my first folder

B

byersj79

Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
156
Here's the start of my first folder. It's going to be a Scagel style single blade 4" closed. Also wanted to say thanks again to Mace for sending me the pattern. I'll post more pics along the way.

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Hi,

Looks to be a good start so far. I will be watching so I can learn as you go.:)

Good Luck!
dalee
 
Hey, Looks like a good start. If you want email me again with your phone # lets talk I'll give ya some tips that were passed down to me.
Mace
 
I got a little more done. Here's the liners a little oversized.

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Here's it put together with blade open.

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And with it closed.

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Like I said the liners are about an 1/8" bigger than they will be at final finish and I really suck at taking pictures but you get the idea. I tell you they are a lot more work in these so far. I've worked on this in bits and pieces but I think I have about 3 or 4 hours in it so far and it doesn't feel like I have anything really done. Being my first I really took a lot of time on the tang area to get it to fit just right but I'm sure the more I do the faster I'll be. I'd appreciate any feedback or pointers along the way. Thanks for looking.
 
My nail nick is a little rough but ready for heat treat.

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Sorry for such crappy pictures. My wife has the good camera at work and she keeps forgetting to bring it home.
 
Since its your first I will point out one thing that might help you . You said the liners are oversized. Actually I would not concern myself with liners till after the heat treat. I use a board set up the blade and spring then draw a line behind the spring and make sure it the same open and closed. This will eliminate the spring being to high or low after the final assembly. Good luck and most of all have fun ! Glen

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I stink at pics but here is a sample of my work .
 
Heatride do you set up on the board after the heat treat then grind away for proper fit or before the heat treat? This is what I did and I may have messed up. After I drilled the holes in the spring for the pins I pinned the spring on the board using the hole in the middle of spring for the pivot. I pinned the blade in the open position traced the bottom of the spring then made sure the spring was in the same position open and closed. Then I bent the spring up about a 1/16" to put more pressure on the blade when its all assembled. Is that part right? I have read in Chris Crawfords tutorial that he does not bend the spring but just pivots it upward. My thoughts were that if I bend the spring it will keep its original shape after final assembly and if you just pivot it up it will have a bow in it or it will be straighter in my case. Is that right or have I messed up? Thanks for the input and that folder looks great.
 
I shape the spring so that it will provide a small amount of pressure and will not require bending prior to HT. Having said that, I have had to make "some adjustments". If I understand you correctly I think you should be OK. I too built my first folder based on Chris Crawfords tutorial. Good stuff. My biggest advice: take your time with everything. You'll get faster the more you do. Here's one I just made for my little sister by request.
 

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Mace said:
Hey, Looks like a good start. If you want email me again with your phone # lets talk I'll give ya some tips that were passed down to me.
Mace
Click to expand...

Give Mace a call , talking to a maker will help a LOT . If you would like to chat with me also do as Mace suggested , send me a email. I have nationwide long distance be glad to help if I can.
 
OK I had a little time off this weekend and was able to finish my knife. I think it turned out well for my first anyway. They are a few things I would for sure have done different. I peened the pin for the blade too much and cracked the bone a little and I don't think I rounded the edges as much as I should but I was afraid of cracking from the smaller pins. The arrowhead I made from a nichol and I should have worked on it a little more. All in all I pretty proud of my first folder. Tell me what you guys think.

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I want to say thanks to Mace and Heatride for all the help. These two guys help make this the best knife forum on the web. Thanks a lot.
 
That's a pretty nice job for your first! Haven't gotten any work (besides HT) done on mine, have another outstanding project to be finished. Great job!!!
 
Wow, that turned out pretty good. I sure would be proud if it was my first folder or even my 5th. Hope the one I'm working on right now turns out that good. Thanks for sharing byers.
 
Thanks guys I really enjoyed making this and I've already started on another smaller two blade. This time I'm going to dye the bone a medium brown and jig it I think. Thanks again.
 
That is really cool! I just made my first small fixed blade but im a little intimidated by a folder right now! Hope i can pull off a lock back off one of these days...

anyways, Nice work!
 
Very nice first folder. A hint on cracking the bone around pins.....say you have bored and reamed .125 for an 1/8" pin. Ream about 3-5 thous over pin size all th eway thru scale and liner material. Then..ream the bone only another 5 thous over. The bone ream does not have to go all the way to the liner material. Still be careful peining and the peining will definitely fill this oversized ream but will tend not to split the scales. Still be very careful as some bone is very brittle as well as old ivory. I find that mammoth tends to not split as easily. If you really want to smack the pins....use micarta!!:p
 
Hey thanks John. I've learned a lot since that folder. After that post I probably spent two to three months of making only folders, I think only 20 or so though. I still have a shoe box full of all my mess ups. Up to that point I made maybe ten fixed blades and was smoothing the pins off flush with the handles and looking back on it I was hitting them way too hard but I guess the extra girth in the handles kept them from cracking maybe. Now that I learned how to properly pein a pin I mostly leave them mushroomed out. Man that seems like a long time ago and its been less than a year. Thanks John again for the tip. I will try that on my next folder, if there ever is one. Ha ha!
 
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