pokets clips for folders what kind of steel.

M

machinest

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what kind of steel do you use for pocket clips on folders and how do you heat treat. regards.:)
 
Use titanium when making your own. .050 works has worked for me. I do heat up to cherry red when bending. Frank
 
When I made them using steel I used 410 stainless. Switching to titanium made it much easier though and allowed color anodizing. Ti also eliminated the need for heat treating them after making them.

STR
 
the titianium sounds great, any idea where to get the .050 thick stock, can it be cut with tin snips, or can it be had in say 3/8 wide strips. regards
 
A cheap 14 to 18 tooth per inch band saw blade from Sears will cut thin ti all day long like a hot knife going through butter.

You can drill a bunch of holes in your sheets of ti all around your designs putting the holes close together and cut out a pattern by hand by clamping the piece down first in a wooden work table vise too if you are just doing one or two clips.

If you are planning a lot you can simply order some based on your pattern and have them cut out by a service either laser or waterjet too and get a lot less waste. Most places have a minimum though so it may not be cost effective.

STR
 
I use 5 or 4mm Ti stock for my clips and make them by grinding the clip out of the bit of Ti rather then bending
them to shape. I just use G-10 or carbon fiber for a kicker to give the clip extra height, if it's needed.:thumbup:
 
I like and prefer .045 to .050 thickness titanium sheets for my clips personally. Mostly this is due to the nature of my work. What I find working on so many production folders is that if I use a clip material thicker than .050 thickness it can cause me to run into situations where the factory screws used in the original clip are not long enough to grab and pull it down tight when I replace it. Since many companies, particularly the ones contracting out with Japan, China, and Taiwan as well as other countries, use proprietary screws that are odd sizes compared to what I stock I've learned that many times its best to stick with what is used by the factory for the best fit. On some Spyderco models the clips are .050 and the screws barely catch as they come as one example so if I am over that thickness by just a tiny amount its sometimes enough to make it such that I have to recess a screw down or something to make it work with thicker clips. In my efforts to keep it clean and easy I simply figure its better to be slightly under than over for thickness so I've found .045 works universally well for me for all things including my custom low rider clips. I still keep some thicker sheets here to do some beef cake clips for but most of the time those are limited to the ones I can easily replace screws on so most always they are USA made or if foreign made they are made using standard size 2-56 screws or something else I can easily find.

I'm sure if I looked hard enough I could find some of the metric ones but the trouble is it isn't like the screws are stamped to tell you what size they are. In the end its easier to just stick with doing them in advance knowing the material you are using will work for the original hardware. So, if you are planning to replace original factory clips I'd suggest sticking with something at or below the thickness of the clip you are replacing. If custom, well heck use .050 or thicker. I've done some of .070 for people carrying super sized knives and they come out pretty dang stout let me tell you.

STR
 
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