Ouachita River Knives shop updates 2024

[JesseOsufsen]

Hello! This is a reintroduction, of sorts. I posted a fillet knife WIP on Blade Forums eight years ago. Here is the link to it: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/jesse-osufsen-birch-bark-fillet-knife.1448807/

My name is Jesse Osufsen. I have been making knives somewhat consistently since 2012. Mostly fixed blades with stainless steel blades. My family and I moved from Minnesota to Arkansas a little over a year ago. Since then, I have been trying to get my knifemaking into high gear, but I am limited to about 20 hours per week. I would say that this is more than a hobby for me. I guess I would be considered a part-time knifemaker. I currently have three main projects: a slipjoint, a balisong, and a framelock. The slipjoint is past the protoyping phase and I am working on the manufacturing process with a goal of making a few each week. The balisong is in the CAD / design phase. The framelock is in the prototyping phase. I'm making the first one completely by hand. I also have a couple of fillet knives and a couple of santokus, but they are a lower priority, for now.

Here are a couple pics of the slipjoint prototype. The next iteration is going to be prettier and will have a handle length of about 3-1/4 inches.





This is the framelock, as it is currently:



My intent is to post updates somewhat regularly to this thread. I am hoping to get feedback and some amount of accountability!

 

[SharpBits]

I’m liking what I see so far. Please keep posting, thank you.

 

[jfk1110]

Cool...... Best of luck with your endeavors

Nice work so far... Looking forward to seeing what you're up to..

 

[JesseOsufsen]

I’m liking what I see so far. Please keep posting, thank you.

Cool...... Best of luck with your endeavors

Nice work so far... Looking forward to seeing what you're up to..

Thank you both very much for the encouragement!



I was able to work on knifemaking stuff for about three hours today. I spent about half that time working on CAD for CNC machining the slipjoint blades.



I spent about 45 minutes on balisong CAD. The balisong is going to have integral handles made from titanium round stock. The handles aren't going to be completely round, however.



I spent the rest of my shop time flat sanding the insides of the framelock handle pieces.



I will be doing two shifts at a local machine shop, so I probably won't get any more shop time until Thursday.

 

[jfk1110]

Keep up the good work..... Stay safe!!!!

 

[Noblie Custom Knives]

It’s really admirable when someone creates something with their own hands.

 

[JesseOsufsen]

Keep up the good work..... Stay safe!!!!

Thanks! Speaking of shop safety, here's a tip: Wear a respirator when grinding, especially when grinding stainless steel. That dust is carcinogenic.

It’s really admirable when someone creates something with their own hands.

I agree! And, also, sometimes, I think it can be a symptom of insanity!

I lost a day yesterday due to some kind of intestinal virus, but I was able to get about three hours of knifemaking work in today. I worked on the CAD for the slipjoint blade fixture for about an hour.



I put in another hour on the balisong project. Even though most of my CNC machining is 2D or 2.5D, I switched to 3D for the CAD to make sure I visualize things correctly. The handles are going to be integral, pinless, and made from round stock.



I finished up with an hour on the framelock. Most of that time was spent making sure the mill head was square with the table and then extracting a broken 1/16" drill bit from the blade stock. I reamed the pivot hole to .249". I will have to either lap it out to .250 or pull some shenanigans with my .249 reamer to get the pivot to fit.