Super Deluxe, Failure! The Folding Sword?!?

TheKnifeDude

TheKnifeDude

Joined
Jan 13, 2005
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Not to long ago I had an idea so crazy, that no one else would dare think possible. The only maker I could possibly think of to call for this was Reese Weiland his website says "The Only Limit Is your Imagination".

See the problem is, how do you make a folding sword you could actually use while not destroying the mechanism. No conventional folder lock would ever work. So we came up with a compromise that would be nigh indestructible but have some slop in the lockup.

Now the would be specs: 20 inch long 1/4" thick 5160 blade. Titanium handles also 1/4 thick. Full length aluminum backspacer. The pivot would be 1/2" hardened 440c similar to a Bull pivot / chainring bolt. The washers would be huge custom bronze washers. The stop pin would be 3/8" and hardened, then press fit into the blade, then contacting the handle upon opening really far from the pivot. The lock would be a custom 3/8" 440c hardened thumb bolt, that would be hanging from the handle via rifle sling swivels and paracord. After opening it you would grab It and pass through one side of the handle then the blade and hand thread into the oppsosite handle.

The idea of this tool would be a formidable weapon and chopper that could be stored in a backback until needed. Though it would not be fast to open. This was all a great idea until we did the math and figured out it would weigh 12 to 15 pounds when done :eek: So the idea was scrapped with only this drawing to remember it by :(
 
That thing sounds awesome.:D:thumbup:

It neeeeeds to exist!:eek::D

Imagine how much stronger your thumb will become after you adapt to carrying and opening a 15 pound pocketknife.:p
 
er, a 24" [closed] folding cutter weighing 12 lbs.+ ?

so we are talikng a minimum of ONE POUND per each and every 2 inches??

what am i missing? and by the way i like the idea.
 
You guys are nuts:D.

I don't think my katana weighs even 5 pounds. Sounds like it would be a 2-handed weapon despite the short length.
 
1/4" thick steel 26 inches long counting the tang, then the two huge 1/4" Ti slabs, then the aluminum backspacer is a lot of metal. I am not sure exactly how he caculated the weight, but that 12 to 15 pounds sounds about right to me. It could have been made lighter by different materials and construction. But I wanted to be able to take this thing out in the woods and chop up fire wood with it without failure.
 
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It was always intended to be wielded with two hands. Technically it may not be considered a sword but maybe a short Naginata or something. But if this thing was real and you showed it to your average Joe they would call it a folding sword :)
 
The irony being that the very design that makes it compact also makes it difficult to carry around.
 
Make it so! You could increase the blade to handle ratio by designing a handle that folds into itself. I like it just the way it is though. It's a neat idea.
 
I like thinking outside the box! Reminds me sorta of the Sling Stick (auto)...

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Mo ... I wish!

Right now (not counting my stuff that's at his place) these are the only Reese knives I have:

Ti fixed blade version of Nighthawk...
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Super CQC7 framelock conversion further pimped by me...
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The only kind of lock coming to my mind would be the one utilised by Opinel... I do not remember exactly how it is called and do not feel a call to go to loock it up. Something along the "roll lock" lines...
You can do it as simple and as light as you like - a piece of wood and a piece of steed linked by a nail for pivot and a piece of pipe... And I think Opinel has already done that kind of "swords".
Not my piece of cake though.
 
I like the look of the handle, it reminds me of Legolos' sword in lord of the rings. I would want a more pointy tip for stabbing but the curves are nice.

I bet you could get that thing down to at least 8 pounds by milling out sections in the handle perhaps, and maybe tapering the blade in certain areas. Put in a blood groove for example. I just realized that since the handle has to be so big to accommodate the blade it adds a lot of weight. Problem is that I don't think swords were ever meant to work on trees. Even a fixed blade chopper of sword length would be heavy.

Oh, idea!!! How about you shorten the handle by maybe half, about the side of a hand and a half sword handle, this would cut down on a lot of the weight. You may ask about the rest of the blade that will be sticking out of the handle. Well I have seen a folding saw with a remedy for this. Below you can make out what is a blade guard that folds out of the handle. When open the blade guard folds up, when closed the blade guard comes out and protects the extra length of blade. This part could be done with relatively thin metal which would save you a lot of weight. No need to pay me though, a simple folding sword would be all I would ever accept!
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