The Knife that Shouldn't Be.

tryppyr said:
Putting a nail puller in the pommel is impractical and dangerous. Think about what happens when you actually try to use it to pull a nail... the blade will be facing the user, and they will be applying pressure to remove the nail. What happens if the nail comes out more easily than they thought (or breaks)? What happens when they need more leverage than the length of the handle provides? Under the best of circumstances it would be challenging to use with any degree of safety.
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You would keep the blade in the sheath if you had the nail puller on the pommel, while removing a nail.
 
AVigil said:
You would keep the blade in the sheath if you had the nail puller on the pommel, while removing a nail.
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Yes, this exactly, I should have been more clear. The forward facing hook on the pommel I think looks like an upside down claw from a claw hammer, which is why I thought of it in the first place. But building on this, if you make sure the blade isnt going to go through the sheath and/or reinforced the edge side of the sheath, you can use that for leverage. You shouldn't have to do much though, it isnt a crowbar so you really shouldn't have to put a ton of leverage on it.

It is a little difficult to incorporate a nail puller into this design in my opinion, not that it isn't possible, just hard to think out where to put it or how to make it not cause unnecessary stresses.

Jake
 
I can dig the overall blade design as a chopping, or even a digging tool, but personally I've never understood putting something like a nail puller (or for that matter, even a pry claw/tip) on a knife. How many times are you ever gonna be out in the woods or anywhere else and need to pull a nail out of something?

Now I suppose I can see where you might use it to pull a hot pot off the fire, or something of that nature. I think Buck Knives made a "chopper" with a cutout in the blade for a similar purpose.
 
JCoutts said:
I've used Duracote, Cerakote and Gunkote, in my experience the Duracote chipped off in places, Gunkote was cheap Duracote and Cerakote is stupid hard. In guns, you have to watch out on cerakote because it can cut into a chamber from the bolt face it is that hard, in knives that may not be a bad thing to have another hardness layer, however, I don't know how well it would hold up to abuse, it may crack off. I know gunsmithing, but I'm new to knifemaking, so this info is from that point of view.

On your nail puller, an idea that I thought of while reading through this thread was, what if you put it at the pommel? You have a piece sticking out, could you split that down the middle and use that for a nail puller? Just a thought, then you wouldnt be putting any stress points into your blade.

Jake
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Thanks for the input! Cerakote seems like a winner, I had always known that the coating was extremely hard wearing.

A pommel puller would be favorable, if more difficult to engineer. Perhaps bigger blanks with something intended for the purpose. I know it's said later, of course working with the sheath on would be a must. Why would anyone think that someone wouldn't put the sheath on before pointing the blade at themselves?
 
David Stifle said:
I'm not being critical for the sake of it, but I just don't get the design. You could weld an axehead to a handle and basically get the same function. But, with that said, I think with some refinement you are on to something. I see this evolving more into a tool used to cut/break into building/cars, etc., in emerency situations. Something firefighters might carry, for example.
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I think you are missing the elements incorporated into this bush knife. Forgive the crudeness of my illustration, but it gets the point across just fine.

DJXOi.jpg


Naturally it's not strictly a bush knife and elements which may serve me in my suburban environment without taking away from the bush elements shouldn't be overlooked, or omitted in these prototypes.

I'm not so far from a police/fireman tool, and will be designing something for my cop buddies in time, but the true purpose of this is to reduce kit/weight in my backpacking/camping expeditions. I find that I end up carrying a hatchet, and often 3-4 knives, and this weights less than my hatchet and performs what I need it to, even better, while being able to do the tasks of my knives.

It makes fine work more tedious, but I haven't found a task that I need to do in the bush with a blade, that this won't accomplish. I'm still searching and open to ideas.
 
JCoutts said:
Yes, this exactly, I should have been more clear. The forward facing hook on the pommel I think looks like an upside down claw from a claw hammer, which is why I thought of it in the first place. But building on this, if you make sure the blade isnt going to go through the sheath and/or reinforced the edge side of the sheath, you can use that for leverage. You shouldn't have to do much though, it isnt a crowbar so you really shouldn't have to put a ton of leverage on it.

It is a little difficult to incorporate a nail puller into this design in my opinion, not that it isn't possible, just hard to think out where to put it or how to make it not cause unnecessary stresses.

Jake
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A claw/pry bar was largely what I was going for. The point is good for cracking/breaking, but the overall shape of the rear guard is to insert into cracks/crevices/joints, and hammer/pry.

Yes, the stresses, and the blade are the things to worry about. I think that the tear drop puller is the ticket, if hard to produce. A tear drop in the center of the widest part of the blade would allow a person to grip the handle and I think would greatly reduce any sort of stress riser as it would be totally enclosed, preventing any flexing on the fine 'V' point.
 
knife to a gunfight said:
I can dig the overall blade design as a chopping, or even a digging tool, but personally I've never understood putting something like a nail puller (or for that matter, even a pry claw/tip) on a knife. How many times are you ever gonna be out in the woods or anywhere else and need to pull a nail out of something?

Now I suppose I can see where you might use it to pull a hot pot off the fire, or something of that nature. I think Buck Knives made a "chopper" with a cutout in the blade for a similar purpose.
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Overall, for my own use, I prefer a simple wire breaker. I might use it to scavenge some wire from a busted fence or lift a pot. I think Buck calls their big chopper the "Hooligan" and it has a small wire breaker notch in the middle of the blade. I like it.

Basically I want to incorporate as much into a single knife as I can without taking away from it's primary functions. It's a lot going on and a lot to do, but if it doesn't hurt, "why not?" I'm not defending this nail puller design. It's not quite right, but If I can make a nail puller without hurting the rest, it'll be there. If I EVER need it, it'll keep my from toting a claw hammer or a pry bar.
 
You know, after looking at the picture that you put the colored lines in, I was going to say about the only thing you are missing on a survival knife is a spade, but you could use the fattest part of the blade in a pinch. Depending on how rounded it is on the flat that is. But honestly, I kind of like the multi use aspect of this. And I'm sure you had a lot of fun trying to work in everything into thise, unfortunately there is no room for a sink!

Jake
 
JCoutts said:
You know, after looking at the picture that you put the colored lines in, I was going to say about the only thing you are missing on a survival knife is a spade, but you could use the fattest part of the blade in a pinch. Depending on how rounded it is on the flat that is. But honestly, I kind of like the multi use aspect of this. And I'm sure you had a lot of fun trying to work in everything into thise, unfortunately there is no room for a sink!

Jake
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lol, yeah. Thanks. I think you get it.

If I had to dig with it, I would use the pommel like a pick and scoop loose dirt with the blade or by hand, but making a digging stick is actually pretty effective for trenching and drilling small holes if you use your head a bit.
 
I had no doubt that I could get into a can with my knife. I had wondered whether I could do it without scattering the contents over half the county.

Well, by placing the rear spike onto the can and striking sharply with my palm I get in without spilling a drop!

PnoIW.jpeg


Ladybug for scale.

A little rinse and repeat and it's wide open in a jiffy.

lhOjW.jpeg


Sorry, my scale crawled off.
 
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BarryHalls said:
I think you are missing the elements incorporated into this bush knife. Forgive the crudeness of my illustration, but it gets the point across just fine.

DJXOi.jpg


Naturally it's not strictly a bush knife and elements which may serve me in my suburban environment without taking away from the bush elements shouldn't be overlooked, or omitted in these prototypes.

I'm not so far from a police/fireman tool, and will be designing something for my cop buddies in time, but the true purpose of this is to reduce kit/weight in my backpacking/camping expeditions. I find that I end up carrying a hatchet, and often 3-4 knives, and this weights less than my hatchet and performs what I need it to, even better, while being able to do the tasks of my knives.

It makes fine work more tedious, but I haven't found a task that I need to do in the bush with a blade, that this won't accomplish. I'm still searching and open to ideas.
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I will certainly give you credit for an unusal design, enthusiasm, and your work looks fine. I appreciate your explanantion, and hope you were not offended. I don't know if I changed my mind, but heck, for all I know it could be a red hot seller. Time will tell. Guess I'm just a traditionalist.
 
David Stifle said:
I will certainly give you credit for an unusal design, enthusiasm, and your work looks fine. I appreciate your explanantion, and hope you were not offended. I don't know if I changed my mind, but heck, for all I know it could be a red hot seller. Time will tell. Guess I'm just a traditionalist.
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Well, the ax/hatchet element is strong, and accounts for a lot of he bulk, but in essence I wanted to combine my hatchet, carving knife, skinning knife, and some additional utility into a single blade in the interest of reducing weight/bulk in my kit. I'm confident that I have done exactly that. This is by far the most useful and durable knife I own, but there is still room for improvement, and that's why I come here.

I won't say that it'll be a seller, and if I never sell one, that's just fine. It'll do what I needed it to in the first place, and that tickles me PINK!

:)
 
I'm going to go back and make some more blanks when I get a little spare cash. I want the straight part of the blade to be wider. Perhaps wider overall. More like my late sketches. I'll try to get one of those up later.

I'm wrestling with making it 1.5" longer an adding a choil. Seems a bit too long, but I love the feel of putting the front guard between my fingers, would make fine shaving more controllable.

This knife is so very close to what I want, but I think I can make it a bit better still.
 
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