The "Ask Nathan a Question" Thread

[SharpPancake]

Integral dagger is a work of art.

 

[jlauffer]

Integral dagger is a deadly work of art.

Fixed

 

[MiFi71]

Integral Dagger:

^ those are a bear

Masterpiece by a master craftsman! Both are in short supply these days- thank you Nathan! You don't have to own a Van Gough to truly enjoy and appreciate one.

 

[duramax]

Just mild steel for the teeth. Cutting edge is AR400. This bucket has 833 hours on it, so, I’m good and already have two sets of replacement teeth. I want to get done with this rocky mofo before swapping out. I was just having fun pondering the question whilst I continue to carve this rocky bitch till I piss blood.

Couldn’t you Hard face the cutting edges with a welder ? I know a lot of guys that weld a hard face in a grid pattern on cutting area. They do it to extend the the life of the cutting teeth.
Just a thought but what do I know lol I still use a shovel I call them for times I need a machine.

 

[Grenock]

Couldn’t you Hard face the cutting edges with a welder ? I know a lot of guys that weld a hard face in a grid pattern on cutting area. They do it to extend the the life of the cutting teeth.
Just a thought but what do I know lol I still use a shovel I call them for times I need a machine.

Hey Bill! Yeah, things like that could be done, and would be on a larger machine that spends more time in adverse conditions. This little rig is only about 4800 pounds, it is the smallest full cab machine that you can get A/C in. The buckets and teeth are so small and inexpensive relative to what would be on a 30 ton excavator, that it just isn’t a concern. That bucket in the picture is a 24 incher. It will take a long time to wear the bucket out to the point it needs to be rebuilt or replaced. The teeth are due for a change, and they only cost about $100 for the set, I have two sets on hand. That much rock is kind of on the extreme end of things as far as what is normally asked of it. Usually I am making stuff like this......



This is what the teeth look like when new vs the old ones. You can see there is quite a bit missing!

 

[TommyGun56]

Nathan, I have a pretty good idea as to where that 6K figure could have come from: perhaps you just extrapolated from the last project + added inertia on your part to start on another I.D project(s) with all the additional work load / expansions which you have taken on since. however, considering that last Internal Dagger was both unique and a one-off custom project, maybe one day, someday, you will find the motivation to do a limited and exclusive run of the 10" I.Ds.

TBT, I will balk at 6K but I will gladly add my name to a list for the 10" version in D3V if the numbers become feasible to you at all in the 3K+ region (give or take). I think that you will find up to 20 like-minded folks, perhaps more if you get multiple orders, right here in your sub to get this project off the ground. I will only speak for myself, but I will gladly pay fully upfront and then wait 2-3 years for such project to get to completion. Do not dismiss a trial balloon on this one so summarily

Definitely this, and Uncle Matty is definitely

 

[vkp78]

^ My favorite actor! Still can't get over Training Day.

 

[The Amazing Virginian]

See, they got a bargain!

If it takes $6000 to turn a profit on the dagger, I shudder to think what it would take for the KOD or even the potato knife.

Just saw that the OP was on the old INTEGRAL dagger. My bad. Yeah, I could see how that would be a lot more expensive than $600. LOL.

 

[jlauffer]

Hey Nathan, am I correct that the short screw should have been red loctited into the barrel? Think that's what I remember from the UF/DEF. When I switched the scales on my DEK1, the short screw is the one that came out of the rear set. I thought maybe the red was applied to the wrong screw, but I was able to easily remove the long screw and it seems it only had the blue.

View attachment 1492928

 

[SwarthyGnome]

Just saw that the OP was on the old INTEGRAL dagger. My bad. Yeah, I could see how that would be a lot more expensive than $600. LOL.

I was hoping that with all of Nathan's experience and skill, and new equipment to date, this would be like slap chop and its done, or set it and forget it type deal.

I was wrong.

 

[Fonedork]

Ever thought about doing rubber liners on a handle?

 

[Ta2ude]

Nathan, that Integral Dagger is just beautiful in every way. As a machinist and tool and die maker with over 20 yeas experience I have nothing but full admiration and respect for the time, labor and passion involved in producing such a stunning piece of work. Amazing !!

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

Hey Nathan, am I correct that the short screw should have been red loctited into the barrel? Think that's what I remember from the UF/DEF. When I switched the scales on my DEK1, the short screw is the one that came out of the rear set. I thought maybe the red was applied to the wrong screw, but I was able to easily remove the long screw and it seems it only had the blue.

View attachment 1492928

Yes, the short screw gets the red loctite. Sometimes it comes loose first anyways because it has less thread engagement. Particularly if you're turning from that side because the barrel can be pretty snug. If you look up into the barrel you should see some loctite still in there and it will be red on that side.

 

[jlauffer]

Yes, the short screw gets the red loctite. Sometimes it comes loose first anyways because it has less thread engagement. Particularly if you're turning from that side because the barrel can be pretty snug. If you look up into the barrel you should see some loctite still in there and it will be red on that side.

Thanks! Didn't see any residue on the screw or in the barrel, so maybe it got missed on this one. No biggie...I used the rear hardware that came with the ECAM scales to put it back together. I don't have red, but I do have blue, so used that for now to put the short screw back into the barrel.

 

[The Amazing Virginian]

QUESTION: I know your Delta 3V is awesome especially for field use knives with its high toughness, but do you think at some point you might go back and use Elmax again for some future EDC knife (or a stiff horn! ), or maybe even something more stainless like CTS-XHP or M390?

 

[patrickguignot]

QUESTION: I know your Delta 3V is awesome especially for field use knives with its high toughness, but do you think at some point you might go back and use Elmax again for some future EDC knife (or a stiff horn! ), or maybe even something more stainless like CTS-XHP or M390?

I don't think CTS-XHP is more stainless than Elmax.

 

[The Amazing Virginian]

I don't think CTS-XHP is more stainless than Elmax.

These guys think it is.

But who knows what they know?

This may be the same guys.

The Nerds however agree with you.

Regardless, it seems they all beat 3V, and I guess what I am really asking about is if we can expect to see a more stainless steel in fuiture knives (altough AEB may (?) already qualify).

Could throw Vanax and S110 into that mix.

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

Elmax is not as stainless as you might think. It has a ton of chrome, but it has a bunch of carbon too so that chrome is not all free chrome. It will rust.

Elmax is a good steel. It combines pretty good edge stability and toughness (for a highly complex high carbide steel) with good wear resistance and corrosion resistance. All the things that S30V tried to be and failed, Elmax did it.

But along comes S35VN. <--- that's a good steel. It's under rated because there are folks who don't do the best HT and also the association with S30V might not help it.

I'm not sure what high carbide stainless I would choose today. Elmax would still be near the top of the list.

I'm pretty excited to see what NSM and Larrin are working on. There is a new stainless steel in the works.

 

[sickpuppy1]

Kinda like Benchmade and 154cm. That particular lack of decent HT has kinda soured me on the steel. Love my mini grip for edc at work but it’s so soft it loses the edge after one or two boxes of parts to open.
I see another folder I like, but see the 154 and pull back every time. So I resign myself to the fact I’ll sharpen it till it disappears.

 

[fatfrog]

But along comes S35VN. <--- that's a good steel. It's under rated because there are folks who don't do the best HT and also the association with S30V might not help it.

I don't have any way to objectively measure it but, subjectively, the S35VN in my CRK Large Inkosi feels.....soft. It's hard to describe but it doesn't really hold* an edge as well as I'd like for a knife in its price bracket.

Edit *typo