Metal Injection Molded Knife Blades

[Tif]

 

[biogon]

That's pretty sweet.

Thanks for the writeup.

One day I'll pick up an Offset...

-j

 

[Thomas W]

Well a few of you were asking about MIM blades, "green blades" and such, so I had Tif post them for you. Let me know if you have additional questions. Enjoy.

The above is needs some editing, as a few steps were left off.

 

[Thomas W]

Here it is with the missing steps.

 

[offsetlover]

ok thats cool. i take it that covers your "green offset" blade pics lol. its cool to see how that works now. I have two qeustions. first is, an you show us a pic or two of one of the MIM blades being sharpened? and two, what position do you hold at Kershaw Tif?

oh and biogon. i just picked up the offset. you wont be disapointed. (so thomas, when does the mini-offset come out???? )

 

[james_bond]

sweet, thank you from a studient in engineering.

 

[Thomas W]

offset, Tif is in our Customer Service dept., and I don't have any images of Offset blades being sharpened. Sorry. No smaller Offset on the table today.

 

[kneedeep]

Awesome, thanks Thomas!
Is the translucent blade just a plastic test of the injection mold showing the flashing? Or is it a master, the mold is created from?

The matte gray blade is the "green blade", right?
So the silver blade is the HIP'd blade?
The black blade is the final coated blade?

 

[Thomas W]

Is the translucent blade just a plastic test of the injection mold showing the flashing?

This answer would be correct.

The matte gray blade is the "green blade", right?
So the silver blade is the HIP'd blade?
The black blade is the final coated blade?

You are right on with your description of the blades. You can see how much bigger the green blade is prior to being fully processed. It also has the consistency of a crayon and has a bit of a green tone to its color.

 

[kneedeep]

Offsetlover, a mini-offset, are you kidding? The full size Offset in your hand, looks like a leek in mine. Do you want it to disappear altogether?

Thomas did you see the pic he posted?

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4673392&postcount=20

 

[kneedeep]

Its funny, I kinda like the keyhole for the studlock in the blade. Sorta makes a nice accent on the blade.

 

[offsetlover]

Offsetlover, a mini-offset, are you kidding? The full size Offset in your hand, looks like a leek in mine. Do you want it to disappear altogether?

Thomas did you see the pic he posted?

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4673392&postcount=20

ROFL! you must have really small hands kneedeep! Im not talking baby boa size here. The baby boa is only as long as my index finger! maybe mini-cyclone size.

 

[dialex]

Thanks for the infos and pics. Very instructive.

 

[G. Scott H.]

Thanks for bumping this thread, dialex. I hadn't run across this one yet. That is a very cool and intriguing process.

 

[offsetlover]

just save yourself the trouble G Scott. just get the offset and make yourself happy with one of the coolest knives out there! (if you havnt already).

i do think its funny how KD reacted when i posted that pic. I just laughed because of it!

 

[gine]

mim makes the blade denser then most steels right?
its only 440 c does it perform better after the mim process?
would it be as good as cpm s30v?
what would you take offset or zt-301?

 

[G. Scott H.]

just save yourself the trouble G Scott. just get the offset and make yourself happy with one of the coolest knives out there! (if you havnt already).

Oh, it's on my list. I have a sneaking suspicion that a fat guy in a red and white suit will be leaving one in my stocking next month. :thumbup:

 

[jaislandboy]

thanks for this awesome thread ... :thumbup:

 

[kwackster]

Does the MIM process make the knife cut better for longer than one made the oldfashioned way ?

 

[G. Scott H.]

I don't know about that, but it does look like MIM makes it easier (and likely more cost effective) to make more complex blade shapes.