"How much blade and handle can you fit in a fixed blade EDC?"

Daniel Koster said:
Tell me what you guys think.....

What is your ideal 3" fixed blade EDC?

What features would it have?

Dan
Click to expand...


This could be it.
Ideally I would want a steel that's supreme in edgeholding and stainless.
CPM S90V would be great with this thickness and high flat grind, and would make it very strong, and very wear resistant..

Nice design Dan!
 
Knife looks sweet, but for the sheath I would want a rounded, or squared bottom not a pointy end to the sheath for the pocket carry. Just a personal preference!!
 
I like it. If you want the friendly EDC look maybe use a background other than camo.
 
1/8 inches is all you need for thickness on a blade that size. IMHO. 3/32 would be better. again IMHO. Properly heat treated, those thickness can handle 99% of the tasks required for a knife of most sizes. Wanna pry? Get a crowbar..... I personally think too many people want a knife to do more than cut.

I would also take some of the "middle" out of the handle (length). The shape is very cool, but I think it is too big for the intended knife overall size. AGAIN.....IMHO.....

Thanks for the opportunity to look at this beautiful piece.
 
Definately interested in this one. With some black G10 handles and maybe red liners that would be smoking.
 
ok....simmer down, now y'all....:D :eek: :p


:foot:



Tom - shouldn't you be on a plane somewhere?!?


:D :p




Guys - just finished 2 days of crazy family reunion camping on the Buffalo River. Rained out the first day, scorched the next day. Couldn't have been better.


Got a lot of testing in on this one....passed it around quite a few hands....from small women's hands to some oversized ape hands.


Will be posting a full review/summary as soon as I can.


In the meantime...this lil' guy is going to go to someone lucky enough to be on the forum sometime this weekend....;)...and not at some jacked-up 'collector' price....nope, not how I ride...;)....just keep those eyes peeled.



Thanks for all the comments so far. I'm taking it all in...going to let it soak in for a while and start the ball rolling again on Monday.


:thumbup:

Dan
 
Ok....here's an update for you guys.



The prototype was used for a number of woodcraft projects...including making river cane flutes (cutting, splicing, drilling holes, etc). Got quite a workout!

Those that used it liked the handle and there were no comments about the blade being too short, etc.


One thing I didn't like, though...was that I left the edge too thick. When I miqued it at home it came to around 0.022....which is brutally thick for this size of knife. So I ground it down to 0.008 and then sharpened it up. Cuts like crazy now! And as far as I can tell...there is no real loss of strength at the edge. As long as this is made from a "forgiving" steel like 5160 or 3V (less than 1% carbon content) it should perform great. O1/A2 are possibilities as well because of the alloys in it adding to their toughness.


Here are some pics showing the leather sheath I had made for it.


EDCPrototype0812-01.jpg



EDCPrototype0812-02.jpg




I will readily admit that the Family Reunion crowd is not a true sampling of your average users/sheeple. They know me and that I make knives...and have seen much of my work. So it would take something crazy to make them say "yikes". That said, I did not get any negative reactions, raised eyebrows, etc. in regards to the design.



Dan
 
More updates:

:D



I started v.2

;)



Pics to come later!!!


Dan
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
Dan, I like the sheath. Is it a belt sheath? Does it have a clip to carry in the pocket?

Andy
Click to expand...

Yes - regular pouch sheath.

I'm working on one that will have a pocket clip (the same one that Paul Long - and now JRE thanks to me :D - are using on their sheaths)



SPXTrader said:
Beautiful sheath! I'm happy! :D
Click to expand...


You're about to get a WHOLE lot happier...:D :eek: :p


Eyes peeled. ;)


Dan
 
Daniel Koster said:
Yes - regular pouch sheath.

I'm working on one that will have a pocket clip (the same one that Paul Long - and now JRE thanks to me :D - are using on their sheaths)

You're about to get a WHOLE lot happier...:D :eek: :p


Eyes peeled. ;)


Dan
Click to expand...

I like those clips, very classy! Make me happy, Dan!

Andy
 
Ok....I set aside some time yesterday and today to work up another prototype.

Here's what I wanted to address:

  1. overall weight
  2. height of the blade
  3. perception of actual thickness
  4. more taper to the tang
  5. height and width of the handle
  6. more swell in the handle on top
  7. full flat grind - no shoulder
  8. no swedge
  9. very fine edge (0.008")
  10. more sheeple friendly overall
  11. more koster-esque in design


I made a few small but significant adjustments to the design in CAD....cut it out of 5160 (again...what I have on hand in 1/4" thickness that I can quickly heat-treat)....and handled it with some very nice and light leopard wood. :thumbup:


Weight of the first version = 5.2 oz
Weight of v.2 = 3.8 oz


Hard to believe...but I knocked nearly an ounce-and-a-half off an already light knife.


I made this one as an example of the other extreme...what you see below are 2 ends of the rope. v.1 is as beefy as I want to go....and v.2 is as light as I'd want to go.


Let me know what you think!!!


And now...the pics!



Overall pic

EDCPrototype0812-03.jpg




Comparison of v.1 and v.2

EDCPrototype0812-04.jpg




Spine shot

EDCPrototype0812-05.jpg


v.1 seems a LOT thicker than v.2 - but don't be so easily decieved. They are the same thickness right where the handle starts at the spine. Look again. ;)

I also tapered the tang quite a bit more...!


Underbelly shot

EDCPrototype0812-06.jpg



And I tapered the guard as well...so that it wouldn't be as thick (some folks don't like it 1/4" wide at the guard...some do).




3/4 view

EDCPrototype0812-07.jpg


It's easy to see how much bigger the v.1 knife is. The v.2 is no skinny slouch...it's thick enough...just that the v.1 is Beefy.



Side-by-Side

EDCPrototype0812-08.jpg









And now for the part that's gonna make SPXTrader's day....BOTH are headed your way for some testing. :thumbup:

Give 'em both a good workout and post a review here as soon as you can, Ok?

When you're done with v.2, just send 'er back for some TLC....:D



Dan
 
I'm very frugal but I think this one might get me to pry open my wallet. Very nice. Almost exactly what I wanted when I started trying to make my own. Hope you start making this one very soon.
 
WOW! I didn't see that coming at all! :eek: I accept the offer Dan. :D I'll treat v.2 as if it were my own, but I will give them a good workout, and post an honest review of both! :thumbup:

Thank You Sir!
 
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