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

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

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

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.

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

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

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