V Grind Japanese Kiridashi He-Man Frame Lock

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

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

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!?

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

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

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

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