Brass liner vs stainless steel liner

[oregon]

What are the issues involved in deciding which liner material to use in a spring knife?

Your brilliant Leverletto, on the top of my wish list, uses stainless steel and I wondered why?

And, unrelated, how about a spring fired butterfly?

All the best,

Steve

[Bill DeShivs]

Steve
Brass and nickel silver are traditional materials for liners. These materials won't rust, and are self-lubricating. But they are softer than stainless. With the stresses involved in a lever lock, stainless holds up better, though it needs lubrication.
Bill

[Mr_Guano]

And, unrelated, how about a spring fired butterfly?

All the best,

Steve

That would be cool, but wouldn't the fired handle smack your knuckles?

g

[oregon]

Thank you Bill. So the steel liner provides structural strength for the knife. I thought that aesthetics, not performance, might have been the controlling factor.

Mr. Guano: The challenge/fun in the Butterfly is avoiding the knuckle crunch. The spring loaded Butterfly may have to be tossed into the air as it is fired, then grabbed out of the air by the handle. I'll let you practice this first. Kidding aside, I see it working this way, fire the knife, twist 1/2 of the handle so that the fired other 1/2 locks up without hitting any knucles. Seems doable to me.

Best,

Steve

[mrbigg]

Steve
Brass and nickel silver are traditional materials for liners. These materials won't rust, and are self-lubricating. But they are softer than stainless. With the stresses involved in a lever lock, stainless holds up better, though it needs lubrication.
Bill

bill - so you would not recomend NS or brass for leverletto liners?
i was planning on doing that on the green LLO in the pics forum...

[Bill DeShivs]

I think it would be OK, especially if you leave a little more material to cover the blade tip, when closed. The (closed) locking hole is a high wear spot on all lever locks.
Bill

[oregon]

Why not a titanium liner? Since I read about building an inexpensive ($150) annodizer in the October 2004 Knives Illustrated, by Bob Warner, p58, I have titanium on the brain. Strong, light and capable of acquiring brilliant colors during anodization of only a few seconds .
All the best,

Steve

[Bill DeShivs]

Though I have never worked with it, titanium is said to be nasty to work with. Toxic dust, very hard to cut and finish.
I'm not so sure anodizing in all those pretty colors is worth it!
That said, it may make a nice liner material, since it doesn't wear quickly.
Bill

[oregon]

Thank you kindly for the feedback.

Is there a stilletto kit you could recommend because I'd like to try customizing one. With the kit I'd have templates to work with. I'd like to get my hands dirty with some of the materials we've been talkin about. Brass, steel, titanium or ..... Scales, I'm thinking a theme from nature like bamboo (need to stabilize). I have some black bamboo out in the yard that might work.

Ordered a Leverletto (my first), stag scales, yesterday. Christmas comes early.

All the best,

Steve