SUPER Commander!

Now Don, we need you to write on the board 500 times "A goatee is not a van dyke."
Hell, I have a BA in English and it did not offend me!
Why I felt the need to post and contribute, I just don't know.

cheers,
DWE
 
Sebender3.jpg

With the Clip attached!

Don,
NO problem, I'm just sharing my findings and trying to make this conversion as good as possible.
You can see how small the lock side bushing is in the picture. That's the one that came with the knife. Any larger and it will interfere with the lock. There is a posibility of making an odd shaped one and attaching it to the frame so it can't rotate with the blade. There would still be a good portion of it "missing" to clear the lock bar!!

Neil

------------------
Talonite......Stellite
Hand Made Knives..High Tech Materials
blackwoodknives.com

[This message has been edited by Dr.Lathe (edited 06-01-2001).]
 
Oh, Neil.... I need a moment, here.... That's just TOO pretty!

OK. Dumb, "I don't make knives, so I don't know" question. Is it possible (It'd be a MAJOR PITA, I know) to recess a larger bushing into the blade itself? Kind of like routing a hinge into a door. That way, you could use a larger one, and you wouldn't have to worry about it clraing the lock, cuz it's flush with the blade. Possible? Of course, it might help to know what the bushing DOES before I go spouting ideas, but I thought I'd throw it out there.
biggrin.gif


*EDIT* one esthetic thing - beadblast the pivot screw, so it matches the Ti body... that'd look SO nice. Kevin Robinson did that with the screw on my SOCFK when he put Ti bolsters on it, and it just looked like it was made that way from the factory.

[This message has been edited by See2 (edited 06-01-2001).]
 
While I am not certain exactly which 'behind the scenes' stuff is being discussed, I can agree without hesitation that I will not refer to you as any of those things, or anything similar, unless you prove otherwise in the future. Likewise, you will remain similarly polite towards me, unless I prove that I deserve otherwise in the future.

Just to clarify, my reason for posting the 'English lesson' was to illustrate the possibility for misunderstanding here. If it was possible for you to misunderstand what I intended, there, I hope you will at least consider the possibility that you have misunderstood more of what I have said. In the future, please don't hesitate to drop me a line if I say something which offends you; there is no need for misunderstandings to escalate to this point.

[edit]
Evidently, I need an english lesson, as well.
[/edit]

--JB

------------------
e_utopia@hotmail.com

[This message has been edited by e_utopia (edited 06-01-2001).]
 
First off, Neil, that is awsesome looking work.

I think that fq55 has asked one of the most interesting questions I have seen in a long time from someone on these forums.

I would have to believe that this is the first knife that mates a Titanium frame with an integral lock, using the Wave feature that is well proven and universally loved by most that use one.

Point 1 would be that in a "standard" Commander the stop pin takes a tremendous amount of abuse from the intertia created when openining a Wave featured knife. Of course, the pin is hardened and will survive this action for the most part.

Can a Titanium Framelock with the Wave feature hold up to continuous fast draw openings over time?

Will those openings cause the lock portion of the frame to slightly flatten thus allowing the lock engagement to become loose fitting?

I myself most definitely do NOT have the answer, but it sure is a question that made me think about it.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this Neil. Because if that frame will hold up, you have just figured out how to make the ultimate tactical knife.

------------------
C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "
 
Jailhack

Neil is obviously more qualified to answer this, but the liners of the Commander are made of much thinner Ti then the slabs he's using for the frame lock. The frame lock is nothing more then a huge liner lock.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Quote Neil
The last thing I'm considering is the stop pin. Ther is room for a larger one. On this model I used a hardened threaded one with two screws to capture it on the ends at the same time providing more frame strength. The stock version uses a pin that's captured on each side by the G10 panels but uses no screws.</font>

He says he's using a hardened stop pin, which will be taking the majority of the force.

Overall, it sounds like the Ti Commander will hold up as well, if not better, then a regular Commander.
 
John, Frank,

Let me see if I can provide a little more insight on the durability of this knife.....

First off, this is the prototype and I'm still putting the finishing touches on it, in between working on several fixed blades. That's why the only thing I got done on it yesterday was mounting the clip!!!
I'm not going to say that this knife will be indestructable, the end all solution for the Commander woes. It's created around an existing blade and I can only take it so far. I do feel that the heavier frame and lock will be an improvement but only time will tell as far as durability. On the next one, I'll look into a larger stop pin.

Also, as far as the lock side bushing... Several people mentioned a fixed bushing on that side with a cutout for the lock. That would be an improvment but there is still the issue of the ball detent riding in the same area half way around the pivot!! I'm going to make up the largest possible bronze bushing that will clear all of the moving parts and see how it works. I'm VERY confident that just changing bushing material will be an improvement.

As I mentioned, after several VERY hard opennings, I did mangage to make the lock stick. My first thoughts were all about FEEL, that the stock knife must absorb some of the shock, maybe due to the G10 panels. You feel the snap a lot more in the Ti. frame and in makes a louder "THWACK" when it opens!! I could see no reason why anyone would want to open the knife that hard, as you all know the knife opens quite fast with a nice easy draw.....And you want to end up with it in your hand and not flying across the room
wink.gif
I'm sure that if someone were open it as hard as I did repeatedly, the lock would eventually wear out. Ti is much softer than blade steel!!
I'm trying to answer Email inquiries as fast as I can, that's why I'm up this early!! I would like to thank everyone for there kind words, encouragement and enthusiasm. I will respond to everyones Emails throughout the weekend.

Neil

------------------
Talonite......Stellite
Hand Made Knives..High Tech Materials
blackwoodknives.com
 
When I first received my [first] Commander in July of 1998, I was sitting there, admiring what an absolutely solid knife it was. Placed it in the pocket and Waved it out, very impressive...

"Oh...Oh...WTF is this? Oh damn..."

Two-handed lock release technique...it was locked tight and quite a few people as I recall had a hard time getting the lock released...but the knife broke in and the lock was not damaged or anything...

When I bought the [second] 98, same thing, but it broke in as well...


------------------
Usual Suspect Some of my Knives and other neat things
 
This really annoys me in a GOOD way (huh?).

I was going to save up for a Strider custom folder but now I just don´t know. This knife looks so good and seems so functional and it´s in the right price range. Well just have to wait and see what my feelings are after I´ve saved up some money this summer.

This customized commander looks sooo good.

Maybe I´ll work a bit harder so I can get both of them
smile.gif


/Colinz

------------------
"Cast a cold eye
On life, on death.
Horseman, pass by!"
-W.B. Yeats epitaph
 
Impressive!!! I am not a fan of the current Commander but seeing all the great improvements on this folder, I am truely impressed. The Ti Commander is a remarkable work of art, far superior to the regular Commander.
 
e_utopia, its all well and good that you are playing nice right now but its hard to accept this at face value when your motives are to appear as a level headed forum member who is simply misunderstood.

I think its immature to trash talk, expect to get away with it and then point fingers when someone pulls your card.

Don is not letting this go and I can't blame him. You have earned a reputation as a troll because you are on the record for posting some really unjustified and unsubstantiated information and then back peddling and deflecting.

Own your part in it like a grown up and stop trying to manipulate the situation so that you can come out looking like the misunderstood victim here.

Oh, and by the way you can slag me all you want dude but your words speak for themselves.
 
Could the clip be mounted above the lanyard hole?? also could it shifted away from the lock release?? Just wondering.


Blades
 
Thanks for the very informative answer Neil. I really can't imagine a better project. It seems that you are going to have a lot of Commander handles laying around, so how about some trainers.
wink.gif

Frank Q.

------------------
"The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none."
Thomas Carlyle
 
Here is the finalized numero UNO!!
proto1.jpg


The shallow milled grooves provide just enough grip without abraiding ones thumb
smile.gif


I thought my idea of the threaded, hardened pin was a good one..... Making the pin the exact length of the distance between the counterbored holes in the frame would add more strength to the knife.... Well, after many HARD openings the pin is now in three pieces
frown.gif
NO more hollow pins on this knife!!
At some point I'll change this knife over to a 3/16" or even 1/4" pin. I would like to see how the lock holds up for a while and also experiment with the other bushings. The solid pin seems to be holding up fine. Increasing the diameter of the holes to exactly the diamter of the larger pins AND moving them back at the same time is possible but I don't want to jeopardize the now WELL ADJUSTED lock arm !!!!
Lastly, I think I lost someones Email
frown.gif
If I didn't respond to someone, PLEASE Email me again??

Markus, I have you in my book!!

Neil

------------------
Talonite......Stellite
Hand Made Knives..High Tech Materials
blackwoodknives.com
 
Back
Top