Making a bunch of these, need some advice.

JTknives

JTknives

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Jun 11, 2006
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As the title says I'm going to make a bunch of these. It's a design that's been in my idea book for 10+ years and is just now coming to fruit after some refinement. This is the first handmade prototype out of 5160 that I have been working on. But once I decide to make a batch I would like to have my ducks in a row. So who would you guys suggest I have cut these out. Normally I do all my own profiling but with the finger holes I figure it would be better to have them either water jet or laser cut. I don't mind a little cleanup but I don't want to have to grind a bunch of haze or crummy finish away. Would like to only have to hit the profile with finishing belts. Also would be handy if thy would be able to cut me a handful to play with befor I do say 20 or more. It's worth doing a bunch at a time as thy can nest nicely on a sheet.

And this brings us onto my next topic which is material. As said befor this one is 5160 as that's what I had in the required thickness of .3125 but I'm thinking it should be a stainless. But being that the closest I have ever come to stainless has been D2 so it's out of my zone so to speak. I was thinking a reseanably priced stainless like say 12C27 or maybe 440C as I'm wanting to be able to offer these at a really good price. Unless you think a steel upgrade would be worth it.

Thanks guys for any help you can provide on material or vender selection.

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D2 seems a great application for this design...you need a water jetter with a dynamic head.
 
Cool design... reminds me of a HAK (Hide Away Knife) to a degree.

For profiling, you might consider waterjet cutting the blades. I'd recommend giving Mark Vanderwest a call at Leading Edge Fabricating. They have excellent turn around and good pricing.
As for steel, that's up to you and what you think they should be priced at. 440C is probably one of the most economical options... 154CM might be another. Depending on how many you batch together, you might want to consider contracting the heat treat too...

Good luck!
 
My apologies if my reply is a bit beyond the scope of your question. However you slice it, having a vendor cut your material is a risk (barring some type of contract). I've been burned or disappointed so many times that I no longer provide the steel to the cutting vendor - instead, I now work with vendors who supply the steel and the cutting, and I pay after I have received satisfactory parts.

In one instance, I visited the cutting shop and brought examples of acceptable and unacceptable blanks. I sat down with the production manager and explained my requirements and left the samples with him. I was assured that my requirements would be met. They totally butchered the steel. The problem is that management may understand the situation clearly, but if the machine operator doesn't understand or doesn't care - bad parts are made. This is especially true if the machine operator is 2nd or 3rd shift. In this instance, the shop took responsibility for the screw-up, but it still put me months behind schedule because a new plate had to be sourced and shipped in.

In conclusion, if you are very particular about cut quality, I suggest you make your expectations as clear as possible AND discuss a contingency plan with the vendor (i.e. how will unsatisfactory work be remedied?).
 
Out of curiosity (as a newb at this knife design thing) - why are you doing a hollow grind on the blade, instead of a flat grind? I would think it would make for a stronger tip?
 
Thanks guys for all the response, I was thinking D2 but then thought maybe stainless as it does not get any scales or cord wrapping. That being said I'm a big fan of D2, I have never had it rust on me and it holds a good edge along time.

Yeah I just looked up the hak and yeah it's similar. When did that blade come out because this design I sketched up in 2006-2010. But it's funny how similar thy are and this is the first time I have seen the HAK.

About cut quality, yeah that would suck to have it butchered on steel you bought. I'm a machinist by trade and have done a good bit of outside vendor work and some times it's tough to hold there feet to the fire as thy squirm a lot. But yes a contract is a must with a call out of max surface finish RMS and profile tolerance. I do like the idea of the cutter providing the material or at least having something in the contract that says if you scrap it you replace it. A big sheet of D2 that thick is not cheap even from flat ground.

As to why a hallow grind and not a flat. Well a few things moved me to that choice. First off a deep hallow grinds look sweet, but that's not the driving force behind that choice. If you look at how thick this blade is you will see what I'm getting at. Coming in at .312 thick and with how narrow it is you will see that a flat grind would end up leaving an edge with a steep angle and after a bit of sharpening you would have quite a thick edge. Also the hallow grind removes more weight from the blade. Being such a short compact blade means you want to make it faster. Meaning drop the weight in proportion to its size. And last but not least. Hallow grinding at least for me is fast and easy. Also easy to get a nice machine finish on a wheel. On a blade this thick with an 8" wheel it just locks in and grinds.

And yes I will be sending them out for heat treating.
 
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I think the HAKs have been around since very early 2000's, IIRC.

BTW, Leading Edge Fab does carry a variety of steel in house. I think they source everything from Niagara Specialty Metals, so I'm sure they can get you whatever you want.

I've always thought of D2 as basically a stainless steel, as I think it's about as stain"less" as any of the others. Maybe slightly less so, but if maintained doesn't pose an issue as far as I can tell.
 
I would say CPM D2 for that added wear resistance and finer grain. Talk to Aldo at new jersey steel baron. They do their own water jet cutting now.
 
Cool design, I've heard good things about leading edge fab. I think stainless would be the best choice on this kind of knife or d2 as its almost stainless. I think 440c would be a good choice. I'm not a marketing expect but I think $70-$90 for this kind of knife would be a good price range.
 
Chamfering what's that ;). Yes everything will be nice and rounded except the edge of corse.

I was thinking in the $75 range
Here is the one I was working on today. I still have a few things with the sheath to work out but it's coming along.

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yea, i think CPM D2 would be a good bet. Even higher wear resistance than D2, finer grain so you have a better edge, semi stainless, and it has a nice ring to it.
 
Mark at Leading Edge has done great work for me.
Hollow, not hallow.
 
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