All About Pocket Knives

gonna turn this sow's ear into a silk purse. new handles and file work including the bolsters. i plan on keeping both blades and working the lock liner as well. i'll take pics and post if anyone is interested.

suggestions?

Yes, take plenty of pitcures in progress. I'm very interested in watching her change into a butterfly!

Dave

Absolutely interested here, you had better show us pictures...

Sunburst

How about a spirally fluted bail?

oh I know it sounds tough, but I'm sure you can do it!

Johnnie,
Did you see the Barlow I made out of a Camillus TL-29? It turned out pretty good for a first attempt.

Have you decided what kind of wood you will put on the scales?

Dale

We most definately want pictures Johnnie! I had a fancy tl-29 on my list of things to build, but you know how that goes.

dale, the one you made new bolsters and liners is great. i'm still debating what to handle it with, thanks to you, i not only have to design my file work, i've got a ton of new beautiful wood. gonna slab a bunch tomorrow and start pickin. dilligence wants a worked bail. this knife might turn out royal. i thought your first attempt at fabrication was great. i have made bolsters and rear caps for fixed blades but never attempted a folder before. it's comming. i use a minimum of power tools and prefer to work by hand. i use a small 1x30 belt sander, a dremmel, drill press and all the assorted handtools. oh yeah, a micrometer. i'm in no hurry.

here's one i rehandled in spalted maple and bloodwood. made from scratch bolster and butt from aircraft aluminum.

Nice work Johnnie

I don't use many power tools either. My 1X42 belt sander, band saw, & sometimes I will flatten the scales on my 4X36 belt sander. Mostly I use hand tools. Lots of good Nicholson files.

Don't let folders put you off. They aren't that hard. I have three going at the moment. To me the hardest part is hafting the scales to fit the bolsters. Or getting a good fit between the front & rear bolsters.
If anyone has any tips on that I am all ears!

Dale

thanks dale. measure 3 times, cut once! a scratch folder is in the wings. yeah, lots of files. and when they wear out, get a new one. dull files are like dull knives. put a lot of stainless leading edges on copter blades, used about a million nicholsons. hafting is easy for me. fitting to bolsters is tough. i use x-acto razor saws. i use 600 grit on my 1x30 to get within tolerance of the bolsters and finish by hand. clean the bolsters at that point. i like working the steel and handles by hand. like i said, i'm in no hurry.

I was in fixed wing aircraft, (USMC). I used to work on gas turbines (basically a small jet engine on a cart), that were used to start the F-4 Phantoms.

Where I used the most files was in a civilian job repairing rotary screw air compressors. They had just .002" clearance between the lobes & grooves of the helical rotors. When they lost a bearing it sucked the fragments through the screw and they imbedded in the rotors. I had to dig them out and then file everything down. I had to be able to feel a .001" high spot. My touch isn't that sensitive anymore (especially as I have lost some of the feeling in my hands), but I can still do better than most people.

Patience is the key!

Dale

carefully disassembled. don't bend the pieces takin em apart.

next, i will clean all the parts with 0000 steel wool, very non abrasive but will clean thoroughly. i pin the backsprings with the center brass spacer to start my file work. holds all three in the correct position as i work from the rear forward(no coments from the peanut gallery). pics to follow.

if you have a different approach, or suggestions tell me about it. this is an educational tutorial and i want to learn as well.

looking good jhonnie, I usually pin it together like you do for the filework, mark everything out with a pen and then disassemble and do each piece individually, it's easier for ME that way.

If I am going to use the liners, I clean them up on a fine Satin Brite belt, to knock off the gunk. then polish them on my buffer. Sometimes in this process I find a crack that had been hidden in the gunk, so I have to remake that part.

I actually prefer to make new liners out of thicker brass than the original liners. To me it makes the knife more stable & gives it a better "heft" in the hand.

I also layout my file work lines with a perm marker, using a divider (or sometimes a compass that will hold a perm marker) and machinist scale. I usually file the backspring separate from the liners also.

So far, it looks like we don't do too much differently.

Dale

here are the pieces after file work, ready to be polished. including grooved bolsters and a spiral filed bail for diligence.

Nice file work Johnnie.
Did you groove the bolsters with a file?
What type of glue do you use on the scales (or do you)?

I can't wait to see the finished product.
Dale

thanks dale. yes, i used a small triangular to score and a small round to finish. i use a small amount of devcon5 to secure before pinning.

the steel on this spear point wore out three files. hardest i've worked on. are these chicago kleins contracts by camillus? or?

very nice looking Jhonnie, can't wait to see it finished. I may have to try threading some bolsters.

looking great Johnnie!....can't wait to see the finished product.

Jaye

jonet143 wrote:thanks dale. yes, i used a small triangular to score and a small round to finish. i use a small amount of devcon5 to secure before pinning.

the steel on this spear point wore out three files. hardest i've worked on. are these chicago kleins contracts by camillus? or?

I was in the shop earlier this afternoon and I tried that exact method you describe on an old knife. It was surprisingly easy & the only way that seemed logical to me with the tools I have on hand.
Although I did use a Dremel cutting disc to lightly score a groove for the round file on one of the bolsters.

Dale

i thought about using a cutting wheel and used the triangle on a scored line with a scribe and straightedge. i'll practice with a cuttin wheel! i'm a polishin fool tonite and it's only fittin, it's april fools day!

ok, all polished and ren waxed. handles are roughed in. now i'll drill, pin, finish the handles and re-assemble. main blade had a lot of pepper but 600 grit followed by polish cleaned it up nice.

Lookin' good Johnnie
I see you tape the bolsters too when sanding. I use electrical tape because it is thicker. Some times I use it when polishing to, but then I tape the handle to polish the bolster.

Nice choice in wood. Looks like it may be Bokote?
It is coming along nicely. Thanks for keeping us posted. I'm looking forward to the next set of pics.

Dale

all done now, ready to go electrocute myself. kept it stock, a working knife with flair, i hope.

way to go Johnnie!

thanks kaleb, there is a lot of time spent on a two back spring knife as you know. and spiraling the bail was a challenge. you can't see it but on the end of the f/w on the blades are little snake heads. i also adjusted the heel of the screwdriver blade to make it straight with the handle. i've used these tools and it's an improvment. straight screwdrivers work better! got a little klein one arm man razor knife that's goinin under next. i'll have a whole tribe of kleins. or would that be a gaggle?