Steve Culver, MS: Slipjoint (detailed work in progress)

muddy672

muddy672

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Jul 26, 2006
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Mods: I have posted this here in the Traditional section as well as the Custom section. I thought it related to both forums and hope it provides benefits to the readers in both sections. Please let me know if this is not appropriate. Thank you.

I contacted Steve Culver just over a year ago after he received his MS asking to be placed on his list for one of his slip joints. I liked the Persian inspired blade on the folders below and a few weeks ago we decided on a similar folder with single bolster and amber stag scales.

I asked Steve if he would be willing to document the process of building this knife and add a few pics. Steve was happy to do this and provided a very detailed view of the build process. Steve has already exceeded my expectations and I am very excited to see this folder once complete.

Steve has been a gentleman through this whole process.

Pics from Steve’s site of a few completed folders:





Raw materials for the knife: ATS-34 steel for the blade and spring, 410 stainless sheet for the liners and bolsters, amber stag for the handle material.




Surface grinding a few thousands off each side of the ATS-34 to remove the mill scale. I will also surface grind the liner and bolster material as I believe that removing the mill finish helps with making a sound connection when spot welding the bolsters to the liners.




Tracing around the pattern onto the ATS-34 for drilling the blade pivot and spring pin holes.




Drilling the blade pivot and spring pin holes.




The spring pattern is aligned with the previously drilled rear pin hole and clamped to the ATS-34. The center pin hole is drilled through the hole in the pattern.




The ATS-34 is cover with layout dye, then the patterns for the blade and spring are aligned with pins and the outlines of the patterns are scribed onto the ATS-34 with an Exacto knife.




Sawing out the blade and spring.




Profile grinding the blade on my KMG belt grinder. I have carefully adjusted the platten to 90 degrees to the work rest.


 
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Using a 6” wheel to profile grind the spine of the blade. I have modified the grinder to hold the work rest in front of the round wheel attachment. The work rest is adjusted to 90 degrees to the face of the wheel.




Using the same set up to profile grind the spring using a 4” wheel.




I have made the same modification to the small wheel attachment. Using it here to do additional profiling on the bottom of the spring.




Cutting the nail nick in the blade with a fly cutter.




The blade pivot was first drilled with a 1/8” drill to match the pivot hole in the pattern. At this point, I no longer need to use the pattern for the blade. The pivot hole is now drilled and reamed for a 3/16” pivot bushing.




The spring notch in the blade is roughed in using a grinding stone. The face of the stone has been dressed to an 85 degree “V”.




The blade and spring ready for heat-treat.




Wrapping the blade and spring in stainless foil for heat-treat.



Blade and spring going into kiln for a 30 minute soak at 1450 degrees. Then the temperature is increased to 1950 degrees for another 30 minute soak.



Blade and spring coming out of kiln to air quench.

 
Blade and spring right after air quench.



Blade coming out of kiln after tempering for two hours at 425 degrees. The spring will stay in the kiln for another two hours and the temperature will be increased to 1125 degrees.



The liner patterns traced onto the stainless sheet for drilling pin holes.



Drilling pin holes in liner material.



The liner material is covered with layout dye and the patterns are scribed for sawing out.



Liners are sanded flat on a sheet of sandpaper that is glued to a piece of flat material.



Liners flat, clean and ready to weld bolsters on.



Grinding one edge of bolster material square where it will meet the handle material.



I use one of my guard shoulder filing jigs to hold the liners for welding on the bolsters. A square is used to scribe a line on the first liner where the bolster will meet the handle material. The liner is clamped with the scribed line aligned with the face of the jig.



Spot welding the bolster to the left liner.

 
The pivot hole is drilled through the left bolster using the previously drilled hole in the liner as a guide.



Both liners are pinned together and clamped in the jig, with the just welded left bolster against the face of the jig.



A brass plate is super-glued to the right liner to position it in the jig during the next step.



The left liner is removed from the jig. Then, the right liner is clamped in the jig with the brass plate against the face of the jig. The brass plate is removed by heating it with a torch until the superglue releases. The superglue is cleaned from the liner with acetone, leaving the liner in position and ready for welding.



Both liners with bolsters welded in place. The pivot hole in the right liner will be drilled as was the left side.



The weld areas tend to harden from the welding process and will cause problems with machining the tang reliefs in the liners and can show on the finished bolsters. So, they are annealed by heating to a dull red with a torch and allowed to cool slowly.



Cleaning up the liners after annealing. I use double sided Scotch tape to affix the liners to a flat plate, then sand them clean.



Steve Culver
President - Kansas Custom Knifemaker's Association
Culver Knives
Meriden, KS
www.culverart.com
 
Thanks for taking the time to post this WIP! Always enjoyable , both from a users and makers perspective.:thumbup::thumbup:

Ken
 
Thanks for posting this, it's very informative and entertaining. If it ends up like the finished ones you posted it'll be a beauty.
 
ken erickson said:
Thanks for taking the time to post this WIP! Always enjoyable , both from a users and makers perspective.:thumbup::thumbup:

Ken
Click to expand...


Thanks Ken, Steve's the one doing all the work, I had the easy part in posting this.

Thank you all for the positive comments.

More to come as Steve works through this.
 
Amazing. It is always fascinating to see how much goes into making a knife, and how much skill it takes to do a good job of it.
 
Comprehensive overview, shows just how much skill and patience is needed to make a knife. Thanks W.
 
That certainly increases my understanding of what custom makers go through to deliver a knife. And my appreciation of their skill level and patience. Thanks for sharing!
 
Am I understanding this? The spring is treated to a greater hardness than the blade? Thanks for the great pics and info BTW.
 
No sir. The higher temp makes the spring softer. Blade will come out 59-60 and the spring 48-50 RC.
 
Thank you very much for this. I've alway been big fan of how they did things. Anything from ancient kilns and pottery to skyscrapers. I just love these stuff. Very nice pictures! These pictures simply help put perspective in knife making. It is truely an art and when watching person who loves what he does, shows how he works and shows also in his products. Maybe I am weird but its always bit magical to watch or see master of any area in work. How easily he can make things look like. Thank you from comprehensive pictorial!
 
It just goes to show what it takes to make a slipjoint. I can just imagine what it takes to make a mutiple blade slippie.:eek:
 
You never realize the amount of work that goes into these until you see it.

I have been reading the " How to make folding knives " book by Lake , Centofante and Clay , and also " How to make Multi-Blade Folding Knives " by Shadley & Davis , very great info if you can find the books.
 
Great thread. You know there's a lot of work that goes into making a folder, but you don't realize just how much till you see a thread like this.
 
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