STRsBack Yard Knife Works

Kershaw Rainbow Leek with STR emerald green ti low rider clip

2011-05-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Shown here is a emerald green anodized titanium pocket clip made to fit a Rainbow Leek by Kershaw knives. Sometimes they come out so nice you just have to show em off a little.

http://www.yuntaa.com/FileManager/Download.aspx?ContentID=52E030C97E8122C9E04400144FB7B71E

Here are a few more of the same model only a standard Leek in tip down carry vs the rainbow model which is set up for tip up carry. Most of these aftermarket low rider clips I make are going to be 'location specific'. If you imagine flipping the clip on this rainbow model to tip down you can see that the fold over would overhang off the end by quite a bit. This is typical of many folders as the proximity of the holes to the end of the knife is most always different from one mount position to the other. Doesn't matter if it is a Spyderco Para Military or Military or one of the Leek models or many others. Few are going to be the same for hole placement in regards to their distance from the end of the handle.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks for looking
STR

Leek Factory Clip

Factory clip tip down

Custom Low Rider Tip down

Low Rider in pocket shown in titanium, anodized blue @ 28 volts for the DC power supply

A "Scagel Style" folder pattern in a modern day interpretation

2011-03-04T06:03:00.000-08:00

First things first. Click any picture to bring it out to full size.
A few years ago I bought a couple copies or clones of Scagel folding knives. These sanctioned licensed copies were by Northwoods Knives. (top photo of double blade model) These were supposed to be built to exacting tolerances following patterns from original knives they knew of and had possession of, at least long enough to copy, that Bill Scagel himself had made when he was alive. Although they are both very nice (see first picture of second wood handle model ) they were quite pricey, limited in number made and more importantly quite heavy for their size. The way Northwoods made them both the folders I bought were double blade models like the top knife shown here with stag handles which anyone knows is also problematic for the handles cracking especially around the pins.

Unlike what I've done here with my version of this folder, both these copy knives were made using extra thick blade and spring stock by Northwoods since that is what Bill Scagel's knives were like. As a result of the springs and blades being as thick as knives way bigger than normally seen in knives of this size, both had very big 'foot prints' in the pocket. They were way more folder than I would want to carry due to the thickness of two extra thick blades and the weight they brought to the table but otherwise I loved the shape and design characteristics of both.

I have several other Northwoods Scagel models. Of all the models I own the one shown above with wood handles in that first picture is the knife that excited me even if it is not original anymore because its been taken apart to make into a single blade. I like it so much because its very pockeable. I've carried it off and on. However, the 'shoe shined' rounded off finish and thickness of this one and the fact that Lignum is the heaviest of all wood means its still a bit thick and a bit heavy even as a single blade model now. The bottom line is that its close but no cigar and still carries bigger than you would expect for such a small knife of only 3 and 3/8" closed. My intention in creating my own version of this wonderful design was to improve on that footprint size and reduce the weight at the same time.

What I've done here is simply re-interpret this classic pattern for my own pocket as shown next to the two Northwoods models in the first picture. My examples here are 3/32 blade stock using ATS34 steel set at 60 Rockwell hardness for the blade and 50 RC for the back spring as opposed to what appears to be 3/16" stock if not more on the Scagel copy by Northwoods. This is a classic Sod Buster design or very close and as you know if you've followed some of my other models, I've been a Sod Buster fan all my life!

All of my folders are all equipped with titanium liners in .050 thickness as opposed to the much heavier nickel silver or brass used in many other traditional knives and all of these folders except for the last one sport textured G10 handle scales made to pop on and off to interchange. The models shown here all weigh in at 1.4 ounces to 1.5 ounces for the first two shown together. I used solid ti pins in those first two and made the pivots a beefy 1/8" diameter on all of these. The last one shown alone here in black textured G10 is the one in my pocket. I've been using the tar out of this thing since finishing it up!. The original that I copied to make these weighs in at 3.4 ounces.

None of these shown are for sale but the first of some I plan to make later and later on I'll have some available. I had this project shown here on my agenda to do for some time and finally got around to using those blanks I had cut out by a Water jet service a long time ago.

Anyway, these are great little folders whether done in tradional styling with natural handle materials like wood, stag or bone, with or without bolsters or a non traditional approach such as mine using G10 and Micarta man made synthetic materials for handles. Either way the knife fits into my philosophy that less is more, less is best, and keep it simple. These done using G10 or Micarta are everything I think a carry knife should be to be great. That means an EDC should be light weight so that you don't know its on you until you need it. It should be stainless to be pretty much immune to sweat, salts, rust and other such things like pitting or staining. It should be a great edge keeping hard blade with proper heat treat. It should be able to work bigger than its size and it should be grippy and done with a handle material immune to acids, oils, chemicals, moisture, splitting, cracking, chipping , fraying, warping or temp or weather changes. I have all that now shown right here. Thanks for looking.

Edit: Bob Pickle is a fellow knife maker friend and has sent me pics of the one I did for him that he wanted to do his own handles on so I'm posting those up for folks to see. This turned out really nice Bob and I really like the lignum handles on yours. Nice and flat! I know that one rides in the pocket right!. Thanks for sharing it with us.
STR

Mini Ti Pry Info Thread

2011-02-23T14:49:00.001-08:00

NEW for 2012 no more 1st class shipments to Canada. I get just a few orders to you guys up north every year and I hate to do this but your customs gives me such fits where I've had to redo orders two and three times trying to please a customer and it happens so much that I've finally decided thats it. I'll entertain mailing in a Priority mail box but it will be costly compared to first class. I've got three orders out waiting to here if I need to refund money once again while we wait to see if the clip ever gets there or whether I remake the whole order which sometimes consists of multiple clips or prybars and honestly, just too much. I can't keep doing it so the only other alternative is to stop mailing there or make it so that if I do its more secured and gets there faster. If you have a friend stateside you would like me to mail it to thats fine but as of today no more shipments to Canada. I have no problems shipping first class anywhere else.

First off, be advised that shipping has gone up again with the USPS and I've had to make appropriate adjustments to my pricing. New price is $30 each for the pry tool as shown here. This to adjust for this new change with first class shipping prices as well as the cost of the packing materials and envelopes I use to mail these. Thanks for understanding. Click any picture to bring it out to full size for better viewing.

The Mini Ti Pry. What is it? Perhaps "useful" describes it best. Simple, lightweight, convenient and handy. Most of these are between 3.5" to 4" in length and some may drift over 4" long All are half an inch plus or minus for width. No two are exactly alike since these are done from scratch using raw materials. They start out as a strip of bare dirty titanium approx. 1/2" wide which came off a larger sheet before that. The thickness is .090 + or - and I use the 6AL-4V knifemaker grade titanium on these so they are the same titanium that I use for my folding knives. I can wrap them in various colors of para cord. Finish choices are bead blasted or hand rubbed to a satin finish or anodized one of many color choices. (note I cannot get black or red colors). See some samples of those found in threads on my forum here in the provided links or what is posted here by guys that have bought some. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...&postcount=107 .

These are all a pry bar on one end and a flat head screw driver on the other end no matter which model you pick. There are two models besides a variance in length. At request I am offering straight bars or bars bent on one end. If you do not specifically tell me when you order or pay for one of my pry bars please know the default mini ti pry will be a straight bar that is hand rubbed and wrapped in black para cord.

I have tried to be sure these screw drivers are geared to work quite well for adjusting the pivot barrels of Emerson knives as well as many other light to medium duty jobs you may need a flat head driver for. While these don't replace a knife they seem to fill a niche for some of the abusive things we do with our pocket knives at times and can work in place of a knife for those of you in situations where you cannot carry a knife at work or in the office or for those that simply don't want to carry a knife by personal preference.

I've sold these to office workers, secretaries, teachers and even law enforcement and security people who use these as probes for working crime scenes for digging around in places they would not want to go with their fingers and I've noticed folks think they make great stocking stuffers for Christmas so keep that in mind if you need some office party or friend and family gifts this year. In a pinch these prybars can open boxes, pop tape, pry staples, lift water meter lids in the yard or hot pot lids in the kitchen, pop stubborn canned food pop tops or beverages for those wanting to save a fingernail. They can be used to untie stubborn knots and many other things limited only by imagination. The folks that either can't carry a knife or just don't happen to have one on them like the light weight and 'sheeple' friendly acceptance these receive in public places compared to pulling out a knife. I've been told they save your blade for what its made for, cutting! So rather than ruin the tip of your expensive blade to pry something use a mini ti pry instead. Point is, they do come in handy at times. I hear tell they are hell on the insides of washing machines so if you forget to remove the one you carry consider yourself warned! Clean out your pockets before washing. What can I say, they are tough little buggers.

Price is $30 each shipped for the basic model shown here. Postage is going up again so my price has to as a result. If you need to contact me personally: This email is also my pay pal address.
STR@bladeforums.com Speaking of pay pal, please know that I do not ask people to pay me with a personal or gift payment. I don't mind giving pay pal their cut so pay normally for goods. Besides the address never shows up when you pay it other ways so it forces me to have to reach out to you to get the address and can delay shipping if I don't hear back from you right away.

Ordering is easy. Just email me at STR@bladeforums.com and tell me how many and what type you like and the address they'll be shipping to.

Remember

What color bar if any?
Do you want one straight or do you want a slight bend in the end of the bar. I need to know that before coloring or wrapping. People forget this all the time so please let me know straight or bent guys!
Also, cord wrap choice.
Thanks for your interest in my mini ti pry!
STR

Custom Low Rider Pocket Clips:

2010-12-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

Pocket view. Note how the knife disappears in the pocket. This answers the question of why folks want a low rider. My clip is less noticed due to difference in 'foot print' size also.

STR Low Rider mounted

Factory clip set up

Superimposed view of my clip over the factory clip for this model

Close up of STR Low Rider

Side view STR Low Rider

Side view factory clip

One of the things I get asked to do more than anything else is to make one of my custom low rider pocket clips fit a favorite everyday carry knife for a customer. This is one of the few things I do involving production folders anymore and something I will always do at least as long as I can. As many of those following my work know, I used to do quite a bit of modification work on production folders as shown here in my blog in past posts. Most all of those production knife jobs have been discontinued by me with the exception of my custom pocket clips. I am a pocket clip fan and I enjoy making these for folks when it involves knives already equipped with a pocket clip. Some models such as the Spyderco Military, and Para Military 1 and 2, the Kershaw Leek, or Junk Yard Dog II folder (shown) and the Benchmade Mini and full size Griptilian folders are frequent requests that come my way.

For most of these above models I can make a clip without the need for having the knife shipped to me because I have some of my own folders in these same models which can be used to make pocket clips for others. If someone owns something other than these knives I may need the knife in question to do the pocket clip. It depends on several things I need to know. Sometimes it helps to see pictures of a knife in question and from all sides to decide if one of my clips is a possibility. Pictures can tell me a lot usually so if you have some of your knife or a link to your knife model that helps me to determine if we can proceed or not on a pocket clip project.

This JYDII folder here was set up to take one of my custom fit low rider pocket clips made from .045 thick titanium. I use the same knife maker grade of titanium for my clips as I do for my knives. You can see the side shots for both factory and upgrade to my clip as well as the difference in look and fit from one to the other. I try whenever possible to use the factory pre-threaded holes already in the knives. In the event I have to drill and thread new holes for mounting the clip somewhere other than the factory mountings I would need the knife. This of course is problematic when I have to modify a knife permanently because it voids the factory warranty but also its something that needs discussed because there are some models I simply won't drill and thread into for various reasons. Pinned together knives are some I'm not really fond of working on even though you can find some that I have done. For knives that never had a pocket clip it can also be problematic. Some knives simply won't allow for a clip to be installed due to how they are made or the materials they are made from. Each case varies so contact me if you have questions about yours.

Anyway, this has been something I've been wanting to do ever since this customer of mine sent me these pictures and posted them on my forum to show what the before and after for one of my low rider or fold over style pocket clips did for his Kershaw knife. As you can see from the pocket shot the knife buries deep and completely disappears with one of my clips. This is not always the case as some models won't allow me to make the clip such that it can go clear to the end of the knife to do the fold over due to their specific design but no matter it is still better for how it sits than a factory set up. Sometimes its necessary to weave the stem of the clip between the lanyard hole and a button lock or some other mechanism which forces me to stop the clip short of going to the end. At other times if it looks like the fold over would overhang off the spine I am forced to fold it over before it would overhang to keep the clip as invisible in the hand as possible. So in these cases I cannot bury a knife as deep as one may envision but usually its pretty close.

Some customers elect a bead blasted finish as shown here. Bead blasted is the most popular request. Other customers elect to have me anodize their clip a color, usually khaki or brown, or perhaps blue jean blue to allow the clip to blend with slacks a little better in the work place giving their carry knife somewhat of an urban camo thing going on. Some customers that carry larger knives prefer to have a smaller than factory clip made to fit their knife. This gives the illusion that the knife they carry is much smaller than it really is. So occasionally I'll get an order for an almost "pen" looking pocket clip rather than one as large as that shown.

If you navigate my blogger a bit using the menu to the right you can find older posts I did on my low rider clips also, both in May and August of 2010. However, if it interests you further you can see still more of my work in my forum at http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=810 in the makers section. Once on my forum, just find the pinned posts at the top pf the page somewhere with the other pinned posts there titled "Low Rider Clip Picture thread" or "The Picture Thread" and you can see more. Both of these threads and the other pinned posts are always there on page one somewhere at the top of the page on my forum so they'll always be easy to find in the event you want to see a picture again or see what new pictures have been added. Lastly, if you need or want to get in touch with me about how to get one of my clips for yourself simply go here and fill out and print one of my work order forms and once I get it I'll do the rest or contact you if I have any questions. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=525771
For the record I do have a second forum on http://knifedogs.com/forumdisplay.php?33-STR-s-Back-Yard-Dog-House that also has additional pictures in a separate gallery.

Thanks for stopping by my blogger.
STRs

V Grind Hammer Forged White Steel Kiridashi Liner Lock In Textured Green G10

2010-10-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

What can I say. I liked the folder like this one that I did for my sister so much I decided I had to have one for myself. :-)

Same specs just slightly thicker G10 and a V grind blade instead of the one side grind model. I equipped mine with a pocket clip for right hand tip up carry and used black screws for the clip since I'm out of the shiny ones. Mine weighs more than the one for my sis which is the orange one right below this green one I did for myself. As shown this one weighs in at 3.5 ounces.

Just a reminder to those of you new to my blogger, drag your mouse on any picture and click on it through out my blog and you can bring it up to full size.

Thanks for looking.

STR

Hunter Orange Left Handed Japanese White Steel Kiridashi Folder

2010-10-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

My sister said to me that she really liked the Kiridashi I did for a customer when she saw it over on my Face Book account. She hinted that she'd like to have one for her birthday, 'to match her kitchen knives' but I know she really just wants it because its by her big brother. :-)

Anyway, being that she is a south paw (lefty) I figured it would be a good excuse to use this right hand grind blade since the smooth side of the blade is on the correct side to roll along on the detent ball in the lock. I assume most viewing here know that these style of folding knives have little ball bearings in the locks. These aid smoothness in the action and keep the blade tip down during carry preventing the blade from opening by gravity. I learned doing the V grind model and some past ones that the ball can feel somewhat grainy for a time if you don't do this so to me it was the perfect match up to have this blade laying around and a project it fit right into. This actually turned out quite well and it answered a question I had in my mind as to if I could make this blade work in my BUSSTR folder platform as well as my He-Man folder model which I did earlier for some folks and posted on other pages.

This is my first liner lock using one of these Japanese White Steel blades.
I can't say exactly what it is this hammer forged look does for me but I sure do like it! Its a bit of a challenge to make a differentially hardened blade work in any integral style folder design but when you do get it I must say its pretty dang nice. I used textured hunter orange G10 on this one and its .080 thick so it made for a light weight thin folder. The liners are .070 titanium on this one and the weight is 2.9 ounces. Its 4 and 5/8" closed and sports 3.125" of blade length when opened. The grind is right handed as I said on this one but that just means my left handed sis can experience what the rest of the world has been experiencing with Emerson knives and other chisel grind knives for years. I have a hunch she'll like it. Happy B-day Sis!

Thanks for looking.

STR

Sod BUSSTR Frame Lock

2010-10-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

EDIT: I want to add right here at the top since it has been mentioned by some that on the 3rd of Oct. 2010 Howard Viele contacted me after I reached out to him on Facebook where we are both friends. In his contact he granted me permission to do his trademarked three hole pattern on the 8 blades and pocket clips I have like the one shown in this post. Thanks Howard.
As a youth I always loved my CASE Sod Buster folders. As some of you guys that read here often know I have been making this BUSSTR folder for some time now offering both a liner and frame lock version of it with the frame lock being made from the 'Tac Ti' sheets of textured titanium I get from Tracy at USA knife maker supply. The only difference between this here model and my original is that the original usually had a clip point blade in it like all those shown here in my blog in older posts. For a change of pace I thought it was time to use one of these Soddie blades to see what it would come out like. This here is the first one using one of these blades. SOD Busters are such great knives in the field. They are so good for small game and food prep jobs that its hard not to like them if you are any kind of an outdoorsman at all.
When my friend Dave at Great Lakes Waterjet suggested I do a Sod Buster blade shape in my BUSSTR folder I wondered to myself why I didn't think of that myself because I loved the idea and as a youth I carried one for quite a few years going through high school. In my home town back in West Virginia where I grew up the schools still close for the first week of deer season to this day! It makes sense if you knew the area though cause there wouldn't be any teachers to teach school anyhow since they'd all be huntin! :-) So, you can see why such a portable butcher shop blade like this would be a great friend to a guy like me growing up in the hills where we depended on the meat we bagged each year. I realize these days that you young whipper snappers skip school to go to the video game stores but in my day we skipped to go huntin'. Such was life where I grew up.
Anyway, with my friend Dave's help I got my blades to use in the SOD Buster shape. Dave cut these patterns out for me from my sheets of 12C27 stainless steel and after I got em back I went to work and Peters Heat treat service did up the blades for me to 60 Rockwell hardness. Shown here are some of the recent folders I've done along side this here new one utilizing one of my Sod Buster blades. Each of these other folders shown with my Soddie is described in other posts.
If you want to read up on those others just scroll down some and you'll find em. They are all 12C27 for the time being. Come later on I'll have some in S30V and D2 as well as the old stand by ATS34 again but for now I'm using up that 12C27 Sandvik steel and folks seem to be liking that a lot so I figure I'll be sticking with that as long as the feedback remains this positive. You know on paper this stuff is not all that impressive but there is something about it that just flat out works and folks like it! I must admit its won me over about as well as my customers. The stuff is great!

Oh yeah. The blade on this here textured titanium model folder is 3 and 1/4" and the closed length is 4 and 11/16". Its a tad heavier due to the grind and the fact that the body is 1/8" longer than my Clip point BUSSTR. This one weighs 3.7 ounces. As you can see from looking the slab thickness on this model is just over 1/8" at .135 thickness 6Al-4V titanium for each side. The spacer/stand off in the rear is G10 pinned with 1/8" stainless barrels and T-8 torx screws. The pivot is a 3/16" 416 stainless that takes a T-15 torx driver to tighten or loosen and the pocket clip, also made by me is a .045 titanium mounted with 2-56 screws for T6 torx. As usual thanks for looking and stopping by my little neck of the woods.

I've added two pictures of this that are winter shots. You can tell because the greenery is gone in the background. These show the new hand rubbed finish and scandi grind once it was completed. The first shots shown are still work in progress pics before the blade and edge were finished out. Just FYI.

STR

BUSSTR Frame Lock Bead Blasted

2010-09-30T12:55:00.001-07:00

When I came up with this folder some time ago I decided after doing several runs of them in liner locks that I wanted to do some frame locks in this pattern also. I wanted to do some blades of my own in thicker stock than the original BUSSTR models using those thin blades from Ragweed Forge. This is one of those blades. I selected 12C27 steel for the blade and had it heat treated by Peters Heat Treat Service. This is a fine shape for field work too and with the sturdy frame built in .135" titanium slabs with some texturing for making it grippy its the cats meow for an outdoor everyday carry knife. This blade has a nice hollow grind on it and is ready for some work.

This folder weighs in at 3.5 ounces, is 4 and 9/16" closed and sports a 3 and 1/4" blade length open and fancy threaded stand off spacers in the rear to gap it just right. This piece runs $350 and is sold. Thanks Zeke and thanks to all for stopping by to visit my blogger.

STR

One Off Pocket Clips

2010-09-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I get asked to do a custom pocket clip application for a folder. Most of these are your everyday run of the mill jobs like just remaking an original pocket clip design for a production folder. In a lot of cases its one that is no longer made by the company they bought it from so when the owner of knife loses or breaks the original clip and needs a new one they'll touch base with me or someone that is also capable of doing it and get one that way to replace the one that broke. Some of the companies like Spyderco and Kershaw as well as a few others have told the customers about me letting them know where to look to get in touch with me. Thats pretty cool actually but anyway, these are kind of unique as opposed to others I do so I thought I'd post em up.

In this case the owner of these knives, both of which are fairly nice production folders, wanted specific needs met for his knives and included some hand drawings of his ideas to give me something to go by. I have some margin for artistic license on most of these and even though thats the case I try real hard to make them as they owners imagine. These came out pretty good I think.

Anyway, thanks for looking.

STR

He-Man Wharny in 12C27

2010-09-29T13:37:00.001-07:00

Seen here is the newest one up. This is the last one of the He-Man folders I had on the agenda to get knocked out. Last pic shows what I have left of all I've built lately. Both hunters and both Japanese White steel models are gone and this here Wharncliffe model is for my son who wanted to get one of my knives for his future father in law. This one has a screw down stop pin as opposed to a shoulder type pin and the spacers are plain type straight forward designs instead of milled out on a lathe. Like the others its just over 3" for blade length, about 3 ounces for weight and between 4 and a 1/4" to 4 and 3/8" closed. I bead blasted the entire thing, blade and all and I installed one of my low rider clips on this one. It will be on the way to my son, Brandon here shortly.

Thanks for looking.

He-Man Hunter and He-Man Hawkbill

2010-09-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

Two more in my spurt of knife making just up. I actually have a third one I did as well but its needing some adjustment on the contact before it will be ready so I just stuck with the two completed. Once more these are the same pattern with various blade shapes I've come up with to fit into the same handle shape. I tend to like more traditional straight forward designs as opposed to all the fancy smancy curves and grip grooves. To me a straight forward more "Puukko" type handle is more versatile in a multitude of grips making the knife about as easy to use flipped on its side as it is upside down or right side up.

Anyway, this handle appealed to me years ago when I saw a drawing my good friend Dirk Potgieter had done and at first the model I made was similar to the one he did but as things progressed little by little I eventually modified it so much that it is hard to tell its the same general pattern anymore. Hence the He-Man name sake. This one is a very similar knife to the one I used to call my "Ouparator" with some slight improvements to it in how I build it.

The He-Man name comes from the lock which is pretty stout on most of these because all my He Man models come in .095 thickness titanium with very shallow lock cuts to spring the locks or none at all depending on what is ordered. Its a very stout lock and something certainly not for everyone but the trade off is a knife that can be carried without a pocket clip or worry of hyper extending the lock out the wrong way when closing it. It requires a lot of ummmph and a lever to make the bend in this lock so there is no way a thumb is going to change the memory of one once its set believe me. I've got a stout thumb and I can't cause the lock to lose spring memory with my thumb on purpose let alone by accident! :-)

There are other trade offs also. One is it may take a bit more to close one of these locks with no lock cut to spring it easier but the benefit of that is it won't close by accident on you when you have to focus your attention on one to make it close when you want it to. The other is that the lock has so much spring to it that you are not going to be sitting around opening and closing one of these all day like some kind of a knife worry stone nervous habit. I mean you can try but likely it will flat wear your thumb out so its the kind of knife you open when you need it and you use it and put it away.

Anyway, these again both weigh close to 3 ounces each. Both are 12C27 blade steel heat treated to 60 Rockwell by Peters Heat Treat Service. They are 4 and 1/4" long closed, with slightly over 3 " blade lengths open. The pics say it all as they both stand on some logs out back together. I did both of these once again in the same .095 thickness titanium slab handles and neither one of these has a lock cut in the lock. The locks are solid just like they come and they are some stout locks. Not for everyone I know but for someone wanting a totally unique lock unlike any you'll fine anywhere else well, you are looking at it.

I'm starting to see a pattern here with hunters. It appears that they like carrying deep without pocket clips. You probably noticed that this hunter model, just like the last does not have a clip. The hawkbill however, did get one of my custom made ti low rider clips on it for right hand tip up carry.

The Hawkbill folder shown here is available yet. $250 Correction: This one is SOLD

Thanks for looking. Been a busy few days for me. I'm taking a break. :-)

STR

He-Man Hunter No Pocket Clip, Titanium screws

2010-09-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

This one just up. I had this one sold before I started it. The request was for a hunter outdoorsman blade for field use but a folder built with titanium screws. As requested thats what I did. I kind of took the liberty to make it without a pocket clip. This gent that ordered it is a repeat customer and a friend of mine and has never used a clip on any of the knives I've worked on to repair for him so I'm assuming he won't be using one on this folder either.

This He-Man weighs 2.9 ounces as shown. The titanium slabs are .095 thick on each side and the blade is 3 and 1/8" long and the closed length is 4 and 3/8". The lock is sprung solid with absolutely no lock cut in it at all in the rear to make bending it easier. This is as requested by the customer who specifically asked to get one of my He-Man folders done this way. As most that follow my work know I started the He-Man model and it got its name just from doing this. Its a real advantage having a lock sprung solid like this when you have no clip as a back up stop to prevent hyper extension of the lock. It takes a tool and lots of muscle to even make the bend in this lock at .095 thickness so there is no way a thumb is going to cause it to lose spring tension. Trust me it would take a lot more than a thumb to do that.

This one is also 12C27 blade steel, and also heat treated by Peters heat treat to 60 Rockwell hardness just like the one posted yesterday in the He-Man Wharncliffe. The blade is also hollow ground just like the one yesterday but this one has a higher grind. Its built much like the others but still unique enough to call it one of a kind. I used two washers per side on this one also, and it also sports a 2mm detent ball for the lock. Fancy stand off threaded spacers are used in back held in place by phillips head titanium screws that were quite surprisingly costly!

Someone asked me last night why I run the edges clear back on some of these. My answer is that it is a use and function thing as opposed to looks. I realize that it can look a bit better if I stop the edge and leave the distinct grind line out there in front where it can be seen like I have done on other models but the truth of the matter is when I'm cutting open bags or poking my knives clear through something I wish to cut open that back unsharpened part of the blade pops through and then the blade snags getting hung up instead of cutting. I've had this issue with some production knives also and honestly it just pisses me off. So my solution, again thinking function and use, was to simply run the edge all the way back making it full length or pretty close to full length edges so the blade simply can't get hung like that from a kick that hangs down with a little hook like some do. It works so I repeated it on several of my knives and feel its worth having at least one model with some blades done this way. My deal is that a knife has to work first and foremost. It can look good doing that and thats fine but truth be told even if it cost someone a thousand bucks, if the lock can't be trusted or the blade doesn't make short work of jobs its no better to me than a wrench that won't turn a nut!

Anyway this one is special ordered by Mike for life in the Louisiana Bayou where it will see salt water marshes and lots of game. I figure like all the knives my friend Mike uses that it will be flat out worked to death to skin and field dress anything from white tail deer to alligators and all in between in no time flat. You'll have to excuse the marks staining the sides on this one. I was playing with it some before snapping these pics. I actually wiped it off and thought I cleaned it pretty well before going out to take these pictures but apparently my eyes ain't what they used to be. :-) Thanks for looking

STR

He-Man Wharncliffe Frame Lock in 12C27 Blade Steel

2010-09-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

As is typical of me I tend to work in spurts. I may go months without making a single folding knife and then suddenly back to back knock out record amounts of work when the mood strikes. I've always told people I'm a very moody maker. Thats so true and in the past when I've tried to force the mood was when accidents happened or I screwed things up. I'm not sure why this is the case but its been the story of my life regarding how I work to make my knives. As is typical of artists in general I also prefer to "paint my own pictures" (read make knives for myself) building them as they come out almost letting the knife decide how it will be rather than taking custom orders making things a particular way from a stead fast plan. In other words I'm more comfortable and things seem to flow better when I'm making what I make without a preconceived plan than making an order specifically done to certain specs for someone wanting it. I've done the custom order thing don't get me wrong, I just prefer not to and try to avoid doing it. Fortunately I have little trouble selling a knife if I want to so until I have to do it otherwise I figure I'll just keep doing things this way at my own pace in my own time.

This knife is one of those that just kind of went together on it's own and with no preconceived notion for which way I was going to go, what blade shape I was going to use or what hardware I'd select for how I would final assemble it. It may look like some of these others but believe me all of them are unique and different. This folder here is sporting a blade in a Wharncliffe shape in 12C27 blade steel hardened by Peters Heat Treat service to 60 Rockwell. I've used threaded fancy stand offs in the rear that I purchased from Knifekits.com, a 3/16" pivot barrel and screws from Tracy at USA knifemaker supply and spline type flat head screws from Sheffield Supply to secure those rear stand off spacers. Also I opted to use two washers per side on the blade mixing teflon with PB type washers both of which were bought at Jantz supply. It took two each side to match the thickness of the blade with the stand offs and with the shoulder stop pin also from Knifekits, in place for the blade to butt against when opened and closed. The result of these washers is a surprisingly smooth opening folder. Honestly I'm quite amazed at how slick the blade just rolls out there and I must say it appears two washers per side have reduced friction tremendously! I also used a 2mm size ball bearing in the lock on this one and a grooved thumb stud. The final touch was a custom made titanium standard style pocket clip mounted for tip up right hand carry. Lastly, this model weighs in at 3.1 ounces and sports a 3.125" blade and is 4.25" closed. Thanks for looking.

This folder is available currently. $275 Pay Pal preferred Money order also. This folder is SOLD thanks
STR

V Grind Japanese Kiridashi He-Man Frame Lock

2010-09-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Seen here is the first true V grind model of the Kiridashi blade that I've bought from Japanese Woodworker. Again these are sold as folding craft knives and I won't get into why I like converting them to something a little more user friendly again. Thats covered in the other threads. Anyway, this is done and working but its needing a good break in and its been a bit of a learning curve to work out how to get a decent action since the detent ball in the lock is rolling over hammer marks on this blade compared to the ones I've done in the past that I had not run into this on. Its a bit of a trick to make differentially heat treated blades work in a folder anyway you cut it but I've done it several times now. The hammer marks go back further on these double bevel blades too so that didn't help. Its a bit of a bumpy ride as the ball bearing works a trail on the blade but its smoothing out little by little with use. In an effort to make it less noticed I used a 2mm size ball bearing in the lock after a friend gave me the idea that it worked to use bigger tires when rolling over rough terrain. So on this one as opposed to a 1/16" ball like I normally use I bumped up the size. It has helped some too. I've used double washers on each side to reduce some friction in the action and I am running that dry for the time being to break it in faster.

I figure I'll leave this one for a couple of weeks to see how it goes and if its still not as smooth as I like I may have to cut some deeper more profound lock cuts into the lock to ease up on the pressure the lock exerts on the blade as its rolling open and closed. This is something I hope is not necessary as I really prefer to make the locks as stout as possible with as minimal a lock cut as I can get away with. With this one however, the detent ball will call the shots as to what I do down the road. Otherwise what a blade! I really like the V grind model and I think overall performance will be more in line with what I've grown used to all my life in the normal style edges I carry. I sliced some with the blade last night using it on some hard wood and wow what a great blade! It slices like a dream reminding me of some of the better Scandi grind blades I've used! Of course they all do work well from Japan Wood Worker but this one is particularly satisfying since it is a true V grind as opposed to the one side grind models and I so love the look of the hammer forging marks on both sides of the blade. On this model I did include a low rider clip for right hand tip up carry. Some of these pics came out a bit blurred. Sorry it was getting darker by the second and by the time I got em loaded on the computer well, it was too late to take more and they show the knife well enough to make out the general details. This folder is sold. Thanks for looking.

STR

Japanese White Steel Kiridashi Frame Lock

2010-09-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

I guess posting those old jobs I did using the Kiridashi white steel blades from Japan Wood Worker got to me the other day because after pulling those old photos up and going over them I could never stop thinking about them. I knew when I pulled those old jobs out that I had done some neat stuff in the past but this one involving the Japan Wood Worker Kiridashi White Steel blade was one of the ones I really thought stood out to me as one of the neater things I got myself into. I guess its just blending the old world craftsmanship and hammer forged blades with modern style folder building that appeals to me but it may also be related to just how well these blades perform. They cut like a dream and can get incredibly sharp. At 64 Rockwell hardness they tend to keep the edge a while too so thats always good. I tried initially to just buy or trade to get the first one I did back from the customer that bought it from me after he confirmed he still had it but he respectfully declined after thinking it over for a couple days and told me he did not wish to let it go. I guess I should be thrilled that a customer loves my work enough to hang on to it rather than sell it, even if its back to me but fortunately for my situation I had other options! :-) Like I'd actually get to keep and use anything of my own for any length of time! :-)

Anyway, this here knife is the last of the three Japan Wood Worker knives I bought and as you may notice looking it over this one is a left hand grind whereas the other two are right hand grind models. All of these traditional craft knives are one side grind blades but don't let that fool you. Just like the Emerson folders which are also chisel grinds in a lot of cases and always on the edge, they sure do cut and come lethal sharp! Japan Wood Worker makes right or left handed ones so I tried some of each when I bought them. This one being the left over that no one was interested in when I was making them, just sat in an ammo can for the last four years or more until today when I got it out and went out to the shop with the factory version of this folder to revamp it into a frame lock folder too! Unlike the other two posted the other day that were built back in 2006 this one is done in titanium slabs on both sides. And instead of a spacer of micarta or G10 in the rear I used fancy stand offs in the rear on this one, and equipped the blade with phosphorus bronze washers, a fancy thumb stud and an early lock up.

This folder weighs in at 3 ounces for weight making it a great choice for everyday carry. The slabs are .095 thickness each side compared to .125 for those first ones and the pivot is 3/16 on this one compared to 1/8" on the last ones. The blade is 3.125" when opened for this Kiridashi folder and it has a closed length of 4 and 3/8". As you can see I equppped this one with a standard style custom made titanium pocket clip for tip up carry rather than a low rider. Its kind of funny I guess that I make a ton of low rider clips for users knives but when it comes to what I use for myself I seem to like the standard style better and since this folder is mine I set it up as I liked. :-) As always you can click any picture here to fully enlarge it for a better zoom in of the details. The sun was going down some when I took these so I hope they show up okay for folks. Check back later because I just learned that Japan Woodworker is now offering these in a true double bevel grind so one side is not flat. I've purchased three of them and plan on another folder conversion in the near future. This one is sold. Thanks for stopping by.

STR

Lockback from a fixed blade

2010-09-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

After building that folder for Dirk (Oupa) I got the itch to do another for myself. So speaking with Bob on the phone I bought me a blank from him as well and decided to do my folder in a lockback instead of a frame or liner lock like I did for Dirk. It was a lot of grinding to do this with a blade already hardened let me tell you and I don't recommend it for just anyone particularly if you have to grind out a small part like this rocker arm/lockbar shown in the drawing before I got started. I'm a glutton for punishment at times but it was doable, just not something I'd make a habit of doing a lot you know? Hardened steel work is so time consuming.

Knowing what I know now, if I could pick between working hardened steel and unhardened I'd go unhardened every time! Looking back on this since it took place years ago, I'd have to say that it was really not the smartest way to build a folder. I stick this and these other older jobs here as a memento of past jobs to have a place to store them only. Anyway, its much easier to grind your own blade from bar stock that is not heat treated yet and its far easier to drill holes to install thumb studs or add traction grooves before hardening and thats the way I'd suggest doing it instead of attempting to do this type project with a blank already hardened. Still, many manufacturers grind their blades hard and some do prefer that so its not impossible to work already hardened stock. If I had any sense at all I'd stick with doing things easier but as I always said I never did do things by the book so this here project was no exception. In the end it still put a 'Dozier' folder in my pocket for a lot less money than if I had bought one from Bob that he made so in that respect it was a good thing.

Again, you can follow progress on this old project from start to finish albeit a summarized visual of the actual events that led to this folder in the final picture. The green G10 started out on a sheet and of course I had to design my handle, trace those and cut them out, then mark my holes in the proper spots to drill them out, cut the hardware to size and fit it all together so the lockbar and blade mated together properly and after making a custom titanium spring holder and titanium spring for the locbar/rocker arm assembly, which had to be properly bent to spring it, I had to then make all that come together to work. Obviously I've left all that out or we'd be here all day.

Once I got those parts fitted though, the lock up was rock solid, and it is still like that to this day. The lockbar sinks nice and deep also and in the end the folder was a nice mid type locking folder with good snap to the blade. I stuck some very very thin PB washers in the pivot but not before using my flat platten and a super fine belt to take some of the thickness of the blade down about .005 in thickness. This allowed my washers (snagged from a rebuilt Spyderco I did years ago) to fit better by making the blade slightly thinner than my lock bar. Then I made a custom titanium low rider clip to fit it for tip up carry to complete the package. After carrying this one for a few I finally gave it to my brother in law who has always had a fondness for Bob's D2 blades. He still carries it to this day and truly loves it based on the feedback I've received from him. My guess is that this folder has seen its fair share of white tail deer now that its been out there hunting in West Virginia with my Brother in law. Thanks for looking.

STR

Dozier Semi Skinner Folder!?

2010-09-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Dirk (Oupa) bought this blade directly from Bob Dozier. The blade is fully hard D2 and Dirk's question to me was whether we could do a collaboration of sorts or not if I thought I could turn this fixed blade he bought into a folding knife for him with lots of upsweep. He also wanted it to be a stout liner lock so at his request Bob drop shipped the blade to me and I began mapping out the fixed blade to turn it into a folder. Cutting the blade neatly using a thin kerf cut off disc and my dremmel I managed to get the blade sectioned nice and neat and barely having it get much more than luke warm by taking my dear sweet time. A carbide drill bit in a two flute 1/8" diameter from MSC put a nice neat pivot hole in the blade and after that it was just a matter of finish grinding the contact as I do using my tilt table set at 8 degrees to put a nice 400 grit finish on the blade where the lock will mate to it. You can see more on that technique here at one of my forums if interested. http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?95-Liner-and-Frame-Lock-Folder-Lock-Contact-My-Way

Dirk asked me to take it to completion minus the handles which he wanted to do himself so I made the frame and left the parts oversized, the screws long for the clip and drilled and threaded it where needed giving him free rein once he got it to either use some of them or cover them up neatly basically giving the completed frame to him. While I've never seen this knife once Dirk completed it I've heard from a few that have that it turned out well. From the looks of it very well. Once again this is an old job but one I've been meaning to document and store in more than one location for old time's sake. Again you can click the pictures to bring them up to a bigger size and you can follow the steps as the project progressed from scrolling up from the first picture to the last. Thanks for looking.

STR

Kiridashi Frame lock

2010-09-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

Take a Japan Woodworkers Kiridashi folder, a little scrap titanium, some left over Micarta and a little hardware along with some time and you just never know what you can come up with to update a good hammer forged blade into a better more modern user friendly handle format. The first one turned out so nice I ended up getting requests for more. The 64 Rockwell hardness Japanese White steel blades are quite sharp, lethal really but taping them off helped to keep them from biting me while working them down to fit the new bodies. In the end they turned out so well that one can't help but be drawn to them. There is something about the primitive and the modern coming together I think. These are old jobs but its high time I stuck them up here for old time's sake if nothing else. Of the two different knives shown here, one has a stainless steel insert inlayed on the inside of the lock to make the contact for the blade. I did this as an experiment to see if it would work and I guess it did as that knife was built back in 2006.

To get an idea of just what I've done here just look at the two knives in the very bottom picture. You can follow the progress via the pictures seeing it step by step by scrolling up from the bottom. The one on the left in that last picture is the Kiridashi folder as it ships from Japan Wood Worker. These two blades shown are right hand grind models. You can buy left hand grind blades too from Japan Woodworker. Either way the knife is exceptionally large for the blade length and uncomfortable in the hand also with the lock lever sticking into your palm. To be honest I didn't trust the lock that much either after using it a bit.

These knives as they come from Japan Woodworker give the impression that they lock up very solidly. But you learn right quick that the first time you really lean into one to cut that it develops up and down play in no time and it just gets worse with use. Eventually, even with continued 'normal' uses, nothing extreme, the blade develops side to side play as well as up and down play. Before converting this first one the blade wobbled in the handle with lots of side to side play by the time I got to cutting the blade out and started making it into a modern frame lock. The knife shown in that bottom picture with the factory version as shipped from JWW is the first of my conversions equipped with a modern titanium bank vault frame lock in .125 thickness and one of my custom made low rider clips screwed down to the handmade ti slab lock side and .125 thick teal canvas Micarta for the non lock side.

Eventually I took that other original knife shown as it came from the catalog and turned that one into the one with the stainless insert in the lock. You can see the hammer forge marks on the blades and use the patterns to tell the two blades apart to discern the two models but you can also see the screw that secured the insert into the lock on the inside. There is also a second screw not seen that comes in from the inside on that one. The idea here was to have a pop in lock contact replacement to make adjustments easier in the future. I'm not sure it was really necessary looking back on it though. Also, after carrying one and using it a while the teal micarta darkens from being in the sun and from your finger oils during use. You can see that darkening starting in the very top picture on the teal micarta. Eventually that top one that is lighter in the picture when it was taken, ended up darkening to look just like the first one below it. Thanks for looking.

STR

Pocket clip flip and other knife modifications

2010-08-19T14:06:00.001-07:00

Seen here are three knives I bought for myself recently that simply surprised me at how nice they each are for the money. Top folder is a Sanrenmu 939 as it comes from the factory. Next is a Sanrenmu 710 which I've modified. Middle is a Boker Anti MC Plus with ceramic blade and last is the Sanrenmu 939 after modification. All of these came with just one mode of carry for the pocket clip. I prefer tip up carry so my first order of business with each one was to proceed to the shop and change some things to suit me.

As you can see from looking at these folders, there are some other things besides pocket clips that I did before I was finished with them. Once these folders arrived I might have had each out for an hour before I was in the shop changing things to suit me better. First thing I did was make a custom titanium pocket clip to fit them for tip up carry. By the way, you can click any picture to enlarge it out to full size to get a better zoom shot of the details.

So once that original clip was off I was mapping out a new pocket clip design of my own on some scrap titanium right quick. I drilled some holes for a 2-56 threaded screw sizes after marking where I needed the holes on each model and then threaded them into the stainless handles to create my new mount areas. These handles are hardened stainless on both the Sanrenmu knives and titanium on the Boker Anti MC Plus model.

I used a number 46 drill size as opposed to the normal number 47 I would use in most everything else. I normally select the 46 for slab threading jobs. It seems to bind less the deeper it goes but you still have to be very careful. This slightly bigger diameter number 46 drill bit size improved my chances of successfully threading the thick slabs and reduced the chances of breaking off a tap and getting it stuck in the hardened stainless steel handle. Another way to do this is to simply drill the hole too large for the threader 3/4 of the way through the thickness and simply thread the last 1/4 of the slab only. I opted to simply thread the entire thickness with weaker threads. In my tests doing this on junk knives the clips break long before the screws pull out. Come to think of it. I've never pulled the screws out so to me it seems to hold just fine using a number 46 and a thread forming tap.

Once the new clip was done I simply cut the original clip for that 939 so its mount plate could still be used on the knife. I did this by zipping it off at the first bend. I did this using a thin kerf cut off disc to give the original mounting plate a new purpose. Now its a lock stop to prevent over travel of the lock or hyper extension of the lock out the wrong way which can cause the lock to lose spring tension.

Sometimes in the heat of a moment like during an adrenaline rush in an emergency its easy to over extend the locks on these open frame designs. The fact that so many manufacturers take the lock cuts to thin the lock slabs down so thin makes this scenario that much more plausible. While not common I've read of it enough to warrant this preventive device. I felt since the original pocket clip is no longer there to serve this purpose after my new one was installed that I still needed the benefit of a physical block for the lock travel. In the end I did another plate making one up from scrap titanium to fit the Boker for the same job.

Without some block there to prevent over travel out the wrong way when the lock is released you just never know when you might accidentally take the lock out too far one day. This is easier done than you might think when a lock sticks and binds on the contact on the blade. If it requires a bit of force to release the lock, as this Boker does, its very easy to envision a situation where spring tension could be lost. This physical block will prevent that from happening.

Now move to the rear of the folder looking at it on the outside as shown in the first picture. Having the lock cut in the rear of the folder on the outside as opposed to the inside where it is not as easily seen can create a challenge for flipping a pocket clip to tip up carry mode on these open frame lock style folders.

The lock cut is the dished out part of the handle in the slab where its thinned down. Look at the first picture of the 939 model. Note at the tail end of the original pocket clip and you can see that the original pocket clip shown there almost curves and points right to the lock cut or dished out area I'm speaking of if you look right at clip tail. This lock cut is there to thin the slab to allow it to be easier to bend the lock to put spring tension on it so it blocks the blade from closing and to allow the user an easier operating lock since the thicker slab would have too much resistance. Its these cuts that can be taken down to extremes at times.

I have a Strider PT folder with .125 slab lock thickness that the lock cut is taken down to .032 on. This Boker shown here is .034 from .100 thickness. Both the stainless Sanrenmu knives shown here are .039 plus or minus from an original thickness of .100. So you can see they take them down pretty thin at times. This makes the actions work easier but unfortunately it can also make hyper extension of the lock out the wrong way that much easier also.

That spring tension must remain in the memory of the lock or you cannot rely on the blade to be secured safely for use. Whenever these lock cuts are on the outside I have to really be careful where I put the new pocket clip. That lock cut, when on the outside can catch the rim of the pocket if the clip is positioned wrong and if the clip is sitting in the wrong place where it can pinch the pocket rim into the lock cut as you extract the folder for use it can cause the knife to catch and snag getting hung up on the pocket and cause one to drop their folder.

Looking once more that the Sanrenmu 939, once I figured out how I wanted to handle both the overtravel issue for the lock and the new pocket clip positioning I simply reprofiled the blade shape and made it so it had a better splinter picker point for my own tastes> You can notice the original blade shape in the very bottom (last) picture. Compare that to my new reprofiled shape and you can see that its hard to tell its even the same blade. In the end I'm quite happy with this knife. So happy I'm ordering more of this model just to have a few in the safe for in case I beat this one up or lose it one day.

These San Ren Mu knives are quite nice for the money. I also bought two of the 710 model. One in black. These are great travel knives for when crossing state lines just to have something on you that is little to fuss over should it be lost or taken at a traffic stop. Something I've had to endure once before unfortunately and it was a much more valued knife then. After shipping I have about $20 in this 939 and about $12 each for the 710's. I won't cry over that if its taken as my last one was. .

As stated earlier, the Boker shown here is one equipped with a Ceramic blade. Ceramic is good for straight cuts only as it is a very brittle material. Lateral stress can snap one of these blades quite easily so I'm not sure just how much it can take but I liked the sleek lines of the design and figured I'd give it a try for $50 plus shipping. Ceramic is suppose to cut for a very long time since it is so hard. Edge keeping was my primary reason for wanting to try this but also the price made it easy to get into one compared to ceramic blade knives I've priced in the past. Thanks for looking.

STR

Personalizing a Ka-Bar Phat Bob

2010-08-04T11:54:00.001-07:00

Seen here are two of the new Bob Dozier designed Phat Bob folders. I bought one of these recently because when I first saw it I thought it sure reminded me a lot of the actual Bob custom that I have drooled over for some time. I liked it so much that after that I immediately ordered a second one for a back up. I'd love to have the real thing but I just don't have several hundred bucks laying around to spare at the moment so this inexpensive alternative will have to do. The blade steel is AUS8 and the knife is made in Taiwan. Don't let that sway you though because these are actually built quite well.

Some of the nicest knives in the world are coming out of Taiwan these days. I've seen and handled several and even some recently from China in that little Sanrenmu 710 that have absolutely blown me away for the quality of the work, fit and finish, and overall feel.

Anyway, I did find some things I wanted to improve on with this model with the main issue for me being the weight. It came to me weighing in at 5.3 ounces from the Cheaper Than Dirt web site where I bought it. My second one weighs in at exactly the same weight as the first. First thing I noted after the weight issue was the thumb stud being a bit hard to grab with my thumb as I kept missing it feeling like the handle scale was blocking my access to it or that the stud was just a little on the short side. So, as shown I cleaned out a better thumb ramp on the green micarta scale.

That helped but not as much as I had hoped so I ended up replacing the thumb stud with one easier to get a good hold of when I wanted to use the knife. Being that I was a long time Kabar repairman doing some contract work for them when needed I had some spare parts from other Kabar knives laying around. So, I simply grabbed up one of the spares from another busted Kabar knife and installed that one on my Phat Bob user.

Now moving on I had to figure how I was going to handle the weight issue. Little by little I got all my measurements together and finally figured I'd have to remove the original phosphorus bronze washers and replace those with my own in a thicker washer. This way I could bump up the pivot measurement to the same height as the new fancy stand offs in the rear to allow me to rid the knife of a lot of the weight problem in the way of that solid metal spacer.

The alternative was to simply drill holes in the spacer. I like this better. I reduced the weight from the 5.3 ounces from the factory to a nice 4.6 ounce weight that is noticed quite easily in the hand. I could easily reduce the weight even more by drilling some holes in the solid liners in selected spots and I may do that later on at least on the non lock side liner just to see if I can get it down closer to 4 ounces. With some properly placed lightening holes in a good size I may actually be able to get it there. Time will tell.

Next step for me was ridding the knife of the tip down carry. Being a tip up fan myself I prompty made a custom titanium clip for it and flipped that after drilling and threading some holes right quick. Two of the 2-56 size screws fit right in and now I have me a lighter weight easier to open, properly equipped Phat Bob to suit me personally for use and another for the safe as a back up. I always buy two when I find something I really like. One is none and two is one as they say. :-)

Being that these are just under $50 each from Cheaper than Dirt and thats after shipping, I figured I could afford it. Anyway, the folder is much more to my liking now. Just one of these things would have made a difference for me but at this point its a real nice user. The spacers gave it just a bit more of a wider stance but I rather like that trade off for a few tenths of an ounce weight loss. I don't mind a meaty folder in the hand and that ample handle gives you plenty to hold on to for some serious work. The blade so far seems quite capable and although I have not had the opportunity to really run it through the paces just yet I've had plenty of experience with AUS8 steel and can kind of figure that it will more than handle anything I want to use it for. Thanks for looking.

STR

One Sweet Gerber Folding Sportsman I Folder.

2010-07-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite models of all time from any production knife company has always been this very model of slimline folding Sportsman by Gerber. This is a knife made sometime in the 80's based on the color of the box it came in. (blue) I bought it a few years back on ebay and after having it in the safe for quite a while I finally got around to doing something to it I've been wanting to do ever since I did one for a customer at his request years ago this same way.

Some have asked since I made changes to what I'll do in the way of work if I still do these mods shown here. The answer is yes I'll still be offering these smaller jobs. I'm mostly sticking with smaller jobs I can fit in between others I have going on more often like my pocket clips. It gives a little variety to my day.

I have five of these folding Sportsman I models by Gerber, all new in the box just the way they shipped from them and thats not counting this one I picked to modify. I picked this one because I have another in a blue box just like it and because I thought it was the latest one done. In other words its the newer of all my models.

Anyway, the Gerber safety pause (basically a 'half stop' on the lock back) has little affect for how easy and convenient this little gem of a folder is now after I upgraded it to one hand opening and installed a custom made pocket clip on it. It opens quite nicely and since I've rounded off the edges with a bevel unlike the sharp crisp corners from the factory its more comfortable in the hand now also.

This is right up town here folks and much more conducive to everyday carry for a knfe this small that weighs this much. 3.6 ounces here! Compared to the Buck 501 at 2.4 ounces that is actually a longer blade model this is a chunky folder. Anyway, these are from back when Gerber still did things right and here in the USA. A knife from yesteryear brought up to present day standards! Love it!

STR

Buck 110 Upgrade adding thumb stud and pocket clip

2010-06-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

I think every knife nut has owned at least one Buck 110 in their life time. I know I have had several and I remember as a boy using mine doing everything from whittling on the porch just making shavings to actually field dressing small game a time or three.

I also recall buying those early slide on spring steel attachments sold in various places that you started on the blade at the swedge taper and then gently nudged it on up to about where the thumb stud is mounted on this one. Those little spring steel attachments were equipped with a wing that allowed one hand opening and although they would eventually pop off it was usually a pretty simple matter to slide it back up on there if you didn't lose it.

Had I thought of it back then I'd surely have tried to make a pocket clip but the idea just didn't take until a man named Sal Glesser from Spyderco knives changed all that in the early 80s. Back then the sheath it sold in was the only way to carry such a big knife.

Anyway I've had a lot of the Buck 110s and even the 112 Rangers, as well as many of the little 501 Esquire models, well I guess its just called the Squire now, but they have all been here as well as many more for this upgrade of a thumb stud and a pocket clip for either tip up or tip down right or left hand carry.

Some have wanted ambi thumb studs, some just one, some wanted multiple mounting options for the clip while others knew just what they wanted and didn't worry about any others. This young man that owns this knife shown will feel like he just got a new knife when it returns to him here shortly, even though its his same trustworthy hunting companion he has used many times.

I have tons of pictures stored of the various models I've converted like this for people but the idea to post them here just never occurred to me until today. Mostly I was using my blogger for the bigger more intensive jobs I was getting myself into but since I've been winding down limiting my work to just the smaller more manageable jobs I can get in and out of here quickly for folks it seemed to make sense to post one at least once.

Cold Steel Mini AK-47 and the Triad Lock. My Thoughts

2010-06-04T06:42:00.001-07:00

Shown here is the new Mini AK-47 Triad lock by Cold Steel. I've posted it in progressive steps as it evolved to what it is today. If you start from the bottom in the pictures scrolling up you can follow this mini AK from before to after by navigating past the other photos. In the top two pictures you see the final after tweaking it to my satisfaction.

I read about the Triad lock when it first came out after Andrew Demko created it and I'm sure like a lot of people I just kind of skimmed not really getting it because I didn't really appreciate it on paper. It wasn't until I actually bought my first American Lawman and Mini Lawman folders that I really found out just how good it was. In short the lock is pretty awesome for a number of reasons with the main reason being that it just holds up under the worst abuses! The Triad lock bar is protected against some forces by the use of a stop pin making it both stronger and more reliable at the same time! Most of the blunt force trauma will be absorbed by the pin and transferred to the overall system of the handle allowing the lock to do what it is supposed to do remaining immune to most forces that could dislodge conventional locks. These high abuse type uses produce forces that the user would rely solely on the rocker arm and blade to absorb in other designs. Its not that they can't do that for a time, most can but the lock will wear faster having to absorb both positive and negative forces all the time and this is what leads to that pesky blade play developing over time from rounding corners and indenting metal.. The Triad creates a situation where the lock rocker arm gets a lot of help from that precisely placed hardened stop pin but to add to this the Triad lock adds one of the attributes of the liner lock in that the lock rocker arm is self adjusting for wear that does occur. The difference this makes in life expectancy is going to be huge making a system that is geared for durability long life and reliability over time as the lock continually adjusts itself from wear. The force difference between what we term hard uses which can wear a good knife over a long span of time, vs abusive uses which can flat out ruin it, sometimes immediately may not be appreciated until you actually experience trashing a good knife by pushing it just a little too far. I know that feeling well as I've had some fine knives I really liked that got tweaked a time or two. That is why I'm a firm believer in a beater upper knife.

Here is a picture I saw on one of the forums. It shows a Cold Steel American Lawman (bottom) set up for the Triad lock compared to the Spyderco Manix (top) in this shot which is a conventional 'beefy' mid lock folder. Compared to some others I've examined the Manix is exemplary as it is shown here.. I believe that is a full size Manix if I'm not mistaken but it could be the Mini version. Either way the lock up going to compare about like this to the Triad lock on most folders. This is the difference between philosophies per say of the 'old school vs new school' way of doing a mid lock back folder. As you know there are lock backs that are 'back locks' like the Buck 110. And others like these Spyderco and other models with mid lock depress levers or rocker arms/lock bars and then there are still others like the Al Mar folders that are 'front lock' type lever set ups for release of the lock. Each one has it's own school of thought for how they are done to be correct.The Triad set up is geared toward updating and rearranging a few things for the mid locking type design and it could be argued that the Rajah I and perhaps a few other larger folders by Cold Steel are more front lock than mid lock in design. Either way even a novice can see quite clearly the advantages of the Triad lock and why they instill so much confidence and security. Not that the Spyderco doesn't do that to some degree as that is a fine knife and done right. Both of these are beefy folders more geared for heavier uses. I just think the Triad lock raised the bar considerably here though. Note that even the pivot barrel is bigger on the Lawman than the Spyderco. Note that the spring on the Spyderco is quite beefy by comparison to Cold Steel though but again that plays into what works best for locks set up such that the system is old school design relying solely on the rocker arm to support the blade. Anyway, this is the difference visually of what I've been seeing. Now you see what I've been saying and I wanted my readers to see what I see when I look inside and why the Triad lock excites me so. Even if somehow the American Lawman lock bar was slightly depressed down in use the lock would still engage the blade deeper or at least as deep as the Manix does at full seating of the lock! Guys that's simply amazing! Click any picture to enlarge to full size.

Above is the American Lawman bottom, Spyderco Manix top

This is a full size Spyderco Manix here that I rebuilt slabs on years ago. Used for reference only. I don't do the rebuilds of this nature any longer.

This is a shot of the typical lock up of a Case Blackhorn hunter folding knife and a Spyderco Blue Rescue

Above is a Spyderco 83mm Manix showing the lock up on this great folder

Above is one more shot of yet another Cold Steel American Lawman which the lock shows up well on.

Of course like any lock back, the user still needs to maintain the mechanisms and be sure its clean and obstruction free in the lock notch in the blade. All knives need maintained and folding knives with or without locks are certainly no exception, particularly those pushed to the limits of their abilities frequently. Below is another good video link on some maintenance showing how to take the Recon 1 Triad Lock knife apart and fix a rattle if you have one that does that. It is also a pretty good shot of the massive lock up of the Recon 1 and what it looks like inside. I should emphasize here that where he lists the screw sizes is not accurate. The torx sizes on all my knives by Cold Steel seem to be T10 for pivot screws so that part is correct, but the rear screws and pocket clip screws on all mine are all T6 torx size and not T8 as the author of this video states. Its worth review just to be aware of the the basics though. Speaking of the basics, if you want my own tips I suggest if you take your knives apart that each time have a towel below you on a clean surface. These small screws tend to walk off so the towel slows that down. Have the right tools. Don't use hex on torx and viceaversa. Look at the screws used in the construction as 'location specific' as this is always the best policy with modern and/or old style folders either production or custom made. Put things back just where they were in the same way they were installed. In other words if its a pin note which side was down and which up before you remove it. Mark the end you see with a Sharpie dot or something. Note how things are oriented and installed before removing a piece. Snap a digital pic of it before you remove anything and double check to be sure its as it was if this helps. These knives can sometimes not work as well once put back together if you mix things up so its just a general good rule of thumb to adopt this location specific policy as routine to prevent problems down the road. Oh and as mentioned, if you have the rattle in your folder the easy fix should you get one that does this is also found here.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UReuagN5tkc

If you want the best balance of strength and reliability in a folder that locks open the Triad lock is one of the better choices in my opinion. Heck I don't know how anyone can help but feel that way once they actually handle and use one of these things! These knives just instill a sense of confidence and security, and as it appears to me they offer hefty amounts of both! I have grown to just love the TWACK of the lock rocker arm hammering down on my first Lawman when opening the blade I gotta tell ya! In fact once the blade is locked up and opened on one of these folders it is truly about as close as you can get to a fixed blade in a folder that I have found at any point in the over 50 years I've been walking this planet! Oh, for the record I have no attachment or loyalty to any one company in the knife industry. I do not work for any of the companies at this time but I have worked closely with some in the past. Cold Steel is not one of them though. I do not work for or have any ties to Cold Steel other than the fact that I occasionally have bought their knives. I do openly admit more interest in Cold Steel since they teamed with Andrew Demko though and my feelings are that Andrew is among the top five premier knife makers and designers in the world at this time.

This lock deserved some kind of recognition at the awards at Blade show this year but I'm sure it was overlooked as many of Cold Steels knives are when they come up with new knives. Often they've been ignored even when they are great. This is what happens to the black sheep in any industry typically. It certainly would not surprise me that perhaps the greatest lock invention of our time will go largely ignored at the show because it is Cold Steel behind it. If Emerson or one of the 'favored sons' of the industry had come up with this you can bet you'd have been reading about this great new lock on the cover of every magazine and in numerous threads in every forum in the world repeatedly as headline news long before Blade, but because its Cold Steel and Lynn Thompson that came up with it its only appreciated by those that actually count, the customers.

It really is a shame such a blatant bias exists on some of the forums and in magazines as well as shows because Andy Demko deserves praise for this lock design and lots of it! I mean we are talking about folding knives that can be relied upon in extreme situations here! Imagine literally hammering into the locked open handle with something like a short stout log and knowing the lock will take it. Have trouble imagining that? See here and come back after.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe39OLzVy5Y This is simply a knife fit for a warrior spirit. It shows that you can easily force the blade into a tree or mortar joint in a wall as easily as Andrew did using a hammer to put a hole in a 2x4! Imagine then using the locked open body of the folder as a leg up standing on the spine area close to the lock and blade to help you see over the top or climb a tree! That could be a handy item to have in a pinch depending on circumstances. I'm sorry but your hard use Emerson or Strider is simply outclassed here as this set up by Cold Steel redefines hard use to a whole new standard of excellence! Oh and please know I am not suggesting you try this stuff and go out there and hurt yourself. I'm just saying this is the difference I see between the Triad Lock and other lock types because some of the larger models of the Triad lock folders offered by Cold Steel would actually take this treatment and walk through it without a hitch unimpressed by the abuse. Don't believe it!? You will once you study this lock. I keep half waiting to see a video on youtube of someone pounding some of these in a telephone pole and then climbing the pole using the knives but I won't hold my breath. :-) If you want a true 'abuse rated' folding knife that you'll actually use without hesitation I'd say look no further than one of the Triad lockers by Cold Steel like the Recon 1 or American Lawman folders. Or if you are really a gamer for big knives the Espada XL is a lot of knife but the Espada comes in three sizes. Judging by this even the small one would suffice! Still doubt you could literally stand on one of these locked open folders? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKrbiC87F_w&feature=fvwrel

You wouldn't dare try that with one of your other locking folders though, no matter who made it!. By the way, I did actually clamp one my Lawman folders up and locked it up to stand on it. Had to flip my work table with the wooden vices in it upside down to do it but I did and that knife held all 190 pounds of me just lightly bouncing on it up close toward the thumb stud standing over the pivot and the lock and I still use the knife because it is readily apparent it didn't even phase it! No blade play, nothin! Even more impressive, I'd already beat the snot out of the thing in several other ways before I even did the clamp and stand test!

Watch this video of Andrew testing a Cold Steel AK-47. This is just horrible abuse of a knife and it took it asking for more. Try that with your other locking type folder and tell me that AK-47 didn't put in an award winning performance! If anyone truly interested in a hard use folding knife can watch this and shrug it off you have to wonder whether they are really being honest with themselves! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDDQGmW2Hrg Or this new one of him beating the crap out of a G10 5.5" Espada (Large model). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afFVaZiXIUU&feature=related

What we see, as evidenced in the videos and actual user feedback is some very good improvements over the standard everyday lock back and the results of testing done as shown on these videos on youtube and by Cold Steel showing just how well it does in spine whacks, over strikes, and free weight hang tests are very much accurate for what you can expect from yours should you snag one for yourself. I realize a lot of folks see no benefit or reason to spine whack or tap the spine of their locking folding knives but keep in mind, particularly in knives sold to you as hard use knives, or as self defense/combat knives, that a tap or even a whack to the spine of the blade during uses like this when its locked open is a real world event that can and does happen. Besides this, if you are buying it with the intent of using it for close quarters combat or other hard uses you owe it to yourself to know that the knife can take what you plan to dish out to it. Some seem to think the over strike is nonsense. Forgive me but if in a tussle and you pull your knife out and someone grabs your wrist slamming it down on something trying to make you drop your weapon an over strike is a real possibility. Even if it is your finger that hits something first wedged between the handle and whatever your hand is slammed against its still technically an over strike whether you got hit on the fingers at the same time or not! It can happen even if the odds are slim. End of story!

In the same line of thought the spine whack where the spine part of the blade is slammed into something is an equal possibility. Regardless of how ridiculous it may seem to some to test the over strike issue it doesn't really matter to the Triad lock one way or the other. Seems to me that the only people that whine about the over strike are the guys either making knives for combat and self defense purposes that can't handle this particular type of blunt force shock to the lock or the guys carrying one they thought walked on water only now they realize they were sold hype when they tried this test and their knife failed it miserably! The truth is that even the guys that don't agree with the over strike don't want to carry a knife they know would likely fail the test and that gnaws at them! The Triad lock walked through both spine whacks and over strikes with no problem at all as you can see clearly in the videos. I'm betting that your own knives using this wonderful lock mechanism would waltz right through these tests also. Now please know that in any production product there are lemons. I'm not suggesting you can't get a bad one from Cold Steel as we all know that can happen from any of the companies we buy from. These are mass produced after all so we have to be realistic. What I do suggest is that when you get one that is spot on the money for how its supposed to be, which is likely, you will see exactly what I'm talking about! I'm also happy to report that so far with all I've purchased of these new Triad locking models from Cold Steel I've had no issues with any to date and have been impressed with one lock up being as rock solid as the next and so on.

The lock advertised as 'hard use' or abuse rated should not be a liability in the event you use it hard and if it is then you are fooling yourself thinking you are doing yourself any favors by relying solely on hype and bull shit to sell you the knife you carry. Looking good is one thing but no matter how good a locking folding knife looks it has to work first and foremost. If the lock doesn't work right I don't have any more use for it than I do an adjustable wrench that will no longer turn a nut and that doesn't matter if it was a $20 knife or a $1000 one! The Triad lock is immune to most shocks that would ruin another folder lock and even many of the so called hard use knives you may dearly love and care for that cost a lot more than one of these models by Cold Steel. Love, brand loyalty or friend status has nothing to do with reality and much as I love some of my other knives and the companies that make them I can't deny the knives I own by them have locks and other issues that fall way short of living up to the hype used to sell them in a lot of cases. In fact some of the claims are laughable because anyone that knows anything about knives and locks will see right through that hype and know its all over rated nonsense promoted simply to sell something. The fact is forces that can defeat the lock of these other much loved models I own have little if any affect on the Triad lock whether those forces be of positive or of negative pressures as I said earlier. Love and brand loyalty have nothing to do with facts and if you can follow the facts where they lead you not letting your own personal bias interfere with what you see then you cannot deny what we have here is something really great in Andrew Demko's Triad Lock! It doesn't even matter if the forces are lateral and compressive type pressures from twisting torque type forces like those seen in the human hand during extreme white knuckle uses or if they are static load tests done with free hanging weights or machines when it comes to a Triad lock! These are sometimes forces that would break or severely deform a standard lock back or other lock type I've tested like a liner lock and the Triad will hold up to more stress and strain than anything in its class that I've seen or tested. The truth is there is no comparison when we get right down to the brass tacks! I don't believe I own any other locking folders except other Triad Locks that could survive even a small fraction of the abuse that AK-47 absorbed at the hands of Andrew Demko in the link above and I mean that sincerely. Perhaps the only other folder I've ever owned that would even begin to stand up to this abuse is the Extreme Ratio Fulcrum II and it was a hell of a lot more money than one of these folders by Cold Steel!

I've used a baton on the blade of the Triad lock knives by Cold Steel and never once seen it change the nature of the lock up. While I'm one to agree its absolutely ridiculous to baton a folder I was curious as to just how much one of these folders could take. Apparently others were just as curious. Watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMBTPo2Xgh0 I was shocked believe me because the Rajah 1 and my new Recon 1 both waltzed right through a club forcing the blades through logs to split them up and did so a number of times each. I cannot say the same for other type locks I've tested the same way over the time I've been involved in this industry and even some much beefier looking than some of the smaller Cold Steel knives. Generally speaking if you want to ruin a folding knife fast taking a baton to it is a good way to do it. (see here at what can happen when doing this to other lock types. http://strsbackyardknifeworks.blogspot.com/2009/07/bins-horseman-hd-and-jryan-edc-folder.html
I've thrown my Triad lock knives repeatedly, even from a distance sticking them in wood, I've spine whacked them, hit them with overstrikes, and flat out chopped with them until any lesser knife would have been so chewed to hell you'd not even know it was the same knife and the knives like this one shown here just take it! Here you want to watch this video also while here. Yeah its in French. You'll get the idea just watch and enjoy as Fred Perrin shows you some of the great things he discovered about the Triad lock by Andrew Demko. And it may look easy. That's years of practice there shining through trust me! Still, that's damn hard on a lock mechanism of any kind and I don't know how good your French is but Fred mentioned there that he does that a lot using those same knives! The knives are unchanged other than finish rubbed off! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1JyaTXdA1I

Pretty impressive by itself really but when combined with the other things we now know I still say the Triad lock is the best lock for a folding knife ever made. Can it be broken? Yes sure it can. Any lock can break and at least one of these Triad lock folders has broken but don't let it sway you from enjoying one of these wonderful locks just because you read about some isolated cases of one or two breaking after some type of abuse was done to it. These isolated cases happen with all brands and in the cases of the Triad lock the blade steel was to blame as the lock itself still functioned fine. The heat treat or a bad blade were the cause in the single case I've seen. I will stand by that statement that the Triad is the best lock ever created for folding knives until someone comes up with something better. One or two isolated cases does not make a case for the lock or blade steel being weak but simply that a bad apple got out the door from having a flaw unseen. It happens.. In the mean time I wanted to prove to those reading that I walk the walk also. I love the Triad Lock so much that I ordered and bought a custom AD-10 which I call my "American Lawman Custom" shown beside one of my very abused production Lawman folders here, although in this picture the abuse had not yet begun. That knife looks a lot worse now than when this picture was taken. Actually they both look different than when this pic was taken.. Not only do I own the Andrew Demko custom shown but I use it and I have one other folder by Andy and I have another Triad lock model coming when he gets it done. You know those threads where people ask if you had to pick only one knife and nothing else could go with you which would you take? Well that gray carbon fiber beast shown here is the one that would be on my person in such an event! CPM154 blade steel nearly 1/4" thick! .100 ti liners and carbon fiber scales with a ti lock spring holder for the spacer in the rear and a ti lock spring in .055 thickness and Andrew's patented thumb plate opener all combine to make for one heavy duty monster of a folder! Listen. I've bought more custom knives in my life than I care to admit. Being a maker myself I have made a fair share of them also as shown here in my own blogger. That is the best one of all I've ever bought or owned from any maker on this planet including myself and I have more than a mere handful of knives here to compare it to, both custom and production! Quite simply for guys like me this lock is the lock I've always dreamed of from an early age. I'm so glad I'm not missing out on it when it finally hit the market because this is the lock we knife nuts have been waiting for all our lives!!!

Additional Info and comments on Patents
I've chopped down some big saplings with one of my Rajah I Triad lock knives and all I can say is get one for yourself while you still can! This Rajah I by Cold Steel is truly a folding machete at the ready and although hard to believe I challenge anyone to prove me wrong in that statement! I've used my Rajah I now for about a year using it in place of a machete for light to medium duty chopping and brush clearing jobs to get stray branches out of reach of my vehicles when pulling around through my drive way. I've done this on so many occasions now that its just second nature to grab the Rajah over the other blades I have for the shear convenience of being able to carry it around with me in my pocket when I'm working on my property! I chopped a big ass Chinese Elm sapling down the other day and that was the biggest tree my Rajah I has handled so far! Normally I'd have hiked back to the shop or the house to grab a bigger tool for this tree but with my knee botherin' me lately I elected to at least get it started with the Rajah while I was there. It was about 9" in diameter if you measure with a tape going around the stump at the chopped off end. This means it was a tree about 3 to 3.125" across . It was over 20' tall easily. That knife still locks up as solidly as ever! What's more I did this chopping it down with a bare hand holding the knife and it was quite comfortable! This same knife has taken down several other branches and trees nearly as large during the time I've owned it. A years worth of yard and drive way brush and branch, (sometimes small sapling) clearing with any other folding knife would probably do it in pretty good, especially with the size of some of the ones this knife has taken on and cut down. All my Rajah I required after a year was a touch up to the edge and half turn tweak to bring the pivot barrel screw tension back to snuff so the slight blade play side to side went away, oh and the thumb plate screw tightened back down and its cleaned back up ready to knock down some more trees and shrubs for me!

I have one of the Rajah 1 models in my bug out bag ready to go with my other survival gear at the drop of a hat! I've bought three of them! Never thought I'd have any use for a knife this huge but honestly, its a classic in it's own right! Every knife nut should have one! :-) Living in tornado alley one gets used to having immediate essentials at the ready in the event you have to duck out quick to take cover. In this part of the country you never know what you will see once the shelter doors are opened after a big storm or tornado. Could be one day that my life will be swept away in a flash but I'll have at least one good big knife at the ready among other things when and if that happens. Much as my common sense tells me to still have a fixed blade in my bag, which I do by the way, a Kabar, I still never hesitate to grab the Rajah using it much the same way as I would any fixed blade. For all practical purposes that is how the knife seems to behave for me and further it appears unimpressed with the abuse I've dished out to it!

The lock up is superb on these Triad lock models by Cold Steel and believe me I've seen how well they are done inside on at least one of every one I own because I've had each model I own apart to look them over. Impressive contacts, deep seating parts, and nice beefy materials and pins are what you can expect to see and all in a knife any working man can afford. The materials and workmanship are top notch in these folders from what I have been able to tell. I've examined a lot of them intimate like. You look around my blogger here. Check out my work. Look at my forums and see what I have done in the past and what I do currently and ask yourself who is full of shit here?! So far to date I've personally seen and used four American Lawman models, two mini Lawman models, one mini AK47 and one full size AK which was later sold. I bought the Rajah 1 on clearance, and now own two Voyager Triad locks, a clip point medium and a tanto large. Then I bought as the last model purchased a Recon 1. I must say if you could pick between all these folders. Get the Recon 1! It will stand up to anything else you pit it against! It may fall behind in blade edge keeping but folks the difference between AUS8 and 154CM cutting 3/8" hemp rope in controlled pressure and weight test cutting trials is about twenty cuts more with the 154CM before you have to resharpen. Honestly, there could be drawbacks there if Cold Steel was to switch to say the 154CM steel or something similar because I don't think those steels are as tough as the one Cold Steel has chosen to use. For me the AUS8 sharpens right back up in about 5 seconds. I don't see it helping the model to go to a better edge keeping but less tough blade steel just for 20 or even 40 more cuts between touch ups to the edge. Those touch ups may not even be as easy as what is required of the AUS8 steel depending on what steel was used. Some of these high wear steels are difficult to sharpen at times. For most AUS8 responds well to any number of sharpening techniques. People like that. This steel doesn't have a lot of inconsistent issues or bad batches like others have had and overall it does not give a lot of problems to users for pitting or staining so how much better could one ask? If the edge gets dulled down during the day as I use it being the knife nut I am I'm going to touch it back up to biting sharp before heading out in the morning for the next day just like always no matter what steel it is so what does it really matter what it is so long as I can get it biting sharp day to day with relative ease? I've never understood the steel snobs really.

Back to the knives. Others talk the talk claiming hard use when its all over-rated hype! Honestly I used to think Cold Steel promoted a lot of that hype but here lately with the advent of this new lock called the Triad they really proved to have a game changer! This Triad lock is some serious bar raising folks! Its just talk from the others when you compare your other favored knife to one of these bad boys by Cold Steel and you know in your heart it ain't anywhere near hard use at all when you compare it apples to apples to one of these Triad lockers! The Triad walks the walk. I honestly cannot tell you of another folding knife out there I would dare stab into a car hood or other hard material bare handed with my fingers and hand out there asking for tendon and nerve damage from a defeated lock, yet I've done just that with one of my Triad equipped American Lawman folders several times due to the extreme confidence it instills in the user. I have a ZT 0551 Hinderer model with the Elmax steel! Great knife! Super knife and it will do a lot and really please you know but it would die long before this Recon 1 and probably fall way short for how far it would go before blade play developed. Still you can't help but appreciate a fine tool when you see one either way and I certainly do that. What I see though is a knife I admire and one I'll actually use and to me the Cold Steels are just that. Real world users for real knife nuts that want to get down!

I owned four of the American Lawman models before I was even looking at others because I find the size of this model is on the large end of the scale for knives I typically carry but it still fits with the blade length and foot print so I'd say the American Lawman to me is the most practical realistic model for me to choose from among the offerings from Cold Steel and its my favorite model of all of them. In the end even as super impressive as all of those other models were I decided to focus on the more convenient sizes more realistic for everyday carry and see what they were about. When I bought this Mini AK-47 model I thought it would be about like the Mini Lawman, you know, nice but not one I would carry really or really even keep. For me the mini is too small and the full size Lawman bordering on too large. Love to see a mini Recon 1 down the road here as that may be the ticket item for me! As it turned out I not only liked this Mini AK size knife but I decided it was the one that deserved some tweaking to personalize it for myself. I actually carry and use it quite a bit and I've found the damn thing works bigger than it's size may indicate possible. Part of the appeal for this sucker is the thumb plate opener though! I like snapping that open and closed and find it to be a joy to work now that I've made my own thumb plate to make that a bit easier to catch the pocket. For craftmanship it is about like all the others I've owned from Cold Steel since they went to the Triad. Flawless! Inside the knife is as impressively built as any knife three or more times its size and to look at the contact of the lock inside you'd think it was something along the size and footprint of the full size Manix by Spyderco or the Ultimate Hunter model by Cold Steel. The hardware is not as thick is the only diff really. All the hardware on the smaller knives is less beefy but don't be fooled. This little Mini Lawman or Mini AK47 would still outperform many knives much beefier in build and price tag!

The lock on this little knife is actually seated deeper than either of those other much bigger "old school" models and it would probably hold its own with both and then some in most abuse tests other than the weight hang where the size and thickness would limit its ability. It would not surprise me if the Cold Steel model even though smaller could outperform these bigger knives even in the weight hang.

Details of modification of my Mini AK47
The first thing I did right after receiving this knife in the mail was of course play with it. My wife asked me to borrow it nearly immediately and I whipped it out off my pocket and handed it to her. As I stood there I proceeded to watch as my wife casually used it to cut a huge card board box down flat to the size she wanted it. Now I realize this sounds innocent enough but she did this in our yard by laying the box flat on the grass. Then she stabbed the knife through and cut a circle out nice and neat and a big long straight cut after that so she could fit the box around a sapling she had planted.

This was all in an effort to control weeds on her part you see? I got the knife back opened still with about half the black coating gone off the blade and a nice green shade on the blade after she had cut both the box and the dirt, grass, roots, rocks and whatever hapless worms may have been in the path as she ripped it through the box and the soil too from the box laying flat on the ground all broke apart. So what I did next was pretend the blade was a scratch and win lotto ticket and I went to town on it with another blade from my mini Bear Jaw multi tool blade. I scraped all that black coating right off the blade nice and easy that way just as quick as you could do this to about 40 or more scratch and win cards I suspect. The softer Mini Bear Jaw blade didn't scratch the AUS8 blade of the Cold Steel model at all. It only removed the black coating and left the bare blade just the way I wish Cold Steel would offer some of them.

Then I moved on to improve the Thumb Plate to make it work better by remaking me a new one. I found the original a little hard to make catch on my pockets so I figured I could set that up just a bit better for myself if I gave it some thought, a flare and a tweak or three in a new one of titanium. I took that factory Thumb Plate shown in the factory picture of a new model that I posted here along with those of my own digital pictures and I backed out the screw to remove it. I set that old plate aside and copied the mount pattern in .100 thickness 6Al-4V titanium but before shortening that new piece to fit once I cut it out I drilled the mount hole and recessed the screw and then grabbed my bending tools that I use for making my mini keyring ti pry bars and I used them to give it a slight tweak bend upward at the flared end that catches the pocket to point it north so to speak. Then I flared that out shaping it better on my 1x30 belt sander some giving it a nice taper and rubbed it smooth followed by bead blasting to finish it up.

I like the results of that and it works so well I showed it to Andrew to get his feedback. I think he liked it. The new Thumb Plate catches the pocket much more reliably than the original and I like the wider flared surface for thumb placement when using the knife in that grip. The next thing I did was something I debated about. I was not sure if I'd like it or not before starting but I figured why not try it out though so I began hand sanding the very aggressive texturing off the G10 scale to take that down some. I did this mostly because some on the forums were wondering how or even if that could be done neatly because apparently some had tried and found it difficult. I did this outside but I still wore a mask because that G10 dust is just nasty stuff and you don't want to breath it if you can avoid it.

Eventually it got to where I had to disassemble the knife to finish it and I ended up in the end bead blasting the scales after sanding it down to leave the texturing very similar to the same level that a Spyderco Persistence or Tenacious comes to you out of the factory. In other words there is still some texturing on the G10 but its tamed down quite a bit to be a little easier on pockets. At first it was starting to look glass smooth but what happened was the pours filled up with the dust and once bead blasted all those pours cleaned out nicely and you can really see the diff in the pics. The new texturing is much more to my liking now feel wise but I must admit making it look good for the pictures was a bit harder than I expected. Until I worked it over much more I had trouble appreciating the way it looked but did like the feel much better and the fact that there is enough texturing left for grip but not so much that its hard on pockets so, it slides in and out of the pocket nice and easy now and the best part is this made the use of the Thumb Plate much easier to do also.

After this I decided to tweak the knife further with a new custom titanium pocket clip. Once that was finished I bead blasted that and lastly I stripped the whole knife down to the bare parts and bead blasted the entire thing to give it the appearance you see here now. Once done and cleaned all up I find that I really like this model a lot. I carry it all the time now and find its my new go to knife for just about all I normally use a folder for. I'll tell you what at 2.7 ounces, down from 2.9 before sanding and tweaking and equipped with a super strong lock and being this fun to snap out to use thanks to that patented Thumb Plate its hard not to love it! You can snag one of these for around $50. That has to make it one of the best bang for the buck values on the market in my opinion. I mean think about that for a moment. You could buy three or even five or six of these things and not spend what one hyped up model from elsewhere will run you.

Speaking of the patent.
I've read on other forums of some BS about the Cold Steel Thumb Plate and usually the people guilty of this post a video of one of the Cold Steel people opening a knife off the pocket followed by accusations of Cold Steel being guilty of theft. The patent office web site says in plain English that one cannot obtain a patent based on an idea. Get this straight before you contribute to these BS posts because the guys posting this nonsense don't know what they are talking about. The device is what is patented, not the idea. The process of opening the blade off the pocket for this device is not what is patented guys! And the process can be the same and it can even look the same when viewed or video taped but if the device used to do that operation is different whether it be, a quillion, a Thumb Plate a Wave or a zip tie through a Spyderco opening hole in a blade they are all legit and perfectly legal because each device is different! There is not one bit of IP theft with any of these different devices and anyone saying otherwise just doesn't know the facts. The only way it would be a patent infringement violation is if one not licensed to use a specific device someone patented started doing so using that exact same device and/or selling someone elses patented device for a profit. I've applied for patents, I looked up and discussed it with patent attorneys and I did this again when I received Emerson's permission to do Wave mods on production knives even though I never needed that blessing from Ernie in the first place to Wave someone's production folder blade. I simply asked out of common courtesy. He knew it too because he said so or something to that effect at one point in his reply to me. I still have that email too for the record.

So, get it straight before you take part in one of the BS threads saying Cold Steel is guilty of theft here. They are not guilty of theft and have a patent that is valid for that thumb plate. The patent for the thumb plate is just as valid as Emerson's Wave. Queen cutlery had a patent for a device that does the same thing the Wave, the Thumb Plate or a quillion does and that was in 1973, long before Emerson, long before Demko and well in advance of youtube. Guess what? If you can come up with yet another device to do this same thing as these others do you can get a patent too and use it just like these other guys can and you too can film it the same way as its being used to sell it. Let me cue you in on something. The idea of opening a folding knife blade off of a pocket or an opponents clothing in a combat or struggle is not a new one. Its called "kinetic opening' and its been around at least 125 years if not way longer thanks to the Quillion on many stiletto blades and perhaps more. Bram Frank along with Sal Glesser of Spyderco as well as other mixed martial arts specialists have incorporated this type of opening option in their knives that they designed for self defense training also. Look at the Gunting, and Lapu Lapu Corto knives.

Further, in the early 80s I was one of several knife nuts I knew that were wrapping para cord tightly through Spyderco opening holes on their new folders that had just hit the market called "Clip It" and when they first came out we knife nuts were like wowed beyond expectations! We did this by looping the cord over and over in the Spyderco opening hole in the blades and securing it so it bulked up nicely on the spine and then melting the ends together to lock it up in place. This was on the first Spyderco Worker knives when they hit the market circa 1981. Guess why we did this!? Once all that cord was bunched up in bulk in the opening hole you could open them off the pocket and although we did this by taking the pocket clip off since it was tip down carry as I recall, the point is we could open the blade off the pocket quickly causing awe in front of our friends and I'm sure if we had access back then to video cameras and youtube you'd have seen video of us using our knives that way even in the early 80's and I bet they'd look much like the others you see today being demonstrated on youtube! Like I said, the process can look the same and even be the same. The device is what is patented and thats obviously the case or the patent office would not have issued later patents after the first one. The devices from one to the other are different. Therefore they are each legit. .

Here are some web site links I found of interest.

Patent office http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/what.htm

The Queen patent is much older even if it did expire after 14 years.

http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPATD228545&id=lok9AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=queen+cutlery#v=onepage&q=queen%20cutlery&f=false

Then in looking at this link below one has to ask, if the process and the idea of opening a folding knife blade off the pocket was already patented as some wish to believe, how could Andrew Demko be given a patent for the Thumb Plate? Answer? He could not have been given one if the process or idea was what was patented. Truth is Emerson would never have gotten a patent either because the idea is not new as stated earlier. The device is what is patented not the idea so because that is the case anyone can receive a patent for a new device just like Ernie did after Queen and just like you could too if you can think of another design to do the same damn thing!. Thumb Plate Patent # 7,036,229 and link

http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=7036229.PN.&OS=PN/7036229&RS=PN/7036229

There is no patent infringement and nothing being stolen here! Find something else to have a pissing match over. End of story! As for how the video was done by Cold Steel. I don't know how else one expects to see a device patented to open off the pocket demonstrated except by filming it being used that way do you? Again, that process of opening the folder off a pocket or someone else's clothing is not new at all.

Wave Patent # 5,878,500 and link

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5878500.PN.&OS=PN/5878500&RS=PN/5878500

STR

2010-05-07T09:44:00.001-07:00

Got this from a customer of mine. I really thought the clip I made for his Kershaw folding knife (JYDII) and the mini Titanium Pry bar I made up for him and wrapped in khaki camo cord turned out well but when he combined it with this Roswell, NM background pic (he lives there) I thought it all worked well together and was worth sharing.

Thanks J.T. Great pic man!

STR

He Man Folder in Leather and 12C27 Blade Steel

2010-04-11T11:04:00.001-07:00

I was playing around in the shop some today and yesterday finishing up one of my custom folders I build. Call it a proto-type if you like, at least regarding the leather overscale but I think it turned out pretty classy. I'm still trying to clean up around the edges of the leather some because I'm not familiar with what works or how to properly trim it yet but I'm working on it. Its still a bit wet yet but starting to dry now finally.

As some of you know I've occasionally used some textured G10 or CF to make a small overscale for some grippiness on the handle of my He Man folder model. What I did with this one was slightly different which is what I wanted. I took a scrap piece of tanned bull hide out and cut that to the shape I wanted for this folder. This piece of leather is one that is approximately .080 thickness plus or minus. I soaked it some under the faucet to get it wet on both sides. Not sopping wet or anything but just wet and then I put it in a plastic bag overnight. Today I got it out of the plastic for a bit until it was just starting to get that dry look again on top where I could see the lighter color starting to show again and then I used one of the textured titanium slabs Dave at Great Lakes Waterjet had done for me a while back (what he refers to as his "Tac Ti", which is wonderful stuff if you don't have any) and pressed it into the leather nice and evenly all over using my half ton arbor press. The result was surprising and it came out pretty frickin' great I must say! This gave the leather some nice texturing for a slightly better thumb purchase when reaching to extract the folder from my pocket and in my opinion it really added something to the folder. I hope the pics do it justice.

Currently I'm letting it dry some before I use it and the jury is still out on how well it will hold up but based on the fact that I have holsters and saddles with texturing of some kind and some other tooling done to them I suspect its going to be something that works out pretty good.

Anyway, thanks for looking. Oh yeah. Blade steel on this puppy is 12C27 which I had Brad at Peters Heat treat bring up to 60 Rockwell. This steel is surprising me at how clean it comes back from Peters and also its holding a great edge for quite a while and has proven to be quite nice. This folder weighs in at 3.4 ounces and is 4.25" closed with a 3.125" blade length. As you can see I made this one with a Wharncliffe blade shape. (my fave!)

STR

Umnumzaan Anodized blue and gold

2010-03-27T12:15:00.001-07:00

Shown here is a Chris Reeve Umnumzaan folder which is the newest model Chris offers. Its the first one I've seen and due to the job request here I was able to see it all because I had to take it apart to do the blue and gold anodizing.

This looks pretty good and I hope the owner likes it. Its his color request. Took me three tries to get it to the color brightness I wanted but I managed. Third tries a charm as they say.

Thanks for looking.

STR

CQC14 Pop on Frame Lock installed

2010-01-02T14:18:00.001-08:00

Please note that this job shown here known as a frame lock conversion along with some others I used to offer are no longer being done by me. I will not be offering this service for production models or the services of rebuilding lock back style folders like some of the Spydercos shown here and this is something that I just decided not too long ago. The reasons for this are too lengthy to get into here. I leave what is shown here in these posts in my blog for your viewing pleasure only. At this time I am trying to focus more on my custom folders which I make from scratch. I will continue to offer my custom folders and my custom titanium pocket clips and pry bars as well but I have limited the numbers of these I will do at one time also. If you wish to know more about why, or what other jobs just write me or post a question in a comment. Thanks for understanding.

My first post for 2010 is shown here and it is one of the pop on frame lock sides in .160 thickness 6AL-4V titanium I did for folks a while back. This is left over from last year. This was made for the Emerson CQC14 model without even having the knife shown here in the picture here to use but simply by doing all the same prep work as if I did have the knife here and then shipping the frame out to the owner of the knife to install himself.

The holes are all mated up to match up perfectly to the original factory side so all the user has to do is open this lock, disassemble their folder and reassemble it using the new thicker slab instead of the original factory thin liner lock and G10 scale.

Some of the models have been tricky to do this with but the 14 and the Horseman have both proven to be quite consistently identical from Emerson so I have had success with several now doing them this way for folks. The owner of the knife then installed the lock side and new replacement non rattle stop pin and took these pictures.

Oh and by the way. I appreciate the great pictures. They always look so much better when someone else takes the pictures so I can post them here.

Thanks

STR

Lignum Vitae Spyderco Stretch w/ ti liners.

2009-12-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

This is one I did a long time ago and should have loaded up here on my blog a long time ago as well. I am really surprised this Spyderco Stretch was not added because the lignum vitae handle scales I did for it and the ti liners for a complete rebuild of the body really added a lot of class to this folder. Its probably one of the better Spyderco models that left my shop after completing the job. The gentle feathering pattern of this particular slab of wood I had when this was done really came out so nice it surprised everyone. With age the handles have darkened some with exposure to sunlight which is a typical reaction for this wood once it is aged.

It is normally the case that when you add lignum to a folder the knife gains some weight but since this one was all stainless before it really equaled out quite well in the end. As is shown here the knife was not equipped with a pocket clip. The owner, the Deacon on blade forums and the Spyderco forums didn't want one and does not use one at all. The R2 model I did that is posted in another thread in older posts from 09 below belongs to the the Deacon and the Atlantic Salt in stabalized birds eye maple scales with titanium liners in a 2008 post belongs to him as well.

Thanks for looking

STR

Low Rider Pocket Clips For Folding Knives

2009-10-20T14:58:00.001-07:00

Someone asked me if I could do a CASE knife. Unfortunately the only one I could find a picture of is now posted. A Case Trapper in yellow delrin handles with one of my low riders installed on it at the owners request. Just for you S.

Do you own a folding knife that does not have a pocket clip and you wish it did?

Maybe you own a folding knife with a pocket clip you've damaged?

Maybe its a folder you own but equipped with a pocket clip you just don't care for because of various reasons, the most common being that it advertises to everyone near you that you have a big ole knife on your person?

Fortunately I can solve that problem in a lot of cases. Thats right! In many cases I can make a custom pocket clip to suit your needs using the existing holes already drilled and threaded into your folder body from when it was made. In other cases I can drill and thread new holes and mount a new pocket clip if you want a different mode of carry. Some knives come with the pocket clip orientation set up for tip down carry from the factory and if you happen to like tip up carry and your knife didn't come that way it can often times be changed in this way also. However, it will void the warranty to do it this way should you choose to go this route where I have to drill new holes.

Seen here you can see two different sets of photos. In each set is three photos and two different production factory knives are shown. The first from the bottom up is a Spyderco Para-Military. The second is a Spyderco Persistence folder. If you scroll down to what would be the last picture for this post as you go down you will I know its probably confusing but this is actually the first picture even though you have to scroll down to get to it. The first picture of each set is what the knife was like from the factory. In other words its the 'before shot' when the knife first arrived here for a new clip.

You can see the factory look in that first picture of each of the two sets showing the way the pocket clip allows the knife to clip to your pocket from the factory but leaves it stuck up so its up out of the pocket, sometimes to the point its very obvious or you can opt for one of my pocket clips and hide it better by burying it in the pocket so all anyone around you sees is a pocket clip and not necessarily even well enough to identify what the clip is attached to. Some customers even opt for a color anodizing job like that khaki clip shown so the pocket clip blends with slacks at work. I've done countless blue jean blue and khaki pocket clips for folks as well as bead blasted ones. Since my clips are all made of 6Al-4V titanium alloy they are both light weight and strong and come with incredible durability and toughness as well as the inherant 'memory' that titanium is famous for.

For what its worth, besides viewing here you can view other pocket clips and my work posted by customers as well as myself by visiting either one of my two forums at the following links pasted below. You may have to register as a member to view the pictures or get on my forum, I'm not really sure. Thats a simple matter if so though and certainly worth it to view more if this interests you. Please list the referal from me when you do so if you register. Once there you can also see my other sticky posts titled "Read this if you need to mail me work" and in that thread or my "Low Rider Clip and Mailing instruction" sticky threads you can find my work order form needed for every job I do.

Once on my forum simply find the post your looking for or one with a title that interests you and click on it with your mouse to enter that thread. Feel free to ask questions or post pictures or heck start new threads of your own for any new topic you wish to discuss. If there for a clip then follow the simple instructions there in one of my sticky threads to fill out and print my form using the very easy pdf file at the link I've provided and once done use the address on the form to mail with your folder if I need it or to email the form to me if I don't need the folder from you to fit the clip. Turn around time is very quick on smaller jobs like these. Usually well within 24 hours from the day I get the knife. If its a more popular model you own that I get requests for more frequently I often times will not need your knife to make the clip since I already have the template to make it. Also if you are overseas outside the USA or have other questions contact me first and we can discuss the possibilities for your particular folding knife. Check back often on my forums and here as work gets added periodically. Thanks for stopping by. STR

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=652895 http://www.knifedogs.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

Mini Titanium Prybars

2009-09-29T08:58:00.001-07:00

Seen here are some .090 thickness 6Al-4V grade 5 titanium prybars I started making a few years ago. These started out as a smart way to use up some scrap left over end cuts of titanium sheets I had from folding knifemaking but that were too small to use for folders. It didn't take me long to realize there was a market for them albeit a small one. I don't make that many these days like I did when I first started offering them but when I do make a batch they don't last long usually. I'm down to six remaining from this batch at this writing, most of which sold before I even got the pictures loaded everywhere I wanted to put them. Go figure.

Anyway, these are great stocking stuffers for Christmas and make great gifts for other times. They run $20 plus shipping for first class mail. If you prefer Priority mail well thats possible just add $4.95, but they are usually just as fast getting there first class and its cheaper. International shipping is a case by case basis and you need to contact me first to work out how that will be done and the cost.

These are available in a variety of colors as you can see and each one is slightly different as I do still do these up from base raw materials all by hand from scratch. I wrap them either in para cord or some other decorative nylon cord wrap which you can pick for yours should you buy one. This cord helps to aid grip and looks, as well as, allow one to carry them on key rings.

I have been told my pry bar is quite handy. They have been popular with a niche group most often popular with folks working in 'non knife' office environments or where "sheeple" friendly attire is needed like a public job where they are seen a lot. Also, some people like having a tool on them besides their knife and don't particularly want to use their knife for jobs that will ding the edge all up or break the tip so this little tool here fits the bill and can actually open boxes and pop tape to separate it from the roll or lift a tab, as well as, pry staples and other things doing the stuff folks want done. I've also sold some of these prybars to police officers that use them as PI (private investigation) probes for evidence gathering and investigation work at crime scenes to dig around in places they don't necessarily want to touch with their fingers. Apparently titanium is preferred because it is an inert metal and will not contaminate the crime scene. The way I make these they are actually equipped with a flat head screwdriver on one end and a pry bar on the other. Many folks that carry Emerson folding knives like these for the flat head screwdriver; as they can use their pry bar to adjust their pivot screw tension. If you are familiar with Emerson knives you are surely aware that the pivot tends to loosen over time so these can be quite handy to have around on your key ring if you happen to carry an Emerson folding knife.

These pry bars, while not what I'd call extreme heavy duty are still plenty thick titanium so they do hold up quite well and you can actually get rough with them. Believe me people have done so and then told me about it. I have customers that use them from all over the world at this point and while they are certainly not what I'd call a hot seller they do seem to serve a purpose for some so if one interests you here let me know. If you like the idea but wanted a heavier one or one longer maybe, well, I may have some thicker scraps of titanium in the shop from folding knife making and other things I'm into so just ask. Again, I will have some of these for the holidays since many office parties and get togethers require gifts under $25 and these fit the bill. I'm easy to reach by email and that seems to work best for me.

Thanks for looking.

STR

Custom Anodizing For A BenchMade Mini Skirmish

2009-08-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

I had thought that for this blogger I'd just post the bigger more challenging jobs I do for folks but this turned out so well and really turned the folder around image wise so much that I thought it was worth showing here. Its not something I've posted here before but one of many other smaller jobs I do still offer that I have reserved for my forum posting in the past.

Anyway, shown here are before and after pictures of a BenchMade Mini Skirmish that came to visit me from Hawaii the other day. You can see that as the knife ships it has a neat swirl pattern in the handle non lock side but is a plain jane bead blast finish. Nothing at all wrong with that but the owner of this wonderful folder wanted a bit more and gave me creative license to have my way with it.

First is a re-blast of the handles after disassembly. Once I sat all my hardware aside in a zip lock bag for safe keeping I taped off the detent ball to keep from blasting or anodizing that. Once that was done I took it inside and dipped it at 28 volts for the first base color of blue.

After the blue I went back to my drill press and loaded it with a super fine 3M Cratex Cylinder to put some swirls of my own on the handle in the form of some free hand jeweling of the outer surface in select areas on the non lock side and the whole slab on the lock side. Then I went back to my anodizer and re-anodized only this time at 18 volts for a purple color to blend with the blue. So in the end this is what I got. Honestly my wife wanted it and said to me when seeing it, "for me?" I had to burst her bubble though and tell her it was someone's knife but again quite honestly we were both stunned at how it turned the appeal up on this particular folder. Trust me pictures do not do it justice like sunlight does!

STR

CQC8 HD Conversion

2009-08-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

This was one of those folder lock sides sold off to a repeat customer getting ready to go serve his country that needed something faster than the standard turn around time. Some time back I had attempted to make a HD 8 lock side and had it all but done only to discover that the lock side I used as my template was unique in that for some odd reason either the owner of the knife or whomever owned it before him drilled a 'third' hole in it. As a result of course it was copied and I ended up with a second I could not really sell as my best work.

He gladly accepted that offer to get this lock side at a discount but by the time it all played out I ended up having to not just make the lock side for his one. I ended up having to remake the non lock side liner, and another textured black G10 scale to match up to it as well since none of the holes in the back including the lanyard matched up to the originals. Turns out that hole lock side I copied is different than the one sent to replace the side on.

Anyway, as usual I stubbornly baby stepped my way through each step and knocked it out. You can see it here. I did of course have to activate the lock side detent ball since in the rebuild we lost that secondary detent system incorporated into all Emerson liner locks. Also, I tried best I could to camo the third hole so it looks like it is just another threaded hole. I actually did partially thread it for appearance sake only.

Lock side is .160 thickness 6Al-4V titanium and non lock side liner is also the same alloy of titanium only .058 thickness. All the extra parts will be going back with the folder and even though I did have to activate the detent in the lock and drill a small starter hole in the blade for that ball to fall and catch in when the blade closes it can still be put back together just as it shipped from Emerson.

Thanks for looking.

STR

CQC14 HD upgrade for Chris

2009-08-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

Seen here is yet another 14 frame lock conversion. As usual no permanent changes were made to any factory parts and the knife can be assembled just as it came from EKI with no more effort than breaking down the parts to clean it takes. It weighs in at 5.7 ounces, feels really great in the hand and once worked in and the washers smooth and polish down the bead blasted surfaces on the inside I'm sure it will be a great user for a long time.

I noted that this model unlike all the others I've seen had a different look to the G10 scales. Its seems flatter or squared off more also. Its hard to put my finger on what all is different from this G10 vs what I usually see and compared to my own model but the color for one is lighter, and it kind of sparkles in the sunlight more. Maybe it has more glass fill than what they used to use. I'm not sure at this writing if this is a change at Emerson or just unique to this later model of the 14. I'm not sure if you can see the serial number in these pictures or not but its up at like 1200 something now and the scales on this one are noticeably different than my early number (under 100) model or any of the other models shown here in my blog or my forum. I do admit its more readily apparent side by side and in person than these pictures show though. Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

STR

Emerson CQC7A HD Conversion

2009-07-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Update and Edit: As a final touch to this folder I did find a single Emerson Skull pocket clip I did not realize I had hiding in my bag of extra clips accumulated over the years. Actually I found some other extra things I had forgotten I still had along with that. One of which was a little pocket hook I had been making a while back to function as an 'add on Wave' for knives equipped with thumb discs but no Wave built into the blade design.

Contrary to popular belief on other forums I do not particularly like permanently modifying a folder I work on as you may know from reading here and on my forum by how I point out the ones that are not permanently modified. I work quite hard to avoid making permanent changes to a knife whenever possible whether its utilizing existing hole patterns drilled and threaded already for one of my pocket clips or a complete rebuild. Perhaps it is the collector in me always in conflict with the pimper in me, I don't know. Anyway, this add on Wave was a 'non invasive' way for me to come up with a Wave that worked and worked well for folks wanting a Wave added to their knife. This comes up quite often with the 7 model from Emerson as of late because a lot of guys like the A spear shaped blade but want the Wave. The latest run which again is limited in number are all non Waved factory blades. If you want the 7 with a Wave and don't particularly like tanto blades or a chisel grind unfortunately you have to buy the tanto chisel grind blade to get it.

Some have sent me blades with the raised areas in the spine for the thumb to rest such as the BenchMade HK 14200, 205 and 210, the 420 Resistor when it was made and of course older 7 A models of Emerson folders all wanting me to cut a hook into the blade permanently modifying the blade. I recall after getting a rather nice and rather collectible green handled 7A here a few years back (those green ones are very rare and discontinued) that I sat down to come up with a pocket hook Wave add on. Also as many visting here may already know, Ernest Emerson, patent holder for the Wave, gave me his OK in writing some years ago to Wave production folding knives for folks asking me to do this for their knives. When I first came up with this add on I had not heard of Andrew Demko but then when Cold Steel ran a production version of their AK47 folder that had something similar I was motivated to contact him about that patent and ask him if it was ok for me to continue to offer the pocket hook pointing out that I had already been selling them albeit just a few. Andy is a class act and gave me his ok. I really like his work. He makes some very stout lock designs too.

I have only done a few of my add on pocket hooks because they are very labor intensive and wasteful the way I had to do them cutting out the shapes on my band saw. The ti has to be longer than what you actually need to allow it to bend easily enough to manipulate and give your tools something big enough to hold onto so you end up having to cut off or grind off some waste after you heat it up to form it to a hook and you waste quite a bit just to get one of the shapes out of a sheet of titanium. I have not been taking orders for these for the last year or more due to this but now that I have made friends with Dave over at Great Lakes Waterjet who cuts out my pocket clip blanks perhaps he can cut these out for me from my sheets of titanium also. I did not have the pattern anymore for thesee or so I thought. I just figured I had sold them all but found this one laying in a box with the skull clip so it got added to this folder as a break in helper. Its worked quite well too and been fun.

These removable Wave hook/thumb discs do work quite well and I've found they are very gentle on pockets compared to other Waves so I feel they would be appreciated for that. There are other minor advantages to having a removable Wave for traveling also, particularly through certain states in the US. Some of the folks that bought these add on Wave hooks from me also bought low rider pocket clips so when they removed the Wave they could at the same time install the pocket clip and reinstall the original thumb disc. When combined with a khaki color or blue jean color anodized pocket clip this offered them some comfort in providing some perceived 'urban camo' for their carry knife in those not so not so knife friendly areas.

This Emerson model is 4 and 5/8" closed. What you are looking at is a CQC7A shown here with a factory non Waved blade. This A model is one of the limited run of Emersons just produced recently as I recall. This one is done in .140 thickness titanium for the new lock side. I've taken the lock cut relief in the back of the lock down to .060 on this one to spring the lock compared to .033 for the lock cut relief on my Emerson Comrade 12 model. Again here with this one, no permanent modifications were done to any of the factory parts and it can be reverted right back to the factory liner lock.

I do have a puzzle with this one I'm still scratchin' my head over. All the .160 plus thickness slab models of the Horseman folders I posted earlier weighed in at 5 ounces plus or minus each. This folder done thinner than those by .020 for total titanium thickness weighs 5.1 ounces as shown here. I'm not sure why or how but that is the case. This titanium slab was more difficult to thread compared to the thicker models although the Tapmatic didn't listen or care much about all the whining though so maybe its just denser or something. Not sure.

Lock up is early and secure. The feel of the action is smooth as silk already even though its only been used a few times at this writing. You may also notice this one was not ordered with the replacement stop pin conversion like others I've posted recently. These Emersons are great knives folks! Every knife nut should own at least one CQC7 from Emerson or at least an early BenchMade model from when Ernie worked there. This model, much like the maker are both a legend in their own time.

This is the model that perhaps single handedly revolutionized the tactical folder world. Of course it did that with the Tanto blade shape and forever put tanto blades on the map for good in my opinion. Emerson makes a Waved version of this same folder which I've rebuilt the same way on an earlier post some months back. That model comes with the Tanto blade but both come with the same handle choices in three sizes. One in Mini, this model here and a Super which is the larger of the three.

Oh and for you knife nuts out there, yes I recognize that the late great Bob Lum cannot be forgotten when it comes to the tanto blade and introducing that to America but what Ernest R. Emerson did for it is beyond measure with this model.

Thanks for looking.

STR

Khin's Horseman HD

2009-07-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ok last post of the completed folder upgrade to a slab lock side. Note there are three sets of pictures loaded at different times in this post and three postings even though they are hard to discern. First four pictures are one post. Then we have the one off picture smaller than the others done with my scanner showing the original stop pin in the folder. After that is the last post which is the one that shows the folder before I even took it apart.

In this picture show of the folder before and after you can see the original factory liners pictured along with the original stop pin and the new lock side and sometimes other parts that I add to the folders I work on, parts which I've now replaced with some custom made ones at times which as you have seen before can be spacers to replace the black original one shown in this knife, or pocket clips custom made or even new non locking liners and scales. So, I hope this helps some of those that weren't following what is going on when you see me posting like this showing a lock side of a folding knife you can now get a better idea of what it all adds up to.

You can see here that just as I had hoped it would the folder went together this morning no problem. Now all I have left on this one is to create my custom replacement stop pin to replace the original placed in the slab temporarily to test fire the lock and once thats done I'll take a couple better digitals and ship it home. This folder got a new lock slab of .160 thickness and as you may recall, it weighed in at 4.7 ounces before starting. It now weighs 5.1 ounces on the same digital postal scale I use for weighing packages before mailing them.

I've also activated lock side detent ball on this knife per the request of the owner. A request that comes quite often from New Yorkers.

Some of the non knife nut folks have asked me in email some questions that prompted this before and after of what I am actually doing here. I guess I take it for granted that most folks just know but some say while it looks great they are not exactly following some of the work with no reference to see the folder before I start whatever I do.

So, with that in mind here are some before pictures of the next folder up on my bench. This is yet another Horseman. Four in a row now which is a record even the CQC14 has never matched. The 14 is still the most frequently requested folder that I get asked to convert with upwards of some 20 plus for just that model by itself but I can't recall ever having four back to back orders of the same model before no matter what manufacturer it is.

Well, to the point of this post here, I took a few shots of the folder before disassembly to install the lock slab shown here beside it. I made this slab side by side to fit today as I made the one posted just below it. They are basically twins so I left the one together so as to not mix up parts. Tomorrow when I can get back to the shop fresh if I did all my homework correctly this slab should simply screw down and be ready to roll. We'll see. :-)

Shown on all sides is the factory folder belonging to Khin. This Horseman here weighs in at 4.7 ounces as shown here. As you may recall most of these are weighing in at 4.9 to 5 ounces once I add the new slab so there is a nominal weight gain but is negligible considering the advantages the slab side brings to the table. Heavier duty, and higher reliability being just two. Lets not forget the 'cool' factor besides that. Maybe these shots here of various angles of the slab I have shown here to fit and the original can give you some better reference to gauge the actual work being done. Thats my hope anyway.

By the way. You may notice the slight depression on the non locking/non pocket clip side near the thumb ramp to access the opening disc on the blade. This is a modification done by the owner of the knife not factory done. Just so you know. I assume he did this to help his thumb out so it hits the thumb disc square instead of skipping over it, since the disc is not centered in the hole area when the blade is closed. I've noted this on other Emerson models and can't say I know why that is the case but my Specwar folders from 1998 and 1999 are both this way also. If you scroll below to the ivory Horseman you can get a good shot of the folder closed on the ivory side to see how the thumb disc sits on the blade with the blade closed. Many makers would put that disc dead center in the half moon recess cut out on that side of the folder for the thumb to access the lock but Emerson moved his slightly off. Knowing Ernest there is probably good reason for this. Perhaps something to do with the disc cactching on pockets instead of the Wave or otherwise interfering with how it is designed to work. I really can't say I know the answer on this one. Personally its never been off enough to bother me much but I know other Emerson owners have mentioned it to me in the past.

Thanks for looking.

STR

Bull Pivot Barrels, Bull Stops, Super Duty Hardware and Thin Lock Cuts

2009-07-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

Shown top is a production Emerson HD7 mangled at the point most all frame locks fail when stressed, showing what happens when one gets stressed to the point that something has to give. There is a large variance from company to company and from knife to knife in location of the lock cuts and how they are done but one thing they all have in common is that they are taken down pretty thin at the lock relief where we makers bend the lock to put spring in it.

Here we have two Emerson HD7 models done in different years. Note the different lock cuts both in the way it was done and for the location. These variances occur in many models across the board and from makers.

During testing I've done, some very thin cut frame locks collapsed like that top picture or worse at 65 to 68 pounds of free weight hanging on the end of the knife. None tested made it to 100 pounds. Some liner locks actually hold more weight than frame locks done like those in that picture. A strong liner lock will hold 100 pounds. A strong liner lock like one in stainless steel .080 thick may hold 130 pounds but even that depends on if it has thin lock cuts, no lock cuts and many other factors.

Contrary to how many readers may feel about that picture above. That my friends is a design that deserves praise for defeating the way it was engineered to go. That HD7 above did its job and so did the designer/maker of the knife. I doubt any sutures or ER trips costing great amounts of money were needed with that defeat. We should all pray to be so lucky should we be the on the unfortunate end of a defeat ourselves one day.

How and when a lock fails just depends on so much including the length of the knife tested and the blade length, lock thickness, lock material the lock contact and more. As you may have figured out that 100 pounds ain't much weight compared to many of the locks we all see these days being tested on youtube using different lock types. Triad locks by Cold Steel for example will hold two to five times that weight listed above in the same tests and fair better in about all other tests as well from spine whacks to overstrikes and more.

Still though there are other advantages to frame locks in that the hand helps the lock to absorb some of that shock it may see in use that cannot be duplicated to appreciate when doing static load (free weight hang) tests and in the hand the frame lock can and does do an aweful lot of hard use jobs. Even a frame lock with the contact worn such that there is clicking from the up and down blade play from the wear does not prevent the knife from being used and even used hard. Its still my personal favorite type of lock because it need not hold a house on the end of the knife to be useful guys. For one frame locks are usually thinner in the pocket carrying easier even when extra long and they are open designs and as a result they fair better in muck than other designs!

Don't let it sway you from a liner or frame lock just because this can occur. Its still a very good design for most all things we do with our knives. Do we have to take the lock cuts that far down in the frame locks? No we don't. I personally wish makers or manufacturers offered some kind of tough use option or "He Man" option of their own to allow one to get a knife a bit stiffer and thicker. Its too much to ask though. I've sold some done that way that folks have returned for me to thin more with more profound lock cuts so they were not so hard on thumbs. Its not for everyone to leave the lock cut thicker. With lock cuts left thicker comes a host of other things.

Done with cuts left thicker it will not be a flipper blade unless you licensed IKBS. The detent ball really works and holds the blade closed well when the lock is stout because when the lock is stout the spring tension is too and sometimes the spring tension is such that you can really feel and hear the ball on the blade and other times the lock is so stout that if you are the type that likes to flick your knife open and closed a lot its just going to cause pre-mature carpel tunnel and a really sore thumb or a really big callus if you keep it up. You'll also notice flattened detent balls on the lock a lot quicker when the lock is done this way.

Makers and manufacturers have to please a lot of folks. Its better if the action is easy and smooth and thats what everyone wants or they'd complain about it. So these makers doing a lot of these and manufacturers trying to appeal to a large audience do what they feel is needed to make it strong enough to serve the owner, yet weak enough to be easy to use easily and with comfort once the knife is broken in properly. It doesn't happen often but it happens and try as one may to warn of it some react with anger at times when these things are pointed out. Its not often easy to look at your own favorites with the same eyes you use to view the not so favored.

I've said before that if people would just for a moment take off the blinders spending half the effort examining the knives they love with the same eyes they use to pick apart knives they hate maybe then they will see more objectively for what is right in front of them instead of being blinded by bias, but unfortunately that is often times like asking someone of one religious faith to examine their own the same way they examine and pick apart opposing faiths. It just isn't happening. With some the bias is so strong that no matter what you tell them they don't want to hear even what amounts to common sense regarding their favorite lock type.

Like any chain there is a weakest link and any chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In liner and frame locks that weak link is the lock. It doesn't matter how much you beef up the other parts of the system because they have no effect other than making that system more out of balance if the lock remains the same. You can stick a bull pivot 1/4" in diameter in there and you can put a bull stop pin 3/16" in diameter or larger and coat it with G10 scales and a super duty set of screws in it. But if the lock is still a gents liner lock in .045 thickness under all that coating its not advanced one bit more really because those locks are still the point where the knife will fail in say a free weight hang test. Whats more it would probably fail at the same point it would fail if the knife had bone handles and bolsters and a 1/8" stop pin diameter with a 5/32" pivot barrel using that same lock!

The truth is even a 5/32" pivot and 1/8" stop pin would still be stronger and outlast most locks in a free weight hang test of this lock type. Some companies have put bull pivots and bull stop pins in their knives ever since they realized they sell better in what I call 'wolf' clothing and while we can't ding them for some marketing to sell their wares we can see through it if we take time to look deep enough.

I attributed it the other day privately to a guy like this. Looking at it from the stand point of an automobile lets consider and say for arguments sake that a gentleman's liner lock is like a four door Ford LTD family sedan. (I'm sure some old farts out there still know what an LTD was) Now you can do a lot with that car as it has a big foot print, a big trunk, a powerful motor, a wide track and comfort for the driver and while you may be able to toughen it up by sticking balloon tires on it, and a cattle guard bumper on the front and even by painting it camo in a hard coat shell with a couple tactical spot lights on the side for hunting and a deer rack on the roof with a winch up on the front bumper but its still a Ford 4 door family sedan underneath and it always will be.

Thats the myth of bull pivots, bull stops, G10 scales, tactical looks and grips, and whimpy thin long locks that were never designed for what they are used for in a nut shell description. If its still a gents folder starting out on the frame, all that nice hardware hasn't really changed it. If the four door sedan has all that great stuff you may get a little further up the goat trail in it thanks to those bigger tires but it will never be the four wheeler you really wanted. Like I said, sometimes the truth sucks. I think people feel this intuitively when they would mail me work to convert from thin flexible to beefy stout. In some of the cases where the locks replaced were .050 or less in thickness the trade off even with a huge lock cut still favors the rebuild with the only drawback being the cost to do the job.

For what its worth even though a frame or liner lock can fold, kink, or bend and deform similar to the picture shown here these are not the most catastrophic defeats of a lock that one can experience and one could argue that makers create the circumstances such that if and when the frame lock or thicker liner lock type knife gets stressed to that point of something having to give then they'd rather it be programmed in so to speak so this is what occurs just as shown in the picture above of the mangled lock. Of course this relies on the makers skill at creating a perfect contact that allows this to happen instead of the much worse opposite where the blade is free. My contention is that in the hand the frame lock is very unlikely to defeat once gripped properly.

If you are going to have a defeat I guess what I'm saying is that this would be the way to do it as opposed to the way that requires sutures and costly tetanus shots and more. Most of the time the blade is still opened and locked in this type of defeat albeit permanently with defeats of this type on some until you disassemble the knife but so long as fingers are not cut bad and maybe a bad pinch and a bruised ego are the worst of your problems followed by some choice words usually reserved for sailors its a not as bad a lock defeat as other types of defeats can be.

As you can see from most of my old frame lock conversions I used to do a lot of my lock cuts to spring the lock just a bit different than most you'll see from other makers. For one mine are left thicker at the lock cut usually and as a result of a customer requests for me to do that. In fact it was people that bought frame locks from other makers/manufacturers and liked them but wanted more that led me to looking more into the lock cut. My first question to myself was why not do one without a lock cut so thin? Lets see what happens. At other times I was contacted by customers who wanted a folder converted from a thin liner lock that they could feel flexing in use. This turns a lot of people off to have a tactical folder they can see the lock flexing on and so the request was to convert these to a beefy frame lock. I simply filled customer solicited requests to get me into this. I've always felt the frame lock sides I did were stronger simply because you could feel the difference in spring resistance quite a bit and they certainly required more ummmph to release the blade. Then there is the visual thing. They do look the part of beefy and to some just the look of beefy is more important than whether it actually is which again plays into that bull pivot appeal! Boy they wore on the thumb and flattened a detent ball good and quick though! So, I'd probably put a shallow lock cut not so drastically thin in a frame lock made for my own self. Some have asked me what is the best thickness for a lock cut in a frame lock folder or thicker liner lock folding knife. The truth is you could ask a thousand makers and get a thousand different answers I think. I like about .059-.060 personally. You can certainly get by with thicker though.

My point is and always has been that the point of catastrophic defeat could be stretched out a little bit more than 68 pounds just by simply leaving the lock cuts a bit thick on the frame locks for customers wanting it to make them feel better about their folder but I think most makers figure that even if left the strongest it could be the lock is still the point of defeat and it may hold 130 pounds max if you are lucky unless you use the thickest materials you can use and even then the lock cuts negate a lot of that strength! With some tweaks and planning the overall strength of the folder could be more balanced by strengthening the lock some to try to get it closer to what the other parts of the system are already at but no matter what you do the lock will never catch the other parts of the system for strength. You have to go to a different type of lock to get that. . Make no mistake no matter how much you love the lock. When talking about liner or frame locks, the lock is still the likely weak link in the chain regarding the system, A/K/A other parts of the folder. I like to think I've just improved that weak link a little bit more to bump it up to a bit more capability by leaving my lock cuts thick rather than thinning them down so radically just to make them amazingly easy to move but also just as easy to hyper extend the lock out the wrong way if one were to take the pocket clip off or pull their clip to make it stand up from the folder higher so it doesn't grab pockets so tight. Most clips act as a block for lock travel and while they don't always work that well if you notice you'll see that many makers incorporate this double duty aspect of the pocket clip with their frame locks.

Just because I did some of my frame locks with thicker lock cuts does not mean the same thing would not or could not happen with one of my folders as what you see in the picture here above. In fact it is likely it still would happen to one of mine and very similar to what you see in that picture above should mine be pushed to the same limits only by the time that happened to mine you would really have to stress the knife to double or more the force that it took to even begin to duplicate a situation like shown here. That isn't bragging. From my stand point it is simple physics. Oh I realize my folders may not open quite as silky smooth with my lock cuts left as thick as some of them are but if thats what folks wanted they'd buy the knives someplace else instead of seeking me out.

For at least the few folks that have used me when I offered these conversions they wanted beefy and strong and were not too worried about a knife they sat around flicking opened and closed all day long like a replacement habit for nail biting. They pull the knife out when needed, it does the job, they put it back and they feel a little better about knowing that if they really lean into it that it should take a bit more before the lock ever reaches this point but its not changing the fact that the lock will still be the first thing to go for a controlled burn so to speak.

If anything, the way I do mine with an 'air bag' built in for a safer defeat of the lock is still engineered into the design so that should the system get stressed to that point of something having to give that it would still go just as the picture above using one of my knives too. This is what shows quite vividly in my testing even though it takes a bit more stress and strain to get mine to that point compared to most others I have bought built like above, and that is due to how I build them regarding the thickness and the flatter lock contact I use for the lock itself which makes it more stable on the blade. The funny thing is I use a 3/16" pivot, and a 1/8" stop yet my knives test out stronger than all I've tested with bull hardware and thinner locks once again proving that the weak link is the culprit no matter how much you advance the other parts of the whole.

Lastly, its not really a weak design even made as shown above with all that titanium taken out of the thickness in the back of the folder. Can it be better? Certainly it can be more balanced in the system that makes up the folder parts yes but so long as you still design the knife and engineer it such that the lock would go first and hopefully just as shown above when it does reach that point of something has to give when the system gets stressed, I think the frame lock design is the most solid of those being used today. Which once again illustrates why I like the frame lock so much for all it brings to the table. You don't hear about defeats of this nature often enough to the thin lock cuts to be a problem so therefore I'd say its really not a problem to concern yourself with. If however you feel you want one that just looks beefy discuss it with the maker and maybe they will compromise with you to give you some visual appeal with the lock cut done slightly differently on your folder. Never hurts to ask.

While I'm a big big fan of the Triad lock and all it brings, and I can say I own enough of them now I want to stress that frame locks are still one of my favorites among locks in folding knives. Even though it is most often not even as strong as some liner locks I find they are strong enough and to me they are much more reliable giving a sense of security once your hand is wrapped around it good. Of course some models prevent this hand wrapping of the lock by the position of the pocket clip so not all instill this confidence for me personally. I found some like the JYDII to be particularly appealing in frame lock due to the flipper being out there when its opened. It is hard to imagine the blade coming back to bite you on one of these flipper models even in one of the liner lock models. In this case since you'd get a bad pinch at worse case scenario I'd have a good feeling carrying one of these even if a liner lock. I like knives with the choil built in because when you have a choil and the ability to position your index finger in front of the pivot it is also hard to imagine it defeating if your finger is there blocking travel. In a way in these grips the knives become a part of the hand allowing greater versatility with that sense of security so I personally find this so appealing that knives offering either flippers or choils in frame locks of this type are my main knives to carry most of the time as my primary EDC. I have the one Triad locking model in my rotation in the way of that Mini AK47 which I do tend to favor. Its always partnered with something though as the mini AK is my left side carry piece coming out in reverse grip most always for fun with that thumb plate on it. I love that thing! Anyway, the other pocket always changes and it may have any number of frame locks from day to day or other liner lock type folders with built in choils or flippers. I like those and favor them again due to that feeling they are just inherently more reliable by design. I mean can you imagine the ZT0551 even closing on you in use? It would be a bad pinch at best. Can't argue with that in my opinion.

The way I have seen some lock backs break when stressed it seems obvious this type of lock would be a more disastrous defeat. Based on how a lot of people use their Cold Steel folders it seems to me that when a Triad does fail that it is likely to have a great deal of force and pressure applied to it to make that happen. This could be quite disastrous in the hand and it would be more likely to really mess up the user as well as itself when it happens. So in my final analysis as much as I love the Triad lock, the frame lock design may in fact be the overall higher rated lock for effective and safe use compared to all others because its more in balance with the abilities and strengths of the human using it..

STR

One Sweet Emerson Horseman Frame Lock Conversion

2009-07-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: My bad on this last part. I forgot totally that one of my signature low rider pocket clips was ordered on this one but thankfully the owner looked at the photos and caught me before packing this beauty up to mail it off. For the record I always caution folks with Waved knives against a low rider because it does cause a shift in the hand position for how you extract the knife making it such that you'll have to choke up on the handle after getting it out but in this case the owner weighed the pros and cons and made a choice to go with better concealment and a smaller looking clip than what you'd expect on the folder so as to not make it such an advertisement that he had a bigger folder on him. I agree that most would still consider this Mini 8 to be a bigger knife because of the blade length so in this case after he cleared his throat at me confirming he knew what he wanted...:-) I said, "sir yes sir" and hopped to it! I know one active duty Marine that will have a second love in his life here soon besides his wife and this here knife is it! At least thats my guess.

Ok, details. On this one I rebuilt the lock side in .160 ti and the non lock side in .050 ti and then used a scale material the owner of this knife sent me as well. I guess it would be more accurate to say five times sweet though. As a final touch I added a custom back spacer with the same jimping as the lock got for grip. As you can also see from my update I have added a low rider clip of my own making also of titanium. Final weight is 4.9 ounces. This one is going back from leave of absence to come visit me to active duty Marine life once again. All the old parts are going back home including the old pocket clip. This folder can still be put right back together just the way it came from Emerson knives so nothing was really permanently changed on the folder parts. Even the hardware is all still stock lengths and finishes.

I must say when I first opened the box and saw this imitation ivory my thoughts were not pleasant at all. I just hate the stuff I've used like this in the past. I mean it gums up my belts and drum sanders even if brand spankin' new just terribly, melts and heats up cutting it on the band saw and has even caused a blade or two to snap on me while cutting and in my experience it is just flat aweful to work so, my heart kind of dropped a little when I saw it but after working with this particular imitation ivory from Macecraft Supply that all changed. I can say now it was a joy to work and machine this stuff. I'm not sure how strong it is or even what its actually composed of to make it but one other thing I also liked about it was that it didn't stink up my shop real bad at all.

I mean to tell you I was dreading having to work it at first but I knew the minute I drilled the first hole that something was different about this stuff than the stuff I'd used in the past. Once I cut it I was sure of it and after sanding it well, that was just surprising as all get out! I took this down from .175 thickness to a thickness closer to the .105 that I needed to match up to the original G10 scale thickness so the original hardware would work and in record time so if there is a draw back that could come up working this material its that a fast moving sharp belt will possibly get ahead of you right quick before you know what ya done and next thing you know yer startin' over! Other than this it was just shear pleasure to work with compared to any other ivory micarta or linier paper antique micarta or otherwise similar stuff that this maker has ever used. Thanks for looking. Be sure to hit refresh once you get here or you may not get the most recent stuff I'm posting. Click any pic to go full size. Also, feel free to comment. There is a way to post here if you want to guys.

Next up? Another Horseman. :-) I know I know some of these are gettin' redundant but hey man. Its all in good fun. I just take em in the order they get here is all and there is no rhyme or reason to that sometimes.

STR

Jon's Emerson Horesman HD

2009-07-12T15:02:00.001-07:00

Update: Be sure to click refresh once the page loads because sometimes new posts do not load up until you do that manually. On this folder shown here, I've loaded some new pictures after hearing back from the owner of this fine folder and addressing the pocket clip question I had which is solved nicely by bead blasting it. Then I corrected the overhang and reblasted the slab and since I unfortunately did end up having to permanently modify the non lock side liner to make this all go together as smoothly as possible I bead blasted that to match the new slab lock and pocket clip in effort to prepare this one for shipment home this morning. Its now completed. As most of you guys probably know I hate modifying these permanently if I can prevent it even to the point of not even bead blasting the original non lock side liner usually so its still original but this one being a first was one that messed with me a little bit. What I learned doing it will improve the next ones though so its all good and nothing that keeps this one from going together and working reliably or anything like that. You can see that the phillips head of that stop pin barrel I have made up for doing these which I cover in detail in the Waveless CQC14 thread in older posts is so close to the bevel on the edge of the slab that if it was off by the slightest amount it would be a slab I'd just have to cut over again and scrap this one. In the new one I'd have to use the original Emerson stop pin rather than install my 'rattle cure' I have used on several now. Its this area and one other place in how to get these just right that messed with me for a bit here and for a time there I was a bit scared I just wasted a nice slab of ti. Fortunately it worked out in the end to a nice working folder that looks decent too.

Seen here is an Emerson Horseman combo edge that I have rebuilt the lock side on. Its now a beef cake frame lock folder compared to the thin liner lock folder it was from the factory. The new slab lock sides like you see done here and by other guys building them similarly to convert them from the original thinner liner locks steps these folders up so much more than a mere notch it ain't funny! From all indications this is nothing other than a mini CQC8 true hard use folder now which is why I used the HD after the listing (heavy duty) and what a sweet heart model! I find that I have really taken to this particular model from Emerson and see one in my future. I've always liked the 8 model but the size kept me from getting one. The general styling is quite nice on this model and the 8 and I really like the sleek lines.

As shown here the folder weighs in at a nice round 5 ounces. I still see a couple things I need to touch up on this one in some overhang in one spot so I'll be taking it apart one more time to fix that up and I want to check with the owner about the scratches on the clip to see if it was like this when it arrived here or if I did that. If I did it I'll swap it out with one of my models or perhaps he'll decide that I should just bead blast this one. Otherwise this guys ready to travel tomorrow.

Action is nice. It Waves out wonderfully and the lock up is like a bank vault. Sometimes first models of any of the folders I work on can bring surprises. This one was no exception. I learned a lot on this one and that will improve future models for anyone else and its a good thing because I have two more coming up right behind it. Thanks for looking.

STR

Nick's Emerson HD14 Conversion

2009-07-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another in a super long line now of these CQC14s mailed to me to convert into as close an example of an HD folder by Emerson that I can muster. This one turned out right nice and is ready to ship back to its home.

This is another one done with no permanent modifications to it so it can be reverted back to factory condition if the owner so decides. Original liner, this one a purple anodized one tweaked a little by the owner and scale, and the original stop pin are in a separate baggy to ship home with it tomorrow morning when it heads out.

You may notice another upgrade the owner did to this model before I got it here and that shows quite well in the spine shot on the rear spacer with the glow in the dark inserts to give a personal touch. Thanks for looking.

STR

South Paw Frame Lock Conversion Emerson Mini A100

2009-07-08T09:52:00.001-07:00

Update. Be sure to click on refresh once the page loads to be sure you are viewing the current postings. It sometimes does not show you the new posts or at least it has done this to me. I guess for most coming to visit here it goes without saying but for those that don't know, these Emersons most always come with the lock set up for a right handed person. Many lefties carry Emersons of course and just flip the clip or buy one of the factory lefties set up that way, and quite a few don't even change it at all but just use it as is. Being left handed myself for so many things in life I learned at an early age that I just had to put up with certain things in a right handed world. One of those things of course has been in folding knives and how they come from manufacturers. Some manufacturers offer a true lefty set up for a premium or by a special order and many south paws out there chose lockback style folders just for the ambidextrous nature of the lock. The owner of this right handed Mini A100 decided to go a different route and contacted me about changing his to a true south paw.

What I've done here is take the folder apart first to take some close measurements. Then I reground a new 8 degree contact on the blade where the lock comes out to meet it only this time the contact is angled for a true lefty. After this is done its not just a matter of simply rebuilding everything in a mirror image to put it all back together. As a result of the blade regrind on the contact I had to custom make the lock side washer so it would work with the new lock, which also had to be cut longer than a stock lock from the factory since the contact for the blade is now further away with me grinding some of it away and getting into the washer space, at least on the one side closest to the lock. Things got a bit tight there near that washer/pivot area but on the outside of the folder with the 3/8" recess that has to be engineered into the design for the pivot barrel but I pulled it off flawlessly. Its actually not as tight inside with plenty of titanium between the lock and body cut but for that recessed part of the pivot it sure got tight. You can see just how close it is and how the set up has to be to be spot on and still work in the picture coming up next as you scroll down. Its the one showing the folder closed on the pocket clip side. Just click the picture and once it zooms to full size look to the left of the non screw side of the black pivot barrel. Thats some tight tolerance there to get this one right. I must admit I thought for a bit there that I was going to run into a problem in that spot. Fortunately it worked out.

Also requested by the owner of this folder was a titanium back spacer with some jimping, and a glass breaker/flat head screwdriver combo built into it. I was a bit nervous on this part too since I had never done anything like this before. I've incorporated that best I could and feel it will certainly do the job. The screwdriver will work quite well in all his other Emerson pivots also. So that should be good for all but this one anyway. I wish I could have refined that a bit more to make it better looking but I must admit I was shooting from the hip with that particular part. Anyway, its all done now.

Final weight on this folder shown here in a bead blasted finish on .110 slab side construction for the lock side and non lock side of 6Al-4V titanium is 3.2 ounces. Also done is my replacement stop pin using a screw type hardened barrel construction. It all went together quite well. You may also notice no thinned down lock cut to spring the lock. I've always called my locks a 'he man's lock' because they are made to be tough, strong and reliable. Most of you that know me know I have always hated the way so many otherwise massive and impressive frame locks in the industry are wimped out terribly in this one spot to bend the lock. Those really thin ones just always bugged the crap out of me, almost as much as folder makers going to so much work and trouble to design and built a flawless artistictally done folder from scratch spending countless hours on it only to slap a generic $3 pocket clip on it in the end almost as an after thought really and one that usually takes away from the whole and doesn't even look like it goes there or all that good sometimes! Arrrgh! Don't get me started.

Back to topic. :-) This one has a lock cut but I didn't bring it all the way down to the bottom or go in all that deep really. Its does go in to about .095 total thickness for 3/4 of the width of the lock and then I left it solid across the bottom so I didn't even have to interfere with the jimping for some better grip. As a result I feel this maximizes the potential of this little giant .110 ti slab side folder shown here. Oh, and if you are thinking something like, 'yeah but I bet the lock is super hard to work', well think again. I believe you'd be surprised just how easy it is to manage. Go over to my forum and ask one of the guys carrying one done like this and see if you hear a complaint. I still contend that there is no reason for a maker to take the lock cuts so thin. My other contention is that most folks that chose a 'hard use folder' for their carry knife should expect a hard use lock and so what if its a bit stiffer but the truth is my lock is the result of several years of experimentation and testing getting it to where it is now. I think I've found something that is working and working quite well. My own EDC (the orange RIL folder shown in older posts below) is one done in .095 thickness slabs and it has no lock cut whatsoever. Well, enough rambling on that.

You can see the baggy full of the original parts in some of these pictures although none of those will ever work for this folder again now that I've permanently modified the blade. Perhaps the owner can donate these or sell them to someone wanting extra parts for their mini or keep them for himself in the event he gets another one down the road. I did something on this folder I've only done a couple of times and that is I told the owner that should he ever decide to sell this or trade it off that I would like first refusal on it. Its one that turned out quite well and surprised me for the way I took to it. Its kind of funny really, because at first when this little folder arrived I thought it was fugly ugly! :-) Its one of those that just grows on you though.

Thanks for stopping by. Comments welcome.

STR

Emerson CQC8 Frame Lock Conversion

2009-06-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

This one just up. I also did a CQC13 frame lock conversion for this same customer but forgot to take digitals before shipping that one off this week. This folder here got delayed a bit due to some difficulties I had with my tap matic breaking off taps trying to thread this .160 thickness beast. I finally won out stubbornly and got it done though and it turned out sweet if I do say so myself. Nice balance on these 8s when they are converted. I really like the feel of this one. Actually, truth be told I like the feel of the stock versions of this one also. Its a 'sexy' model and the only fault I ever found with it was the size which is a bit large for me personally. The Horseman coming up here in a few that will be posted is a very appealing folder much the same in its lines as the 8 but smaller and I see one of those in my immediate future. :-)

Thanks for looking. Hopefully I'll get some pictures of the 13 to post here before too long if I can talk the customer into taking some shots of it for me. If so I'll post it also. I shipped both separate when this one hit a snag so I guess that threw me off.

By the way, if the screw there in the stop throws you I have gone over that and how its done by me in some detail below in the Waveless CQC14 conversion posted here on the next page. Simply scroll down to older posts and go to the next page to read more about how and why I have done this when asked by customers. Contrary to popular belief this is not my 'default' way of doing these. I still do them with the original pin also. In fact most have been done that way. Its just something folks kept bringing up with me so I came up with something to offer those asking about a solution for what they saw as an issue.

STR