Progress report on BF 2012 knife!

Awesome!! I just got back from vacation and I couldn't think of something better to come back to!

I have one question though, why do they do heat treating before they cut the die, wouldn't it be easier to heat treat it after it has been cut so that it is easier to cut out?

 

That is awesome. I always thought it was really interesting how a chunk of steel like those can be turned into something so nice. :thumbup:

 

My understanding is that heat treating causes some distortion in the steel. Insofar as the distortion has already occurred prior to being cut with a laser, the end product is much more "consistent" throughout. In other words, the laser eliminates most shape distortion caused by the HT. Also, cutting with a laser creates more stresses on steel than cutting say... by waterjet. Generally speaking, the thinner the steel, the more impacted it will be by laser cutting. I ***think*** that because the steel has been hardened, it is less susceptible to laser processing distortion than its softer "un-heat-treated" counterpart.

BTW, I am NOT an engineer, but I do play one on TV!

 

Really cool!!

 

This would be my assumption as well, whenever I cut steel 1/16' or smaller with a plasma cutter it seems to warp a tad if not heat treated prior.

 

Thank you so much for posting this. It is a thread that I have dreamed of.

 

Thanks for the pics. Very cool to see the steps.

 

Ahhhhh yahhhh! Gettin' close!

Cool photos! :thumbup:

 

This is gonna be good.

 

EDM machine uses a wire with elect. current running through it to make more
precise cuts. It does better than a laser.. My best friend owns a machine shop and those things are
expensive.... Makes it easier to make dies and punches. I guess...


Jason

 

Awesome picts, and not to hijack charlies thread but final art went to sue @GEC sounds like the 2012 is firing on all cylinders
Regards
Gene

 

Sweet to see pics Charlie. It was a long road this time but it appears to have been worth it. :thumbup:

 

Deleted because apparently this was taken the wrong way......

 

Thanks for the update, Charlie!

That handle profile looks very nicely proportioned. I'll bet they eventually flip it over and make a killer Swayback Jack out of it.

 

Getting really excited about this one! as a machinist seeing this sort of thing makes me grin...making a die that will eventually be used to create some beautiful knives we can all enjoy.

 

What is so cool about this, is even if you don't get in on the run, GEC will now have the dies to release regular runs in the future.

I was not in a position to order one (much to my sorrow), and hope in the future to get this pattern (perhaps in burnt stag etc).