 |
| Custom Damascus Folding knives |
It sounds simple huh? Essentially, you need to cut an L shape into the titanium. How you do it depends on you. You can drill a hole and use a jeweler's saw, or use a cut-off disk or band saw. In my case, I had to use a hacksaw. In order to give space to the blade of the hacksaw, I made a series of holes side by side and then opened it with a file. That gave me the authorization for the saw blade.
Before starting, gather the knife and open the blade. Mark where the spike of the leaf is. You want to cut the locking bar with an overlap of about 1 mm with the blade. If there is no overlap, the lock will open too far without the possibility of adjustment, and the blade will be ruined. Do not forget to take into account the thickness of the saw!
Begin by cutting the long line, parallel to the open sheet. Then cut perpendicular to the open blade.
Now, with the locking bar released, bend the locking bar outward securing the back of the liner and pressing the lock down. You want to bend it so that if the blade is assembled, the lock will push towards the center. In general, you should push up to about 5 inches, but start with little. Push it out 1 inch, then 2, and so on. You know that the block has bent enough when it is a little further away than the thickness of the sheet.
Also, file the locking bar and try to match the angle of the blade pin. (8 degrees). It is not necessary, as the locking bar will wear out and match the angle eventually, but if it is adjusted beforehand it can prevent the locking bar from wearing out and losing its life. In other words, by doing so, you can extend the life of the knife.
Step 9: Optional: Harden the locking bar?
This is superstition, and I'm not 100% sure it works. However, I do it anyway, just in case there is a benefit. Basically, compact the lock and then the "heat treatment".
This idea came up because in one of my knives, I tried the lock hitting the blade with a hammer. The blade held, but to my surprise, the locking bar had been compacted and, therefore, wore off so quickly that the blade developed a blocking stone (where the blade can move a little when it is blocked).
Now, when I make my knives, I try to "compact" the face of the lock by hitting it with the flat side of my ball hammer a couple of times. Nothing ridiculously difficult, but only a few good blows. Going too hard could cause the titanium to flake.
Then I take a match and only heat the face of the blocking bar a few times. Again, I'm not sure if this works, but it's just a superstition.
Step 10: Place the locking bar
EDIPretty very much the most critical step. Patience is the key. Do not lose everything because you want to save a few minutes. Do it slowly
Now, a liner lock blade needs room to adjust. This means that you have to cut the shank at a slight angle, so that as the lining lock wears out, the angle allows the lock to remain engaged. It's hard to explain, but take a look at the first image. Or ask me in the comments.
You want the angle of the spike to be around 8 degrees. Too much, and the blockage will slip when some force is applied. Too little, and the sheet will not have much room to adjust.
That is why it is so important that the blocking area be flat. Now, all you want to do is simply file the spike down until the locking bar snaps. Also, to help prevent the rock from blocking, only the last 0.125 "of the lock should come in contact with the blade, which means that the lock should be slightly tilted, so the bottom of the lock contacts the lock. The lower part, I mean the area closes where your fingers would touch, otherwise, if you just touch the middle part, then you can develop the blocking rock.As the blade wears out, a greater part of the blockage of the lining will come into contact.
Wash it at a slight angle, 8 degrees, and each pair of strokes, make a test to adjust the blade. Adjusts when the lock can engage the blade and keep it open. Normally I aim for at least half of the titanium in contact with the blade.
Comments
Post a Comment