is turning out. More pics of it later.
I wanted to add that, barring any unforseen misfortune, I and my lovely wife are going to the Blade show in June for the first time...YEAH BABY!!! This knife will be with me in some form, however it turns out. I'm looking forward to meeting any of you characters that will be going. You should be able to find me pretty easy....I'll be the guy with knives in my head.
I will counter sink the end and center pin holes with a 2 degree bit so that pin pressure is laterally on the liner and not on the handle material. The bolster gets a 10 degree counter sink in the pivot hole.
I have added more text on http://boseknives.com/backpocket-construction from #14 thru #104. I would have taken more pics of my knife project but it was easier to take pics of his and add text.
I am following his process so my knife will turn out exactly like his... HAAAAAAA...big funny there. Actually I am really surprised how well this knife is turning out. More pics of it later.
I wanted to add that, barring any unforseen misfortune, I and my lovely wife are going to the Blade show in June for the first time...YEAH BABY!!! This knife will be with me in some form, however it turns out. I'm looking forward to meeting any of you characters that will be going. You should be able to find me pretty easy....I'll be the guy with knives in my head.
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Kerry Im enjoying this project. Thanks for the insight on slip joints. I actually did make one and now know what I did wrong.
Just got back from your link to the backpocket knife. Holy smokes! Its amazing!
Just got back from your link to the backpocket knife. Holy smokes! Its amazing!
KnifeHead
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Since there was 3 or 4 hours of work left to do on this knife, we decided to put off finishing it till Saturday when we have more time. I thought it would be a good idea to clamp it to something flat till then, in this case a piece of 5/32 D-2, to insure it stays nice and flat. Tony says that back in the day, he had some liner assemblies with natural handle material curl up like a potatoe chip. Ever since then he finishes up a project as soon as the handle material is glued to the liners.
KnifeHead
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I went over to the Wilfred Works this morning on a mission to complete work on my first folding knife. I took about 6 hours to do 4 hours work. Even Tony told me to "hurry up" once...but he was joking.
There has been a lot of work since now; drilling holes in liners, adjusting the walk and talk so the spring is level with the liners in all three positions, cutting out and shaping the liners, cutting out and shaping the handle material, gluing the handle material and drilling final holes, etc., etc.,.
Today I pinned the handles to liners and put the knife together and have it sanded to 800 grit.
I think the knife is coming together real well. I attribute that directly to using the same hammer that Tony has used to put together every knife he ever made(seen in the last picture). :grin:
All I have left to do is hand sand it to 1500 then I will lightly buff it. The final pic will be posted later. The pics in this post are prior to being sanded to 800 on slack belt.
There has been a lot of work since now; drilling holes in liners, adjusting the walk and talk so the spring is level with the liners in all three positions, cutting out and shaping the liners, cutting out and shaping the handle material, gluing the handle material and drilling final holes, etc., etc.,.
Today I pinned the handles to liners and put the knife together and have it sanded to 800 grit.
I think the knife is coming together real well. I attribute that directly to using the same hammer that Tony has used to put together every knife he ever made(seen in the last picture). :grin:
All I have left to do is hand sand it to 1500 then I will lightly buff it. The final pic will be posted later. The pics in this post are prior to being sanded to 800 on slack belt.
KnifeHead
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Thanks Mike. I'm about to start the finish sanding on this but even as it is at 800 it looks great. The knife works awesome and the point of the blade ended up perfectly centered between the liners. When I close the knife it has such a sweet feel and snap to it....it's music to my ears.
I'm hesitant to start another one because this one will be hard to beat.
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That is a great looking blade Kerry :thumbup: Thanks for taking the time to put together this thread . I think we all learned something from it. I know I sure did . Its going to be real hard to wear the "cool" off of that one
. Its going to be real hard to wear the "cool" off of that one
KnifeHead
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Finally! Thanks for your interest in this thread. I have received many great comments about this whole process. It was a major learning experience for me and I plan on putting into practice what I have learned. I don't know where it will all lead but for right now knifemaking is one of the most gratifying hobbies I have ever had. I'm really happy to have been able to share the making of my first folding knife with the folks here that find it interesting. Here is the finished knife, and as I said, I will have it with me at the Blade show in June.
I hope the pics are good enough to see a few things. Firstly, I ended up hand sanding it to 2500 grit instead of 1500 and then lightly buffed it with white buffing compound.
You should see that the point of the blade is nicely centered between the liners when closed.
The spring is level in all 3 positions and is etched on the outside for a nice contrast with the stainless liners and has been mirror polished on the inside.
There are no cracks in the mammoth ivory due to peening of the pins but yet there are no gaps around the pins. There were some small chips on the pile side around the center pin that occured when I drilled the hole. It's 110 thousand years old for Pete's sake! Shiite happens
I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. Thanks to Tony Bose for helping cut the learning curve way short and making this a memorable project.
I hope the pics are good enough to see a few things. Firstly, I ended up hand sanding it to 2500 grit instead of 1500 and then lightly buffed it with white buffing compound.
You should see that the point of the blade is nicely centered between the liners when closed.
The spring is level in all 3 positions and is etched on the outside for a nice contrast with the stainless liners and has been mirror polished on the inside.
There are no cracks in the mammoth ivory due to peening of the pins but yet there are no gaps around the pins. There were some small chips on the pile side around the center pin that occured when I drilled the hole. It's 110 thousand years old for Pete's sake! Shiite happens
I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. Thanks to Tony Bose for helping cut the learning curve way short and making this a memorable project.