All About Pocket Knives

Here's a gadget I built from some micarta scraps, it's an extended work surface with a thick rubber pad that clamps onto the bench. This is useful for doing hand work (particularly filing) on pieces that are nearing the finish or are easily marred. No slipping, no marring.

Now that does look handy!

I like that, especially the rubber platform. Why didn't I think of that?

Neat gadget!

You can buy one almost as cheap as you can make one unless you want a different size
http://www.micromark.com/jewelers-bench-block,7116.html

Here is one for substantially less money and it appears they are the exact same item.
http://www.ottofrei.com/Rubber-Bench-Filing-Block.html

I will have to add that to my list for the next time I order from Otto Frei.

Great thread gentlemen! Right now I am trying to get the right tools together which can be difficult with a choice that large. Listening to the members of german forums you end up with machinery for the money that could buy an aircraft carrier. Seeing your fantastic knives and the mostly quite modest workships they come from comforts me a lot. I guess starting with a more affordable beltgrinder, bench press drill and bandsaw is the way to go. Upgrading at a later point is always possible I suppose.

Frank

]

couple of tools i made after i took an ABS class in 2009???? i think?
and a few IMPROVISED tools.........

rectangle anvil...has diff shaped edges all around it....some square/round/etc....

lil stiddy

a old iron i use as an anvil....i favor this one,but have 4 or 5. most have diff shaped heels

a fixed blade knife vise....we used these in the class so went straight home and made my own..lolol
very easy to make ,and 2 pcs of aluminum and 2 pcs of leather protect and clamp the blade,or scaleless
handle.

almost forgot this SIMPLE file guide..
2 pcs alum. plate
drill 2 holes
2 bolts
2 nuts


helps keep a straight line on blade blanks,etc.
some times i use as a hand vise too.....

top pic is just to give general idea......thats a ruler in there, with tape on it to look like a blade blank

Dang! Just when I had my shop nearly completed with a nice and not too expensive beltgrinder the thing died on me after just 2 minutes of grinding a brass scale.
Now the wait begins for a new one.

Frank

Scored this Benchtop drill press on CL a couple days ago......got it and the drill vise for $60, looks to be in very good condition and runs quiet and smooth, chuck and key seem barely used. Still need a sander and buffer to do any pocket knife work, but at least this is a start in the right direction.

IM

That looks like the same model delta I use, good little machine never had any trouble out of it

I have been looking for a good quality flush cutter for a while. I bought one for about $10 that was an import and it was fairly decent, but couldn't find a good USA made one.

Someone said, "Success comes to those who wait!" Or something like that.
Anyway I was at my favorite tool store last week and found this one made by Channel Lock, here in America! Of course I had to...... It is 7-1/2" so it is bigger than the small 4" pair I have, which means more power on the larger pins and less hand pain! It was not finely finished on the back side of the cutting head.... That bugged me a bit, so I touched it up on a Scotch Brite wheel....
Lookin' much better now, IMO.

Anyway, just something for y'all to look for when you get to cutting a lot of pins.
I like to cut the pins in the liners really close, especially on the ends that have blades, as too much pin on the inside of the liner and it will rub the tang and kill the snap.
I always countersink the pins too so they don’t pull out.

IMBand wrote:Scored this Benchtop drill press on CL a couple days ago......got it and the drill vise for $60, looks to be in very good condition and runs quiet and smooth, chuck and key seem barely used. Still need a sander and buffer to do any pocket knife work, but at least this is a start in the right direction.

IM

Trevor that's the same drill press I have. I bought it at least 15 years ago and love it to death. It came with a sub-standard chuck so early on, I replaced the chuck with a Jacobs. The Jacobs chuck cost about half as much as the drill press but it's worth it.

Nice snag on the drill press Trev, The vise was a super bonus

Jerry, It looks like your about to perform surgery there… I would never show my work space here… Stacks everywhere

Oki, that was just after a feverish cleaning spree. It doesn't look like that now. Around here, flat surfaces are "stuff" magnets.

This is the before picture.

I had a feeling that pic was taken on a good day. I guess I just feel better or more comfortable in a worked in enviornment… So tell me, How did you get yourself into that cleaning frenzie? I try and try to get in the mood but I'm so easily sidetracked… Nice shop by the way… Spacious

I don't know. Once in a great while the spirit moves me and I get tired of the clutter. I fly in and get it all arranged nice and neat which lasts for maybe a day.

But but but you have the space to put things in other places… This is definately one area where hiring a maid would only make things worse. My work space might be cluttered but I know where most everything is at and I can tell if someone has been searching for a tool… I like to think of it as organized chaos

I totally agree Tater Tip!
I ONCE did hire a maid
( Dang it Audry, where's my sh@&*)

Still missing about 5 wire brushes, a chipping hammer, and other things I only remember when I need them. That was about 6 years ago.
Live and learn...

Joe

You guys don’t need is not a maid, you need a granddaughter!
Alexis moved in with us when she was a year or two old. She lived with us, (and her dad & older sister). She lived with us off and on for 7 or 8 years. When she was little she would come out into the shop and ask is she could help me. There is not much a 5 year old can do in a knife shop except clean, so that is what she did. She would vacuum the floor, and dust off the machinery and the workbenches. I would give her a some change, then it was a dollar or two. She hasn’t lived with us for a few years, (yes, I do miss her!), but when she came to stay with us for a week at Christmas she wanted clean my shop in trade for a knife for her boyfriend. Sigh, they grow up so fast!

But that is how I get my shop cleaned!
It usually happens in the summer when she comes to visit and at Christmas.


This is what it looks like now two months after Christmas:

Mr.Joe dirt, Let those things go man. Hit the swap meet and local china tool mart. Your other tools should show up shortly after you get the new ones in place.
Mr. Orvet Sir. I am in no hurry for any grandkids but it looks like you are still in pretty good shape. I think it looks nicely organized.

Jerry, I love your outfeed table! I would have no room for something like that in my shop.



Dale, my shop looks like yours, except yours is organized...

This post could go in the custom forum as well.

I recently purchased a new KMG grinder for my shop. The primary reason was wanting a variable speed grinder. I have had and used a Blademaster 2"x72"grinder for over 15 years now and love it. I'm used to it but always wished that it was variable speed. I have made a lot of my own equipment and am always looking to get the most bang for the buck in anything I do so looking at the price of the KMG I wanted was a bitter pill for me to say the least.

I shopped around and ended up buying just the KMG without a motor or variable speed drive. I purchased 2 new Baldor 2 HP 3 PH motors that I found on eBay. The seller said they were government surplus and they cost me about $190 each including shipping. If you ever checked prices on Baldors like these you know $190 is a bargian and then some. These motors had drive shafts that were 18" long so they had to be cut down for my use.

Next I found the variable speed KBAC 9520 controller I needed here http://www.electricmotorwholesale.com/. This was the lowest price I found searching the internet. Then I purchased a 2 way knife type switch, the wire, pulleys and belts I needed. This is what I needed for my plan to use the controller I bought to send the variable speed to both motors I purchased. One for the KMG and one for my old Blademaster grinder.

I had to move another grinder I made to get the KMG where I wanted it,. The Blademater had to stay where it was.

The end result was that I converted my Blademaster to variable speed and set up the KMG as a variable speed all for less than the price of what the variable speed KMG with motor would have cost. I just have to throw the switch to the grinder I want to use. One controller and two variable speed grinders.

The variable speed is nice. I can run the belts much slower than before. It takes me longer to make mistakes now though.

I still prefer the Blademaster grinder to the KMG especially now with the variable drive. Just a matter of getting used to the new KMG I'm sure. The KMG has a 10" contact wheel as opposed to the 8" on the Blademaster so this gives me some more versatility. The Blademaster has the convenience of being able to use both the contact wheel and the flat platen without changing anything. It also has a foot pedal that releases the belt tension so you have 2 hands free to change belts. Very cool machine made in Crowley TX. I don't think the man that made these has had them in production for many years now.

I included pics of a double 12" flat disc grinder I made as well as the 2"x72" small wheel grinder I made that had to be moved. You can also see the 10" 2 wheel buffer I made to the right of the Blademaster.

I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Wayne Robertson

Awesome setup Wayne!