Thinking of starting on a liner lock

J

James Hall

Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Messages
85
Hey all, I'm thinking of making a liner lock, and I've got some questions.

Firstly, browsing Jantz supply I see that titanium sheet comes in a couple different thicknesses. I saw a tutorial from Sugarcreek Forge on youtube that uses .07" for a liner. Would .05" be too thin? Otherwise I'd get .1".

Next, how difficult would it be or what changes would I need to make to a design to add a spring for assisted opening?

Thanks for the help,
J.P.
 
Well, Jeff, This might seem like I'm bringing the hammer down. In truth I am. When you don't even understand where you are going for the titanium liner thickness and you are asking about assisat opening the truth is your knowledge level on liner lock building is zero. However, you can start learning now. There is a good work in progress thread in this site. Go to the "search" and start there. As well if you haven't made a straight knife before, read the stickies at the top of this page. They will tell you a zillion things you can put to use in making a liner lock folder. Frank
 
Thanks Frank, I appreciate the honesty.

I've made a couple of fixed blades before but I'd still consider myself a beginner. There's a video tutorial that I feel outlines the process clearly and in detail, but being that I couldn't find the exact thickness of titanium used in the tutorial on Jantz's site I'm just curious about what would be suited for the job. I'll give that thread a look.

As for the assisted opening, I'm not so ambitious as to try it out on my first go, more of a curiosity question.

Here's part 1 of the tutorial I found. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAyxx3hVkYg

Thanks for the pointers,
J.P.
 
Get all your stuff from Alpha knife supply.They have Ti in all thickness and the best pivots around.Also a good selection of G10. Use bronze washers.
I like .065-.070 for liner locks. 3/16" pivots.
http://www.alphaknifesupply.com/ti-sheet.htm
And Chuck is good people to deal with.

Stan
 
James, I had a quick look at that U tube tutorial. At least the start, in my opinion, is very good. I don't think ,it's necessary to buy one to take apart however. This could be a great way to go. I use .040 and .050 - or very near these sizes -for my liners. Like Stan I get my titanium from AKS.
 
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It looks like I'll be using .05". I'll mess around with drawings and maybe even mock-ups with thin wood to get a shape I want to make. ATS seems great, and I've got some twist damascus I've been itching to use. You guys have been a huge help.
 
Please come back again if you think we can help. Your attitude is certainly the right one which seems to be search out , learn and do. I've made a huge bunch of liner locks but I slill make a hard pattern first, usually out of Formica or a similar type material. Frank
 
One more question for now: I noticed that AKS doesn't have stop pins. Should I go ahead and order those from Jantz, or will simple stainless bar suffice?
 
I got really lucky when I first started making folders because someone recommended Mike Vagnino's tutorial book. It only costs a few bucks and I can imagine a better way to start unless you have a hands-on teacher. Go to his website and order it you won't be sorry.
if you have any questions he will answer them via phone or email. He's really a wonderful guy.
 
Awesome guys, thanks so much for the help. A friend lent me his Boker that I'll use as a general template and tweak the design a little bit here and there. I'll be ordering supplies in the next day or so.
 
Here is something that may help. Make one liner from your hard pattern; drill the holes needed (taping size for the screws you will use) use that liner to make the second rather than using the hard pattern again. Place the first pattern on top of the second (it will be the larger of the two ) and size them together. Some makers drill just the pivot hole in the pieces that will used for the liners and use CA glue to hold them together. I drill all the holes for one side and grind to size. I then use drill bits of the same size to keep them together drill the holes, then go to doing them together. Frank
 
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I knew this was a popular technique for shaping scales, but it hadn't occurred to me that it'd be applicable to liners haha. Thanks for the tip!
 
Here's the progress I have so far. I have a feeling things are going to start getting tricky soon...
KTbWf0v.jpg
 
Looks like you are coming along in the right manner. But I don't see why you decided how long the leaf spring should be before cutting the locking notch in the blade ? This should be done with an angle of about 11 degress. If you have a table on your grinder, and lay a 1/8" strip of metal on it 7/8" from a 120 grit belt with a couple of wraps of masking tape you will have the angle established. Do make this notch stay below the center of the pivot, and yes use a 120 grit and do not finish it further. Once you have that notch, it will be easy to mark the real length of the leaf spring. When sizing this in use a very fine belt say 24 or 16 and cut it so it has a leading edge on the blade side of the liner. Frank
 
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