How to cut a nail nick ??

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FOG
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How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by FOG »

Hi im a new member who,s been lurking for some time.Today i finally registered and hopefully
someone can give some info on cutting NAILNICKS on some slippie blades ive made,ive searched the web w/no success and thought this would be the place to ask.

I dont have a milling machine but i do have a drillpress if thats helpfull.
Thanks,Bryce
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by knifemaker3 »

Without having a mill, 2 options come to mind.

1. Dremel with a cut off wheel and a steady hand.

2. Chuck up a grinding wheel on an arbor in the drill press that has been shaped to cut the nailnick. Clamp blade onto a piece of angle iron and cut the nailnick.

I would recommend option one as you can clamp the blade and make things a lot safer. You can even make a long pull on the blade if you want. Just takes a steady hand and some practice.

Good Luck!
God Bless!

Craig Blankenship
Booger County Outfitters LLC.

Maker of Custom Knives and Custom Screenprinted Garments
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Absintheur
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by Absintheur »

I hate to suggest spending money to do this but if you are going to be doing it often I would invest in a Foredom http://www.foredom.com/ This flexible shaft tool allows for much more control than a Dremel. I own both but 90% of the time I use the Foredom. With the addition of the foot speed control it make using a cutting tool much easier as well as making it less goof prone.

If you do try using a Dremel I would clamp the Dremel down amd bring the steel to it rather than the other way around. Take normal safety precautions including taping the edge of the blade and work slowly and deliberately. I think the fiber cut off wheel would work best. Cit the straight top with the cut off wheel and the add the curved taper with a sanding drum.

I would also practice, a lot, on scrap before touching Dremel to a finished blade...lol.
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by knifemaker3 »

Absintheur wrote: If you do try using a Dremel I would clamp the Dremel down amd bring the steel to it rather than the other way around. Take normal safety precautions including taping the edge of the blade and work slowly and deliberately. I think the fiber cut off wheel would work best. Cit the straight top with the cut off wheel and the add the curved taper with a sanding drum.

I would also practice, a lot, on scrap before touching Dremel to a finished blade...lol.
Ain't trying to be a horse's rear end by disagreeing with you so please don't take this wrong.

Sorry Absintheur, but I have to disagree with clamping the dremel down and bringing the steel to it. The reason is should you lose control of the blade the blade is going to be flung somewhere. Maybe into you. It's always best to clamp pointed objects just on the off chance that something bad happens. A dremel with a cut off wheel may go flying but it isn't going to stick in you.

I always try and think of safety as this. IF and I mean IF something does go wrong, what is going to be the best way to minimize the injury. In most cases that means clamping the part down. I've had blades get away from me on the sander, buffer, drill press, etc. just by not taking the time to clamp the blade down. Even though they weren't sharp, the points can still penetrate.

I just know from personal experience that anytime I'm working on knives, if possible I will always clamp the part being worked on down. Some steps you can't clamp down a blade, but when possible always clamp that blade.

Might save a trip to the ER or worst yet the morgue. :shock:
God Bless!

Craig Blankenship
Booger County Outfitters LLC.

Maker of Custom Knives and Custom Screenprinted Garments
FOG
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by FOG »

Thanks for the replies.
I was sure hoping to hear another option other than a DREMEL,cause i just cant imagine getting a NICE looking nick w/one.I havent tried it but i have seen some that have and they rarely turn out well.

More ideas anyone ?
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Absintheur
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by Absintheur »

knifemaker3 wrote:
Absintheur wrote: If you do try using a Dremel I would clamp the Dremel down amd bring the steel to it rather than the other way around. Take normal safety precautions including taping the edge of the blade and work slowly and deliberately. I think the fiber cut off wheel would work best. Cit the straight top with the cut off wheel and the add the curved taper with a sanding drum.

I would also practice, a lot, on scrap before touching Dremel to a finished blade...lol.
Ain't trying to be a horse's rear end by disagreeing with you so please don't take this wrong.

Sorry Absintheur, but I have to disagree with clamping the dremel down and bringing the steel to it. The reason is should you lose control of the blade the blade is going to be flung somewhere. Maybe into you. It's always best to clamp pointed objects just on the off chance that something bad happens. A dremel with a cut off wheel may go flying but it isn't going to stick in you.

I always try and think of safety as this. IF and I mean IF something does go wrong, what is going to be the best way to minimize the injury. In most cases that means clamping the part down. I've had blades get away from me on the sander, buffer, drill press, etc. just by not taking the time to clamp the blade down. Even though they weren't sharp, the points can still penetrate.

I just know from personal experience that anytime I'm working on knives, if possible I will always clamp the part being worked on down. Some steps you can't clamp down a blade, but when possible always clamp that blade.

Might save a trip to the ER or worst yet the morgue. :shock:
I have done this a couple of times and if done properly it can be done safely. First I am using a slow speed, second the blade is taped including a cork taped over the tip. I always do that when working on a blade in hand. Yes an accident can happen I can also get hurt on my motorcycle, or at the range, or walking down the street. If the blade is properly prepared this is safe. Of course safety glasses, gloves, etc should also be used.
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by gmusic »

Fly cutter?
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Ricky-D
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by Ricky-D »

Actually a drill press is a "poor man's" milling machine! You could assess the quality of the spinning chuck and proceed carefully. I would suggest some trial cutting to determine the best course of action and exact cutting tool to use. A good vise is indicated and develop a repeatable process to assure a good job.

Trying different tools in the chuck is the way to go to find the best result. A steel cutting tool will give better profiles and results than abrasive tools like stones and discs. Carbide will yield the best results. You can use tools designed for wood and soft non-ferrous cutting being sure to adjust feed and speed to avoid breaking the tool.

Going slow, making test runs and experimenting will give you the best results.
FOG
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by FOG »

I tried a few different things today using some aluminum stock as test material, in the dremel tools there is a round burr sorta tool that did ok ish but not really what i want.The closest i came
to something that might work was with a cutoff wheel mounted in my drillpress but im still not satisfied w/the results.

I,ll keep testing but ANY INPUT IS WELCOME

I dont have, nor have i ever used a fly cutter, maybe that will work better
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by muskrat man »

all I use is a dremel and a reinforced cut off wheel that is worn down to about 1/2" in diameter. it does take a steady hand and practice but it's not impossible.
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by FOG »

MM those look NICE ! What do you mean by reinforced cut off wheel ?

You must have been posting at the same time i was.After i click,d submit i saw your post
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by muskrat man »

thanks. they are the black dremel cut off wheels. they are reinforced with fiberglass, they are thicker and tougher than the thin brown ones that snap if you look at them funny.
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by FOG »

Thank you MM. In fact i believe thats what i have that i tested today.I would have liked it to be a lil thinner tho
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by 2 speed »

Cutting a clean nailmark has been one of the most difficult aspects of folder making for me. No matter how much I practiced with a flex shaft tool I would occasionally have them get away from me and ruin my blanked blades and it was back to square one. A big ugly nail mark ruins the apperance of a blade no matter how well it is ground and swaged (imo). I finally buckled down and bought a 1/2 ton arbor press and hand made a stamping die out of O1 to press/stamp the mark. What used to be an operation that would make my hands tremble and sweat bead on my forehead is now done in a few minutes. I still have to go in with a small dressed down Cratex wheel and do a little deepening of the mark by hand but the results are very nice!. I do'nt know if you want to go this route but I can post some pics if you're interested.
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by FOG »

That press is a good idea. Please post some pics id love to see them, and if you can some of the press and the die as well. Thanks,Bryce
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by 2 speed »

FOG wrote:That press is a good idea. Please post some pics id love to see them, and if you can some of the press and the die as well. Thanks,Bryce
I am not a pro knifemaker, just a hobbiest. This is how I do it.

This photo is some nail marks cut with various dremel type wheels. The one on the completed knife is good. The other four are failures and the blades were scrapped.
bench photos 002.jpg
This photo shows stamped marks. The blank blade is soft steel and shows how the stamp looks before clean up straight from the arbor press. the finished knife has had the mark deepened by hand and is ground, hardened and tempered (of course).
bench photos 001.jpg
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by 2 speed »

FOG wrote:That press is a good idea. Please post some pics id love to see them, and if you can some of the press and the die as well. Thanks,Bryce
Here is the stamping die. Shop made by me from 1/4" O1 tool steel hardened and tempered to a staw color. Pretty simple to make with the grinder and hand files. One side straight the other a curved tapered radius. The little wheel is what I use to refine the mark after stamping. A 7/8" x 3/32" silicon carbide rubberized abrasive dressed down to a tapered radius.
bench photos 004.jpg
Here we have the press with the die stamp fixtured in place. The fixture is also shop made. The actual photo shows my tang stamp in the fixture but the nail mark die is done exactly the same way
bench photos 005.jpg
And since we are talking about shop made tooling I thought I would throw in a photo of this bench block steady. Made with the grinder and files, 3/4" thk x 3" wide x 5" 4140 Cr moly. Very resistant to dings and marring. I set my rivets and punch pins with it laying flat on the bench. When I need to work off the front I chock it up in the jaws of a horizontal vise
bench photos 006.jpg
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by hot tempered steel »

Pretty cool tool pictures and step by step instructions 2 speed. Thanks.
You can throw your scaps my way if you want. :wink:
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by jonet143 »

i'm gonna move this over to our tutorial forum, don't want to lose this.
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FOG
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by FOG »

2speed, VERY COOL and functional tools.THANKS for posting them. The folding knife you show is AWESOME too !
Thanks for the help.
knifemaker3
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by knifemaker3 »

2 speed,

That is cool. I've never seen nor even thought about cutting nail nicks with a press. ::tu::

I do have one question. Is there any deforming of the blade when it's pressed? Does the blade stay good and flat and maintain it's shape?

I will definitely have to try this someday. Looks a whole lot easier than trying to cut nailnicks any other way.

Thanks for sharing!
God Bless!

Craig Blankenship
Booger County Outfitters LLC.

Maker of Custom Knives and Custom Screenprinted Garments
2 speed
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by 2 speed »

km 3, you are absolutely correct. Stamping the blade that close to the top displaces the metal and leaves a bump on the spine. Found that out the hard way. The way I get around it is;

scribe the layout leaving about 1/4" between the top of the pattern and the edge of the barstock and drill my hole in the tang.

stamp the nail mark.

profile the blank then surface grind.

Works out pretty good as you can see. A 1 ton press would work alot better but the 1/2 ton does a respectable job.

FOG, a jewelry maker friend said that the job could be done with the right graver by hand. It would take some practice but would give better control than a rotary type tool. Just another alternative.


Happy to help
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orvet
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by orvet »

Thanks for sharing your technique!

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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by dburke26 »

Cut the nick before polishing, that way you can polish out the goof ups. Also, you can buy a cheap x/y vice from Harbor Freight, clamp the blade in it, and cut perfect nicks just by cranking the blade into the appropriate tool. Good luck.
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Re: How to cut a nail nick ??

Post by mike miller »

Fly cutter with a carbide bit to cut. I have seen them stamped . I also have seen stones on a surface grinder which has been shaped to cut the nail nick. Mike
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