Original Designs That Already Exist

[me2]

Has anyone had this scenario happen to them? I was sketching up a couple of designs that I wanted to try to make, thinking I had something great that had never been done before, when bam, there they are, and out for years. The were fairly simple designs, but until this week, I hadnt seen or remembered seeing them anywhere. The first was a big chopper. My version was a 2" wide, 9" long dropped point with a 5-6 inch handle in black canvas Micarta and a 10 to 12 degree scandinavian style grind to a zero edge or a small micro bevel. Well, there it is, in the pages of Tactical Knives, in the form of Ricky Fowlers Survival/Camp knife. Different steel, and a ~3/4" wide hollow grind instead of 10 degree flat, but the outline and handle are the same. I guess there really aren't that many original designs, just better executed versions. Back to the drawing board.

 

[madcap_magician]

There are very few original designs... and there's nothing wrong with that. It's even pretty hard to come up with a unique style, I guess, and that goes for most creative work these days. But a different take on something tried and true can be just as good as art nouveau.

 

[me2]

I found another one. I wasnt really aware of Entrek knives. I was just browsing Knifecenter looking for some Frosts or Kellam knives when I found Entrek. There was the tanto I came up with. There were a few changes, but the dropped edge instead of a separate guard and the shape and Micarta handle were the same. I didnt have a curve for the main edge, mine was straight from handle to secondary tip. Again, I was using a flat grind, and had a slightly more acute tip, but the basic outline and concept were the same.
Madcap, I'm sure I'll go ahead and try, and hopefully that is what you meant. I mean, planes only fly when they're a certain shape, but the shape can be altered for specific purposes, such as gliding, speed, agility, etc.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

me2, there's a reason knife designs generally cluster around certain basic shapes. They work. It's a matter of the mechanics involved. If you do see a knife with a spectacularly different shape, the chances are pretty good it's a fantasy knife, and won't perform well in the real world.

In fact, I'd say that if you relax, sketch a design without thinking much about it, just let the ideas flow -- if you come up with something that's been done before, you did a good job!

Great minds think alike!​

 

[untamed]

Count me in that category! With a hobby of knife and gear designing, there are those moments when I just wanna shout "Eureka". . . only to find after sometime that somebody already beat me to it!

As the old proverb goes: "Great minds think alike" hehehe

 

[Planterz]

I had one of those moments. I was trying to think of a perfect "all around" blade type. Something that combined a wharncliffe tip (my favorite), but with a belly (when's the last time you saw a wharncliffe with a belly?), and a recurve for power cutting. I even went so far as to sketch it out, and even though I can't draw worth a damn, I was supprised to see what I "designed".

I'd designed a blade that looked almost exactly like Ken Onion's Bump.:foot:

 

[not2sharp]

I was trying to think of a perfect "all around" blade type.

There is no such beast. It all depends on your environment, physiology, and using style. It is like trying to find the perfect screwdriver or allen wrench; what is a great fit for one application can be entirely useless for another.

If you look at the history of knives, just about every useful blade shape has been around since the advent of steel; and, we are not likely to see a significant new design until someone figures out how to develop a practical light saber.

n2s

 

[dialex]

Oh yes. Oftenly. I tried once to make a folding khukri and when it was finished, I realized I made a MT Vector (well, sorta):

I think that almost on any knife (except Gil Hibben's of course) , one can easily find similarities with a certain model or another, at least in part .
I don't feel embarased though, as I don't steal or copy ideas, I design knives for fun. If it happens something was already made... well, that's it. Just like Esav said, you don't have much useful options in a blade shape after all.

 

[me2]

Well, I feel a little better. I got some info today on doing my own coated blades, so maybe I'll try that too. Of course, thats already been done too. Back to the drawing board again.

 

[destroythealter]

O man that always happens to me. It also happens with cars, not that I pan on making any, but I just think of designs and then later there they are. It's like im pysichic but in a very non practical way.