All About Pocket Knives

I ordered a Mikov switchblade kit awhile ago and just recently got around to assembling it. The kit comes with everything needed for assembly. I ordered mine without the scales so I could fit a pair of hardwood scales on the knife. The latest version of the kits comes with two leaf springs to fire the blade. The real upside to this design is that the springs can be replaced without disassembling the knife (in case one ever breaks). The parts seem to be fairly high quality pieces and they fit together without issue. (The discoloration on the kit parts isn't rust, its Padauk dust from when I was working on the scales). Here's the kit contents; For the scales I decided to go with Padauk wood.Its fairly hard, nicely colored and it was next up in my stack of wood to be used. Here's a photo of the scales sanded and finished. Sorry for the focus, seems like the inside photos are a little bit out of focus in spite of the fact that my camera uses auto-focus. I used a satin polyurethane and decided to just go with a few coats to seal the wood; And here they are mounted to the knife liners (again, my apologies for the focus); The process for assembling the knife was pretty straight forward and I did not encounter any real issues with assembly. I will note that peening the pivot pin requires a fairly steady hand and a good eye due to the design of the front bolster. The pin lays pretty close to the bolster edge. I managed to get it done without inflicting any real damage to the knife. I'm not sure if the Padauk scales are going to be on this knife long term. They're growing on me but I'm already considering swapping them out for another wood. For now, they're fine.Here's a few photos of the completed knife; It was a fun project and I'll probably order a few more of these kits. Assembled they'd make great gifts for friends and family!
Thanks for looking!
Jeff

Nice job! I want a Mikov to build too. Where did you buy your kit?

You can get them directly from http://mikovknives.com. He's a good guy to deal with. Takes about 2 weeks to get it, they're in the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia).
Jeff.

Thanks Jeff!

I like your choice of wood Jeff.
It adds a touch of "class" to an otherwise scary style. As I was looking, and reading I had the thought that some type of shield or inlay would really make the knife "pop", and then I clicked the link...
They show a couple with inlays, and I had a little chuckle.

That's a classy looking auto, and I like it!

Thanks Ken.
I considered putting an inlay in it but when I got done cutting the channel into the scale for the release spring I wasn't sure how much wood thickness was left to work with. Looking back I think there was plenty of wood left so maybe on the next iteration I'll work something in.
And I just got a batch of swirly colored acrylic blanks in so I'm sure there'll be a knife or two with some crazy colored handles in the near future!
Jeff

I'm like a raccoon with shinny, swirly things. Post it up, and I might try to snatch it from ya'