Wallet knife WIP

[ludo410]

A few weeks ago, I got an idea for a knife.

I'd just come off of making a set of hunting EDC knives and wanted to do something different. I had never tried my hand at a small knife before, and it seemed like a good challenge. Plus, it was something new, for me at least, and I was in the mood for different.

So, sketchbook out, pencil ready!

The plan wasn't really to get a knife that would go into your wallet, but one that could be carried in a wallet/pocket-sized case. I worked up a few ideas before settling on this simple design. My wife suggested all sorts of other features (like adding a bottle opener, which I seriously considered) but I thought for this first few at least, I'd keep it simple. Everything had to be done by hand since I didn't have a mill, just basic hand tools, and I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew.

I cut out the blanks (1095 steel) and ground them all smooth, then decided on what was going where handles-wise. All three turned out pretty similar once I drilled everything out and set up materials.

At the same time, I was doing another commission for a family friend, and thought I'd try my hand at tapering the tang. It worked out really well on that knife so I said, what the hell, and tried it out on these tiny knives. They needed to be thinner anyway if they were going to be pocket friendly, so I walked over to my grinder and just went for it.

 

[ludo410]

Here's a before and after of the tapered tang. It came out really well: took off the added material and slimmed them down, and I thought it gave the knife an interesting look.

Did that for the other two, got the profiles all ground, then started setting up and shaping up the handles. Stainless hardware and micarta; I had some green left over from groomsman knives last year, and black that I hadn't yet found time to use. Got those shaped and drilled, then it was time to heat treat the blade.

I like hamon lines and differential hardening. It makes for a strong, good looking one-of-a-kind knife, and I really enjoy the process. Maybe it was overkill with something so small (I don't think anyone could use these as choppers) but I thought, screw it, why not? So I slapped on some furnace cement and hung them to dry while I finished up dovetailing the micarta and handle hardware.

 

[Rupestris]

:thumbup:

Following on Instagram. Looks great.

 

[d.weglarz13]

Very cool so far

 

[ludo410]

Sorry for the delay, got to working out in the shop and lost track of time. (I'm picking up a new mill on Wednesday, my first, and spent the afternoon and into midnight cleaning up a spot then putting together a wood workbench for it to sit on.)

Okay, where was I... Oh yeah, heat treat.

They came out good, nice straw and purple colors after tempering. Then it was on to sanding...and sanding...and more sanding........

220 grit to start for the entire knife, followed by 320, then 400 and 600 for just the blade portion. Coming from doing the same thing to longer knives, having such a short blade was downright awkward! Afterwards I buffed it with grey and green compound until it shined, then into the acid bath it went to etch the hamon line.

I didn't do anything special with the hamon on these as there wasn't really much room, but I'm still pleased with the turnout regardless. Some steel wool and a few buffs later, and the blade was looking good.

 

[Jens Schuetz]

Pretty cool. Glad you went with the hamon.

 

[ludo410]

Next up was putting on the handle material. I'd done most of the work prior to heat treat, so it was just a matter of making sure everything still lined up, finishing the shaping, then slapping it together (with a few more steps in the middle of course, nothing is ever THAT easy).

Slowly but surely, it started taking shape. Working with something this small on the grinder is hell on the knuckles and fingertips!

There's still a ways to go; only one is done (I wanted to see how it would look before finishing the others) and I have to design the wallet-style sheath. Still, I'm pretty happy with how it's come out. The stainless pins in the guard just disappeared, something I've found difficult to do with the brass and nickel silver I've used in the past.

It'll be a minute before I continue with these, on Wednesday I'm getting that mill plus I still have two others to finish (both in black micarta and stainless hardware). I also need to do the leatherwork, which will be its own puzzle I think. As soon as I have more pics, I'll post up how it's going. :thumbup:

 

[ludo410]

:thumbup:

Following on Instagram. Looks great.

Very cool so far

Thanks! And lol yeah Instagram, I'm still figuring out how to navigate that place. The wife is helping me a lot there, she's more into that scene than me.

Pretty cool. Glad you went with the hamon.

I'm a big fan of hamon, both in look and in function. Usually I try to go a little more interesting with the line on my knives but figured these didn't have much room to get crazy. Kind of regret that simplistic approach now but still really like how it came out, and I can always try different patterns with future versions of these blades. :thumbup:

 

[AR-Trvlr]

Ever think about making it a true wallet knife? Make a combination sheath and wallet? Probably not a huge wallet, but card-holder sized?

 

[john april]

thanks for posting ! nifty blades.

 

[Dawkind]

That's great.....my favorite colors, too! [emoji106][emoji482][emoji631]

 

[ludo410]

Sorry it took so long to answer, I've been busy every waking moment, mostly working the evil day job and setting up my new mill in the shop. Knifemaking should thankfully commence again tonight.

Ever think about making it a true wallet knife? Make a combination sheath and wallet? Probably not a huge wallet, but card-holder sized?

I'm of two minds when it comes to the sheath/wallet combo for this badboy. Like shown above, it could almost fit inside a standard billfold wallet as is, but what I was thinking was something more along the lines of sheath on one side, wallet on the other (as in, money clip and credit card pockets). As I finish the other two and sit down at my leatherworking station (aka, the kitchen table), I'll sketch out more idea and pick which way to go.

On a side note: When I did the templates for this knife, I cut out a wood version of this that was the size of a credit card, and it did NOT feel good in the hand. Too many pointy bits biting into the palm, not enough room to get the fingers around the handle to make using the knife effective. Going the direction I chose, whatever sheath/wallet combo I make is going to be taller than the standard billfold, but should still fit into most pockets. That's the plan, anyway.

 

[Kohai999]

Looking at your fingers for scale, it is my opinion that the stock is VASTLY too thick. This should be somewhere south of 1/8" for such a small blade.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[boshi74]

nice! Very nice!

 

[Lance23]

Looks awesome so far, I've recently finished my fifth knife.
All of mine except #4 qualify as wallet knives, yours are much nicer!

 

[ludo410]

Finally got the second knife together and ground last night (spent most of this week cleaning the shop and building a new work bench for my mill, which, when combined with the EDJ, took up all my free time). I'm really digging the combination of stainless and black micarta, but was somewhat disappointed that one of the scales got tweaked a bit while I was peening the pins. I have one more to do with this same setup, then on to leatherwork!

Looking at your fingers for scale, it is my opinion that the stock is VASTLY too thick. This should be somewhere south of 1/8" for such a small blade.

These were mostly an experiment, something I could do to use up the remainder of my 1095 ends. This was 5/32", and even with the tapered tang, it's still IMO a bit thick right around the ricasso, but feels nice in the hand. (Then again, I have beefy, sausage-fingered hands so don't like them too dainty )

nice! Very nice!

Thanks! :thumbup:

Looks awesome so far, I've recently finished my fifth knife.
All of mine except #4 qualify as wallet knives, yours are much nicer!

Thanks again Lance! Yeah like I said, this was kind of an experiment to see if I could do smaller knives, and I'm pretty pleased with the results.