Ron ordered this up after some thorough discussion and decision making on his part.
I'll be taking this one from start to finish here for a .120 thick lock side and same for the G11 non lock side. I'll be gun bluing the blade for a nice classy finish, and of course topping it all off with one of my signiture low rider pocket clips mounted for tip up carry right hand and Ron has requested a lanyard hole on his knife also which I've got drilled out along with the rest of my holes. Pivot will be 3/16" stainless steel with 6-32 thread stainless button head screws. The rest of the construction will be 1/8" stainless with 2-56 button head screws.
Ron asked that the knife measure between 7" and 7.5" open so as it stands now it is looking like the handle is going to have a 4 and 3/8" plus or minus length after finishing. The blade I'm figuring will be around 2 and 7/8" in a flat grind of course and naturally a Wharncliffe shape. I'm working on the blade shape now and getting the lock contact mapped out and will probably post that up later today or tomorrow sometime.
Seen below in the thumbnail picture I've attatched is the first shots of the titanium side that will be my lock and the G11 side that will be the non lock side. I still have yet to cut out a spacer for the rear.
STR, how much will it weigh? And that's what I call excellent service. I am pacing the floor waiting to get this knife. I am really looking forward to a wharnclifffe blade in 1095v. Thanks for all your patience and time for all the questions I had. BY the way, could you put your wharncliffe blade in an Benchmade Axis folder?It is outstanding to see the knife come together!
RKH
Yeah probably but we were just talking about this the other day on another thread. Its much easier to make a new lock to fit a blade than it is to make a new blade to fit an old lock. At least thats been the case for me. I've done it but normally I go the easy route!
Ok, got my rear spacer made and the blade shaped and did the Gator belt on her to clean it up just a bit to a nice brushed finish. I even put a slight bevel on it just to get that part started. Its not slicing anything yet but thats coming soon. Still have a bit more to do there on the finish tomorrow and the point is just a tad long so I will have to shorten it just a bit yet but I've reached a stopping point for today I think.
I did not realize you could make the knife this fast! I was not sure on the jade color G11 but I am sure I will like it as is a unique looking green color and a change from the black tactical look. Also, would you guess about 3 oz. on the weight? Looks very nice and is fascinating to watch it come together.
RKH
Yeah probably about 3 ounces. The small one I showed you for I.V was like 2.6 ounces as I recall. Yours will be slightly larger so it might hover around 2.8 to 3.1 ounces. These are lighter weight little giants that work bigger than the footprint they take up in the pocket. That was the whole idea behind it back when Dirk (Oupa on these and other forums) first showed me the drawing that eventually evolved into the "Ouparator folder". I knew from the moment I laid my eyes on this folder design that I could refine the inner working of it to make it a superbly built well thought out little folder with a tank built frame but its more than just Dirk behind this thing. I also owe much of what I've done here to another very good guy and friend of mine, Bill Vining who made this same knife a few times in a liner lock version. He, like me has permission to do these from Dirk also and although I understand Bill has taken a leave of absence from knife making his little liner locks were quite dolled up beauties when he was still making some impressive pocket jewelry. Although Bill's folders were lighter duty gents folders I could not have refined it this well without his contributions.
Anyway to stick to my original train of thought. I have big hands. Hands that like a knife they can get all four fingers wrapped around but I like smaller blades. Originally the Rice Beater idea, which is a knife very similar to this one was one based on this concept of the larger handle smaller blade idea for big guys like me that wanted ample handle but didn't feel the need for a blade bigger than 3". (See pic below of the second of two original Rice Beater folders currently in a collection in Chicago) I have found I can actually use and be quite comfortable with a 4" closed folder but it has to be made a certain way for me to do this without the dangling pinky thing happening to me and I don't like three finger folders. I don't want a dangling pinky hanging off the lanyard end of my user knife and unfortunately for big guys that like smaller blades this is most always the case.
On blades. I like my blades so the thumb stud is back away from the cutting edge so that its not necessary to have to remove it to sharpen it on certain sharpeners like the Edge Pro or Lansky type where the stud is directly inline with the cutting edge by being right above it or worse, mounted in the primary grind area on an angled part of the blade. I prefer to mount mine on the flat away from the edge. Doing this also puts the cutting edge a tiny bit further away from the index finger and can also allow you to make a nice choil for choking up on the blade good which I personally feel is a good thing.
I like carbon steel. I like the idea of a frame lock for reliability because of the way you can get your fingers in behind the lock to keep it from moving to release and I like the idea of a choil for the index finger to get ahead of the pivot or something akin to that like I've designed into this folder. The way I make this folder I'm doing for you the blade sits such that in a normal grip your index finger physically sits right over top of the blade (see how far back the pivot is and note how much blade is ahead of that before it comes to the cutting edge? This is on purpose) effectively acting as a secondary stop to block the blade from closing even if the lock defeated for some wild unforseen reason. I'm not suggesting it could not close but its sure a better thing to happen this way than to have the blade loop around and bite you because your hand is forced to be so far behind the cutting edge that this can happen. Anyway, I know this is more than you asked me for but it just seemed like it was worth mentioning.
Oh and it might seem fast I guess from your perspective but I worked a lot of hours on this already and it ain't done yet!:thumbup:
Sir, you are a WEALTH of information. I think I have learned quite a bit from just talking to you about this knife and how generous you are in sharing your information. YOU are a credit to the knife making profession! Question... on the blued blade will this create more drag in cutting as I like to whittle and have found that the coated blades add resistance to this and satin blades slide and cut better in the soft woods I use. Also, How difficult is it to remove this bluing? And if the finish does wear can I re blue it myself by just using the gun blues I have seen in gun shops?
RKH
I have not noticed this finish causing any undue drag when using it for slicing. The coating is quite durable from what I have seen but it can scratch. The good news is its very easy to reapply a new coat. The stuff from Wal-Mart called Perma Blue will do the trick in about three coats that the one I use will do in just one coat (Super Blue) and then you rinse it under the facet in the sink rubbing it with steel wool. They are both the same forumula I think just different concentrations. Remember you don't want to let it absorb into your skin. Overdoses of selenium dioxide build up over time as I understand it and this can in certain concentrations shut down the kidneys or cause you some serious problems there so its best to store it in a safe place and since it can be absorbed through the skin its best to wear rubber gloves and safety glasses when using it.
The solution will dull the edge of a carbon blade quite rapidly so your blade will most always needs a touch up after reapplying any coats on it. Most folks wait until the edge needs a touch up anyways before touching up any scratch marks or faded areas on them.
If you do a lot of whittling on the back porch you will love this little knife I'm building you my friend. That is what I do with the steel quite a bit and have used it for many years now as my exclusive wood carving steel. I've got a blade out of this same steel that I made for myself in 1990 that has carved quite a few walking stick faces and other little things for my nieces and nephews over the years. You can get a pretty good highly polished push cutting edge on this steel with a strop too so its a good one for that. Of course you can opt for a good aggressive slicing edge also and it can do that just as well. Its a very versatile steel and sharpens up easily but keeps its edge well also.
I am sure that satin finishing the blade again using some 600 grit emory cloth would strip the blue finish right off to answer your question. I've never tried it but I'm sure it would work because the finish is not that thick and seems to be less intrinsic than it may appear. I particularly like the blue black look it gives. Its just a classy look in my opinion but it can be removed.
I really like the blue finish I have seen on your web site but these were just some concerns of mine. I cannot wait to try this 1095v steel.I personally like a simple steel that is easy to sharpen and takes a good edge. Some of the CPM steels are tough to sharpen and hell to re profile. I have some carbon steel Case knives that I like a lot. Fairly easy to sharpen and hold a good edge. I think Case are making some good knives now but they do leave a burr on the edge. Queen make some nice knives but they leave the edge much too thick and are a bear to re profile. I will not buy any more Queen knives for this reason. Of course, I may not want any knives but yours from now on after I get the Ouperator. Good night.
RKH
Thanks STR. Always a pleasure to here from you on my knife. Knives mean so much to me and bring so much joy in my life. My Grandfather gave me my first knife when I was about six. This was about fifty one years ago. Of course my Mother had a fit but Dad came to my rescue. Oh my God I have become an old man.
RKH
Got a little more done on this one. Its coming along nicely. I'll be milling out the lock here soon. Got it trimmed out a bit, still needs some more there, and got my thumb stud added. Been mapping out the lock and contact the rest of the time in the shop today. Also got all the barrels cut to the right length so we are moving right along.
I like the way you put the thumb stud close to the handle. This is much more efficient than putting the thumb stud farther out on the blade, I have seen some that are close to 1/3 out on the length of the blade. This interferes with the blade function. Very well done the way you do it!!
RKH
I still have to make some adjustments and the pocket clip and also I still need to blue the blade. At present I'm still getting all the fine tuning done for function but its coming along.
The lock cuts for bending the lock are a bit thick yet and still need further shaping at this point but I went ahead and tested the lock up to see where I was at on it. They are measuring .074 in this shot which I need to bring down to between .060 and .065 so thats to come. The bevel along the edge of the handle to round it off gives it the appearance of being thinner than it actually measures so its decieving.
The detent ball is set in the lock and it grabs a bit more than it needs to so I plan to adjust that yet, and all the pins and screws are cut to length and installed and all that went well.
As shown here the folder weighs in at 2.6 ounces without the clip but usually those add very little. It might weigh in at 2.7 ounces when finished but since it will lose a little with my adjustment to the lock relief cuts and for the holes for the clip I'm hoping its right around where its at now when all is said and done. The overall length open is 7.25", closed 4.25". Blade is a 3" long Wharncliffe as planned.
STR, I have been looking at this knife tonight and I am VERY IMPRESSED with how this knife is coming together. I am thinking that if you have not blued the blade to just go with a nice satin finish. If this knife is as good in the hand as it looks in the picture it may well be that close to perfect knife and will become my EDC. I believe this knife encompasses all the things I want in an EDC...........light weight, titanium and G11 handles which may be and incredible handle material from your info and is a very pretty color as most knives are a black tactical look and with the carbon steel and the frame lock. I like a steel that is easy to sharpen and yet holds a good edge. I find some of the super steels difficult to re bevel when the edge is too thick and a bear to sharpen when they get dull. I have had to thin the profile on some Queen knives as they are way too thick from the factory and it is a job to do this with the D2 steel. Thanks so much for your time and keeping me informed on the progress. If there is any one out there considering a exceptional knife they want I would say you should give a call to STR.
RKH
Yes these carbon blade models are working mans knives that are basically just bare bones get after it users without a lot of bells or whistles attatched to them. This one was blued last night before I went to bed so its done at this point. I just need to make a clip, look it over and decide if I want to mail today or wait til Monday to see if any additonal bugs needs worked out that I may have missed. Typically my knives do require a bit of a break in more so than productions due to the fact that they are hand made totally so it should get better and better with use.
I am just getting to the pocket clip here this morning and will know here shortly. I only have till noon though since our Post Office here is only open till then. But please be sure I do have an address to mail this to. I am not sure because I haven't thought about it but you might email it to me if you didn't already.
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