Good morning guys.
As of this weekend, my PIF2011 knife is done.
First some Stats:
Open Length: 7-15/16"
Closed Length: 5-3/8"
Blade Length: 3-1/4" Tip to choil (flat-ground differentially heat-treated)
Steel: W2 from Don Hanson III
Handles: 6AL-4V Titanium w/ stainless hardware/latch
Inlay: Desert Ironwood
Pivots: 3/16" pivots w/ 1/4" bushings and PB washers
I think that you should be able to see the bare-bones outline of Lorien's "C" design in this knife. I had to tweak the blade a bit to get it to fit into the handles with enough room left over for the spring-latch assembly.
Now I'm no Coop, and my camera-fu still needs some work. Anyone who's ever seen desert ironwood up close knows of the sparkly shimmer. I wasn't able to capture that, but this closed photo was probably my best shot of the inlays.
As mentioned in the stats, this blade was made from Don Hanson's W2. One thing that I'd like to mention at this point is that this blade was ground VERY thin. There is a slight secondary bevel along the straight portion of the cutting edge, and the tip has a thicker wedge/bevel for stability in the poke
... but in the belly of the transition from the tip, the grind is basically zero ground. All that to say, this knife would probably not be my choice for a hard-use utility knife.
This photo shows the latch assembly. The latch itself is made from a 5mm stainless socket cap screw. It's spring-loaded... I'll post a video later. The knife only locks in the closed position. When the blade is open, the latch tucks in close to the end of the safe handle.
I felt this little addition went well with the Pay It Forward theme of the build.
Psalm 102:18
Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
That said, it was not a simple process to get this etch to work out. Fixing a stencil to a concave surface about 1/8" wide is tricky to say the least.
Another photo of the full knife. You can see some of the "rain" coming out of the hamon clouds.
Another shot of the closed knife.
I am really happy with the results... but it was a PITA and took me foreverrrrrr. Every time I make one of these high-tech flippy knives, I end up needing a break afterward to rest my brain. You'll probably also notice that I abandoned the pocket-clip. There were several reasons for that; the first being that I could not imagine the pointy tang of this knife being very comfortable against my thigh. Secondly, I decided that I really didn't want to partially obscure one of my ironwood inserts with a clip.
Now, concerning the Pay It Forward aspect of this project. Any profit made from the sale of this knife will go to ABBA Fund. This fund provides much need support for aging Swedish pop bands... just kidding.
Abba Fund is actually a Christian organization that provides no-interest loans to help couples with all of the costs associated with the adoption process.
Erin
