How To “Tekoa” friction folder WIP (Pic heavy)

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Just a comment, but if you get a paid membership you can post from your computer without need for a host.

Bam! Will do! Thank you!

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Got it! Thank you Stacy, I could kiss you but I will refrain. Ha! I’ll fix it all at lunch time.

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Looks like the picture situation is resolved. Thanks to everyone for your patience and help!

So I’ll pick up where it left off. So after drilling the pivot and stop pin hole, it fits together great. As you can see, still have to dial in the open and closed positions on the blade. That was the plan.


Time to dial in the open and closed locations. Super delicate. You can always take too little bit if you take too much, it’s over.


First I had to dial in the swing around the radius for the open and closed positions. You can see here there’s not enough room to fit between the pivot pin and the stop pin. Back to the grinder.


Radius set.


Open position. Way off but that was the plan.


Closed position. Way off but that was the plan.


File a little. Check a lot. Rinse. Repeat. I used my 3/8 file and my 5/32 files to dial everything in a little bit at a time.


Open is set.


Closed is set.

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Now it’s time to profile the handle scales and start drilling more holes. Back to the wee lil’ 2x42.


Profiled


Here I’m starting the step up to the 1/2” thru holes in the handles. I worked my way through a few different sizes until I reached 1/2”.


After drilling, I made sure to countersink them a good bit as that’ll make for a much cleaner look.


Now that all the profiling and drilling is complete, the scales sandwich can be separated. A sharp knock against the vise a few times and the come apart cleanly.


She’s starting to come together.

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Next for the build is getting the backspacer made. I set the small block of black/gray G10 on two 3/4” parallels in my vise and flattened the first side.


Next I flipped the small block over and flattened the other side while also taking the material to the final thickness that I needed for the backspacer to be. The 1/2” endmill made a mess of that G10. Better than G10 grinding dust though!


Shaped on the grinder.

I used several drops of Gorilla superglue to hold it in place. That stuff is no joke. I also inserted the pivot pin and stop pin to align the other scale with to make a perfect fit. Before placing that scale on top, I put more superglue on the backspacer.


Once that was done, I scribed two 1/8” lines from the edge and drilled 1/8” holes for my backspacer pins. They fit super tight which is great.


Back to the grinder to grind the pins flush with the scales.


Finally I gave them a once over on my sanding block.


G10 shines up SO good with WD40!

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Now it’s time to get a little crazy. The idea struck me in my workshop so I decided, what the hell? and went for it. Let’s do some gimping (sp?).

I assembled the knife and made some layout lines where my thumb naturally rested. Within that area, I scribed more lines .250” apart. I started with a hacksaw to establish the grooves lines. I followed that with a triangular file and then finally I finished with my 5/32nds chainsaw file. I absolutely love the result. First time I’ve done that.

 

[gudspelr]

Looking great! I know I’m not alone when I say how much I enjoy going through WIP threads. I always learn from folks willing to document their process. Threads like that helped me feel like I could take on a folder. This is a great one to get people willing to jump into giving it a try. Thanks for posting it all up.

Jeremy

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Looks great.

(Jimping, BTW.)

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Looking great! I know I’m not alone when I say how much I enjoy going through WIP threads. I always learn from folks willing to document their process. Threads like that helped me feel like I could take on a folder. This is a great one to get people willing to jump into giving it a try. Thanks for posting it all up.

Jeremy

I’ve always loved WIP threads too and this one has been fun. Thanks for following! Means a lot!

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Now it’s time to get really crazy. I saw Brian Brown (Brian Brown Knives) on Instagram using a tool to texture his handle scales on a folder he was making. I sent him a message and he gladly shared the info with me of what it was. It is a simple 1/8“ shank dremel tool with a rounded carbide ball. I’ve used other methods before for texturing things but this is WAY better. Side note, one thing I love about making knives is the creativity is only limited by how wild your mind gets. Don’t be afraid to try new things! If you screw up, you still learned something in the process!


Bedazzling the blade steel.


What in the world am I doing??


So, here’s some honestly and transparency. I have not made a knife in 4 years. I have had quite the personal upheaval in my life but things have smoothed out now. That being said, at this point in the build, I’m scared to death I’m going to mess it all up with horrible out of practice grinding. So! I’m taking it old school and hand filing my plunge lines. I started out this way and thought maybe it’d be wise to do that again. After doing so, I may actually stick with it as common practice because it came out incredible!

Using a hacksaw again to establish the line.


Followed that up with a triangular file again.


Finally, my 5/32 laid down the plunge to the desired grind height I wanted.




Everything is even edge side!


Dear lord baby Jesus have mercy.

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Nearing the finish line now. Relief grinds at 45° along the edge to save my fresh belts. Grinding the swedge on the poon too.


And finally, the dirty-dirty rough grind.



My heat treating is pretty simple for 1084. I just use the tried and true method used by many. Heat just past non-magnetic in my two-brick forge and quench in canola oil. I then temper at 400° for two hours in my kitchen oven.


I have always yielded right at 58 RC with that method. I’ll take it!

 

[john april]

looks great !

 

[PEU]

Great wip and very nice folder!

Pablo

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Time to do some file work and break those edges to eliminate hotspots while holding. Just a simple small file to round over the edges nice and evenly around the perimeter of the scales gets the job done. Afterwards, a wipe down with good ol’ WD40 brings back the luster of the G10.


Pretty good symmetry on this one.

 

[JTknives]

Very nicely done. I enjoy WIP and love seeing how others tackle projects. Keep up the great work.

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Well! It’s time to wrap things up! I only have a few things left to do at this point.

So, can you pocket carry a frickie by its pocket clip? I’m going to find out with this one. I imagine the positioning of the fold out of the blade in your pocket would make a difference. For this frickie, I chose to put the pocket clip on the knife with the blade to the back and tip up, meaning, the tang of the frickie will be in the bottom position. Strange idea? Also, the friction can be adjusted to allow the knife to be as tough to deploy as you’d like making it safer in your pocket I would imagine.

Getting the final assembly ready.


Scribing the center points for my tap drill.


At the mill for drilling the holes for the tap. I’ve never tapped material like G10 before. I was a bit skeptical it wouldn’t tap well and the 2mm screws would not hold well. I was wrong, G10 taps like a champ. Very tight threads. I was super pleased. Definitely tap by hand though.


I added bronze washers to the pivot hole part of the frickie. It’s supposed to make for smoother movement. I think I agree that it does.


Drumroll please! Glamour shots next!

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

Final post of the build! The final two steps are to etch my makers mark and sharpen the blade. For etching my mark I used a method I learned from Robert at White Bone Knives. He has a video about it on his YouTube Channel that you can check out. It’s a super simple method. The very last thing I do is sharpen the knife. I rough the edge ever so slightly on the slack of my grinder and then I break out the Lanskey sharpening system and just go through the stones and finish with a good strop. I normally sharpen at the 20° angle.

Here are the final pictures!

 

[JTknives]

I think the only thing I would if done differently is work the edge bevels up to a finer grit.

 

[Neely Knife & Tool]

I think the only thing I would if done differently is work the edge bevels up to a finer grit.

I love a super gritty finish. Just a personal preference. But I love fine ones too!

 

[JTknives]

Yeah I like the look it’s just after use you get crud stuck down in the grit scratches that are difficult to remove. My CPM10V folder is bad enough with its finish but I can understand why thy did not go higher lol. Knife looks great though.