~Project Complete!~ I'm making friction folders! What blade steels do you want to see in them?

[The_Iron_Joe]

Like the title says. I've been developing this for a while, and in the next month or so I'll be making them; first prototypes are done, I'm just trying to narrow down materials for a first batch. I'm looking to keep these as affordable as possible, so that's why I've chosen those particular steels; I want to know what steel people would prefer, hence the poll. GKD seemed like the best place to get opinions from a wide range of users here.

Blade is 3", handle is 4.25". Extended tang "stick" is exposed for one-handed opening. Currently debating whether I should go about making pocket clips or not.

Edited to add; since it's come up a few times now, the handle material will most likely be G10.

 

[19-3ben]

I’d guess 154cm is going to offer the best all-around performance for the price. That said, have you considered D2? If you’re trying to keep it inexpensive, it’s hard to imagine a steel with high performance and low cost that can match D2.

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

19-3ben
Honestly, and this came up in another thread, D2 is probably my favorite steel. The main difficulty for me is getting some to make knives with, my local supplier is out and ordering into Canada gets very expensive very quickly. Rest assured that if it becomes available again, I'll be using it much more often.

 

[dkb45]

Personally, I'd love to see something more exotic like Cru-Wear. Likely not cost effective, though. CPM-154 is an excellent choice for great well rounded performance.

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

Personally, I'd love to see something more exotic like Cru-Wear. Likely not cost effective, though. CPM-154 is an excellent choice for great well rounded performance.

You know what, I wouldn't be opposed to making individual blades specifically on customer request, or doing a limited batch of a particular steel if there was enough interest.

 

[dkb45]

Well now I have to ask what one of these in a more exotic steel would run.

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

An estimate to make one with Cru-Wear; it would be about $225 CAD, or $175 USD, depending on the exchange rate that day...

 

[NJBillK]

CPM 154 would be a wise decision, over 154cm.

The reason why I stated the above is I noticed that 154cm/CPM 154 is about where folks draw the line for alloys. Many folks will be perfectly fine with CPM 154, but will balk at 154cm. Both take a really nice 400 grit edge, that will work for most folks for the day (or more) and is easy to touch up.

I have found that CPM 154 tends to hold less of a burr, and takes as keen (or keener) edge more quickly, but it lacks some of the toughness of 154cm. On 154cm, the burrs aren't exactly stubborn, just slightly more so when compared to CPM 154. As a friction folder, I would prefer ease of maintenance over toughness.

S35Vn would be a nice option, but may bump up the price a bit. That being said, this would probably be offset by the additional customers that find CPM154 to be a little basic by now. Those are also the folks that find S35Vn to be rather Vanilla, but acceptable.

I would preferAEB-L, CPM154, with S35Vn being third.
Best of luck, I have always loved a friction folder.
Any way to work a cap lifter into the equation?

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

CPM 154 would be a wise decision, unless you want slightly more toughness at the expense of customers "preferring the upgraded version", in which case 154cm makes a nice EDC blade.

The reason why I stated the above is I noticed that 154cm/CPM 154 is about where folks draw the line for alloys. Many folks will be perfectly fine with CPM 154, but will balk at 154cm. Both take a really nice 400 grit edge, that will work for most folks for the day (or more) and is easy to touch up.

I have found that CPM 154 tends to hold less of a burr, and takes as keen (or keener) edge more quickly, but it lacks some of the toughness of 154cm. On 154cm, the burrs aren't exactly stubborn, just slightly more so when compared to CPM 154. As a friction folder, I would prefer ease of maintenance over toughness.

S35Vn would be a nice option, but may bump up the price a bit. That being said, this would probably be offset by the additional customers that find CPM154 to be a little basic by now. Those are also the folks that find S35Vn to be rather Vanilla, but acceptable.

I would prefer S35Vn, but would probably still be in the market for CPM154, depending upon price.
Best of luck, I have always loved a friction folder.
Any way to work a cap lifter into the equation?

Thanks for the opinion and breakdown, I appreciate the feedback!

Yeah, it wouldn't be hard to add a cap lifter into the tang of the blade, and just have it available as an option if people wanted it.

 

[NJBillK]

Thanks for the opinion and breakdown, I appreciate the feedback!

Yeah, it wouldn't be hard to add a cap lifter into the tang of the blade, and just have it available as an option if people wanted it.

I feel something like that would also be a few extra bucks. Don't short change yourself.

I don't know what kind of clearances you have between the current tang and stop pin. As it is, the blade tang isn't exposed out of the front of the knife, so a cap lifter wouldn't be either. Unless you have almost 1/4" of space, it will likely need to have the stop pin moved back.

What about on the butt of the handle, integrated into the backspacer?
This way your blade shape and clearances doesn't have to change, band you mill out a few lifter spacers.

Changed my vote to CPM154, despite my preference of S35VN, to keep costs down. Unless the end price would be $20 or less, I will not change my vote again.

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

I feel something like that would also be a few extra bucks. Don't short change yourself.

I don't know what kind of clearances you have between the current tang and stop pin. As it is, the blade tang isn't exposed out of the front of the knife, so a cap lifter wouldn't be either. Unless you have almost 1/4" of space, it will likely need to have the stop pin moved back.

What about on the butt of the handle, integrated into the backspacer?
This way your blade shape and clearances doesn't have to change, band you mill out a few lifter spacers.

Changed my vote to CPM154, despite my preference of S35VN, to keep costs down. Unless the end price would be $20 or less, I will not change my vote again.

You have confirmed something I was a little worried about, that in the picture I posted of the prototype, you wouldn't be able to tell exactly how long the tang was. It is actually exposed, you can see it if you look closely. Maybe I should update with a new picture.

 

[NJBillK]

You have confirmed something I was a little worried about, that in the picture I posted of the prototype, you wouldn't be able to tell exactly how long the tang was. It is actually exposed, you can see it if you look closely. Maybe I should update with a new picture.

I think I can see it, just around the third bump on the handle. I didn't notice it due to fuzziness on the first time around.

Unless you meant that you would add it to the stick tang itself. As long as the blade has a clear path for the stop pin, you can make the stick tang a square/rectangle and have it milled from that.

 

[NJBillK]

A quick depiction of the portion I said about the stick tang.

You could also have the cutout come in from the tip of the tang, if it was left with a "tab" (basically my edit turned 90° counterclockwise).

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

That would be simple to add. So simple that I can't see it costing much more, if anything. I might do a quick mockup of that later.

Edit to say that yes, that's exactly what I had in mind.

 

[NJBillK]

That would be simple to add. So simple that I can't see it costing much more, if anything. I might do a quick mockup of that later.

Edit to say that yes, that's exactly what I had in mind.

Ahh, ok. I was originally thinking that tang = opposite side of the pivot, like how Michael Morris does his lifters.

This doesn't seem that difficult, and it would add a place for a production count, if you planned on numbering them, or potentially your makers mark, if sized appropriately.

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

Ahh, ok. I was originally thinking that tang = opposite side of the pivot, like how Michael Morris does his lifters.

This doesn't seem that difficult, and it would add a place for a production count, if you planned on numbering them, or potentially your makers mark, if sized appropriately.

What I really need is a better etching setup for that kind of thing; I'd probably have all that info on the blade flats.

 

[abcdef]

Will be interested in the final product.

 

[b00n]

Consider making a L or XL version. I would dig a larger one (S35VN for my vote)

 

[Mr.SATism]

My vote is for s35vn, because why not go for the gold standard? But if you plan on splurging on the scales, go for something a little more affordable like 154CM or CPM 154. You don't need to quote your supplier's pricepoints, but definitely consider the budget for Materials vs. Quantity.

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

My vote is for s35vn, because why not go for the gold standard? But if you plan on splurging on the scales, go for something a little more affordable like 154CM or CPM 154. You don't need to quote your supplier's pricepoints, but definitely consider the budget for Materials vs. Quantity.

These will be made with g10 handles and Chicago screws for hardware, in order to keep the price down and still use reliable parts. It honestly won't be all that much more expensive to use S35VN, but I know people have preferences.