All About Pocket Knives

Afternoon All. Long time no see.

A week or two ago I relented and picked up a couple of the Schrade 3rd Generation knives at a very fair price. A C627, C642 and C641. I've always liked the look of the 3rd Gen knives - they were a very interesting blend of classic features and modern aesthetic. Maybe a bit too modern for the 1980's. The design, coupled with the small size of most of the patterns is why I think they never really took off. I think these designs look right at home in the modern high end traditional production world (re: Jackwolf or Pena paterns). I've been thinking about getting back into some limited knife work recently, and was thinking that I've never really built from scratch something I would want to carry. The C641 (3rd gen lockback) is a great design, just a bit... tiny. So I pulled it apart, and started copying over some of it's design elements into a larger lockback design. So far, all I have is a CAD design - but I think you can certainly see the family resemblance
The C641: Parts Breakdown: Now the question is how big is to big... The larger design puts it about the same size footprint as a 51OT, which is by most standards a "big" knife. I'm leaning towards the smaller version:

That’s an are question to answer. And bigger than a Buck 112 is a pocket full to me. I carried a 54 patter Case trapper for years but then got a mini trapper as a gift and love it. I have a preference for 3.5-3.75” myself, my buddy likes a larger pocket carry 4-5”.

After printing out the design onto paper and "holding it" in my hands, I've decided putting it around the 4" closed range is a more comfortable design, at least in the first iteration. I refined some of the mechanisms and tolerances a bit (example: the tail end of the lockbar is now more similar to the original C641 in design, in that it hugs the "anvil" of the spring holder). I'm going to attempt to run the blade on Phospor bronze washers, instead of the bushing design of the original. Pivot and rocker and one of the rear spring holder holes are sized for 1/8" hardware - still debating pins or screws (leaning towards screws).

At this size, I'm probably going to have to add a pocket clip for convenience. I'll probably scrounge my parts drawer and see if I have something that will work instead of creating it from scratch (laziness)

I like the idea of a pocket clip. If my 112 auto had one I would carry it more. My buddy at work drilled and tapped his for a clip but I didn’t have the nerve to do it.