The Naked Farmer

G

greg c

Joined
Oct 9, 1998
Messages
490
This one started out as a GEC #99 Farmer's Lock in nifebrite but fell out of my good graces when it developed side to side play while prying open...a watermelon. :rolleyes:

So it's naked before the world before I give it some covers with a bit more strength.

Thought it might be of interest to you all to see how the innards look.

zDd9pb6.jpg


Good night!
 
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Cool! Thanks for teh pics and I look forward to the finished product, and hopefully some progress pics too! :D
 
Also waiting to see how this will turn out...
 
Ok, you asked for it and I'll try my best to deliver. This is what I could get done while my daughter and son were napping today.

I like my knives slimmer than most folks so I'll be using some 1/8" maroon linen micarta.
Conveniently the liners fit perfectly to make use of this piece without much waste.

X08UA4P.jpg



After bandsawing next step is to drill some holes, I overlay one liner over both cover pieces and clamp with vise grips over a thin piece of leather to prevent marring.
The holes in the liner guide my hole placement, I put bits in each hole after it's drilled to help maintain overall alignment.
Sorry to my high school shop teacher Mr. Mankowski who would kill me if he saw me holding a workpiece like this.

yKXfsb7.jpg


I'll use a corby bolt for the pivot so I take my stepped bit to make a shoulder for the bolt to square up against.

Ymu8BFE.jpg


3vL8ezv.jpg


As is typical the female end is a bit long so I won't be able to snug up the pivot unless I shave off a bit- that's quick work on a coarse stone.

UuiTBj8.jpg


Mock it up to see if it's true and it looks like I'm in luck.

7t34TSO.jpg


This could be the ugliest edged tool ever forced upon this forum, but don't fear, it won't stay this way forever.

VDEGe5k.jpg


I've got to get out to the hardware store for some 3/16 brass tubing before I go any further.
Or I could just leave it like this and call it a fixed blade- $20 anyone? :D



Thanks, more to come at some point.
 
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Good looking build so far!
 
Thanks for sharing stuff like this with us. Love it.

I wonder what the bump is on the blade where the lockbar seats into? Any ideas?
 
David, funny you should ask- it's the reason I even posted about this in the first place. A while back I posed that question: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...s-going-on-with-this-(GEC-Ben-Hogan)-lockback and never was quite sure of the answer.

Upon seeing the lock deconstructed I'm betting that the bump is engineered there to provide a bearing surface for the lockbar that can easily be filed down, if needed, to keep the lockbar in line with the blade spine when the knife is open. Imagine the work necessary to fit a perfect lockbar/blade spine alignment without that little bump.
 
Ok time for some finishing work today, aka spend some quality time with 60 grit sandpaper.

Lucky for me the cutout for the lockbar matches this piece of pipe.

OrEVMwN.jpg


Gotta get close but not actually remove metal from the liners.

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I used a block for the straight edges and freehanded the curved ends.

dHDmYKc.jpg


I wasn't sure how to approach the lanyard tube.

25ejS7v.jpg


I didn't want it to crumple inward when tapping it so I used a drill bit to chamfer it, in my mind making it more likely to flare outward when struck.

Tb6M30h.jpg


Seems to have worked out but since I was using a ball peen hammer it probably didn't matter anyway.

zyMghrB.jpg


Mushrooming the center pin with the aforementioned ball peen hammer.

BrVn5Ng.jpg


Tonight's work.

lHh7m5u.jpg


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So far so good but I'm left with this dilemma. The side to side play is gone but the trademark GEC up and down play is still present. Since I've got the blade out, I'm thinking I might hammer on the back of the blade at the corner where it meets the vertical face of the lockbar to elongate the metal to eliminate that up and down play. Are the tangs annealed on lockbacks like they are on slipjoints?

Going to have to sleep on it, thanks for reading.

zDd9pb6.jpg
 
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greg c said:
David, funny you should ask- it's the reason I even posted about this in the first place. A while back I posed that question: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...s-going-on-with-this-(GEC-Ben-Hogan)-lockback and never was quite sure of the answer.

Upon seeing the lock deconstructed I'm betting that the bump is engineered there to provide a bearing surface for the lockbar that can easily be filed down, if needed, to keep the lockbar in line with the blade spine when the knife is open. Imagine the work necessary to fit a perfect lockbar/blade spine alignment without that little bump.
Click to expand...

Thanks Greg. I agree and think that what you say seems spot on. The only thing I don't like is how it sets the lockbar up a little. Gives it less room to "lockup" with the two overlapping pieces of steel.

greg c said:
So far so good but I'm left with this dilemma. The side to side play is gone but the trademark GEC up and down play is still present. Since I've got the blade out, I'm thinking I might hammer on the back of the blade at the point shown by the red arrowhead in the pic to elongate the metal to eliminate that up and down play. Are the tangs annealed on lockbacks like they are on slipjoints?

Going to have to sleep on it, thanks for reading.

Click to expand...

Spyderco "pinches" the lockbar on some of the Moki Japan made lock backs. It does the same thing that you are trying to do. Here's a few pics of what I mean.

Tm4V6Mw.jpg


2R57vUV.jpg


WhQRXTm.jpg


The lockbar on that Farmer doesn't even look like it should work right sticking up as high as it does. I am not dogging on you but just surprised it came from the factory like that.
 
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Very interesting, can't help you on the lockback but maybe in knifemakers forum or manufacturers forum you could find an answer

Mike
 
David and Mike thanks for the comments.

David the lockbar doesn't actually sit as high as it looks in the disassembled knife pic, check the picture directly under my caption "tonight's work" in my previous post and you can see it sitting flush with the blade spine. I appreciate the spyderco pics, I might try going that route.
 
What a great thread. And a tip of the hat to the mods for letting it stay here so we can watch this unfold.

Good stuff. Looking forward to the next installments!

Robert
 
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