"Not all those who wander are lost."

J R R Tolkien

HOME...................................................EMAIL: joel.delorme@btopenworld.com............................................. MY WEBSITE

22 January 2011

Making a folding knife. Part three

Well, the knife is now finished. I did thin and shorten the tang. I also straightened it a bit and gave the curl, well, more of a curl!. The blade was  then hardened, tempered, followed by an overnight soak in vinegar to disolve the scale that forms during forging. I then  wire brushed the blade and finally sharpened it so that I can shave the hair on the back of my hand!






I decided to do some file work on the spine of the blade, linking  it  to the twisted tang.

Onto the assembly. I made some thick conical brass washers because I could not find any to buy. The pivot is 4mm brass from  a DIY shop. I also made some thin brass washers to go between the blade and handle. They provide a nice smooth motion for the blade.







 The knife, half open.













Overall, I am very pleased with the result. I have learned a lot about forging, from making it. There are just a few details I will refine in the next knife.  Although  I like the look of the tang, I think it's a  bit too long, the handle is 3 3/4" (95 mm) long but with that long tang the length goes up to 6" (150mm), that makes it a bit too long to carry easily and comfortably inside a pocket, although it could be carried as a necker in a leather pouch. The tang will also be  finer and the blade a little thinner in profile.

8 comments:

  1. I love it, I think it looks great. It has a lot of charracter.
    http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/

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  2. Wow! That´s an awesome knife... I love how the rough and polished surfaces blend into each other. The filework is awesome, too!

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  3. Wow! Full of character and very, very pretty. I absolutely love it and would nary change a thing. The all brass pivot pin/washer is particularly good.

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  4. Thank you gentlemen :-) I appreciate your comments.Now I have learned some of the basics of forging, I am going to continue to refine those little knives. I found them enjoyable to create!

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  5. By the way, if you are looking for knifemaking supplies (washers and such) try:

    www.weberknives.com

    www.knivesandmore.com

    www.brisa.fi

    Hope this was of any help;-).

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  6. Very nice work Joel,very old world.

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  7. You are a creator of knives. How marvelous is that, that through blogs, vardo folk and writer would discover you.

    I will follow and learn a lot.

    Mokihana

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  8. Would it make sense to have a sheath that the "folded" knife fits into and yet the tang sticks out far enough to get hold of?

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