Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
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- ILikeStilettos
- Posts: 1576
- Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:36 pm
- Location: Norman, Oklahoma, USA
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Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
Presented for your interest and edification: Il Punto, the first ever from DoubleD Knives. If you wondered where I was headed when I wrote the post "Prioletta Retrospective" viewtopic.php?f=5&t=24662 ... well, now you know what I was leading up to. The post you are reading now might have been called "Prioletta 2017", because that's the concept. What would a modern version of a Prioletta look like? I took some of the cues from the historical knives, and some things that I liked from other knives in my experience and put them together in a 14" nominal bayonet. Along the way a few details changed because Duke suggested a better approach.
Duke (username: knifemaker44) and I are of a like mind in many things, for example, the slender and sinister look of the vintage, narrow knives. We like sturdy rocker mechanisms, exposed or concealed. While we can build safeties, typically we don't. Also, Duke kids that he has 'sausage fingers' so we're probably staying at the high side of 11" and not dealing with mini's. On my side of the equation are dozens of knives, all extant only in my CAD files, and shared with only a few close friends, if at all. Duke brings his experience of nearly three decades of fixed blade building to his new love of switchblades. To reduce the confusion between us, we've given each design a nickname. As the knives are built, we will show the designs. It's my intention to offer the designs freely to anyone who wants to tackle them. On Duke's side, advice and responses to building questions are also free. If you want to go the route of commissioning something from DoubleD, ask. But do please realize that's not our first consideration; we aren't trying to feed our families from this. We are simply doing what we love to do. Duke doesn't need a another customer, per se, because he is building for me.
The knife arrived on a cloudy Saturday, and I had to resort to artificial lighting. I apologize for the picture quality; I'll have to reshoot when the weather is more cooperative. It weights 10.8 oz. or 307 g. The overall length, as appropriate, is 14-1/8" (35,9 cm) with 6-7/16" (16,4 cm) of blade, and exactly 5/8" (15,8 mm) at the ricasso. The blade, springs, and rockers are made from 5/32" (4 mm) 1095 steel. The bolsters are 416 stainless and the liners are .06" (1,5 mm) 410 stainless. It uses a 5/32" steel pivot, while all other pins are 3/32" (2,4 mm) NS. The scales are stabilized giraffe bone.
As you can see, it's an exposed mechanism lockback with stepped bolsters. Duke added copper washers for speed and it does well for such a big knife. The sound it makes is a subtle double click on opening and a sharp double on closing. Duke and I are of the opinion that much of what makes a swinger sound so unique is inherent in the lockback mechanism rather than the swinging guards.
The giraffe bone has great character and polishes beautifully.
If I wasn't already enamored with stabilized giraffe, I am sure it would grow on me. I love the black patches that appear at random and which Duke has nicely bookmatched on both edges.
The earless bolsters and the lockback really make this a sleek knife.
This is a logo you will be seeing more of.
If you have no interest in how Il Punto was built, you can skip the rest of this post. Otherwise, we're going to look over Duke's shoulder and mine to see the progress.
This is approximately how the knife looks in CAD. It's only approximate because the program scales the work to fit my screen (and thus distorts it a bit). I can only effectively communicate the design if you have my CAD program or something else that will read a DXF, or if I print full sized templates (no distortion), or if I take a screenshot (like these, edited a bit for clarity, and slightly compressed vertically.)
Duke created this set of parts from laminated templates I provided, and then began the tedious process of fitting and tempering them. He and I agree that picklocks are tricky to build and suspect that the twist in the spine to rotate the locktab weakens the grain of the steel. For now, we're mostly building lockback. Aesthetically, we think this is in keeping with that "lean and hungry look". Cassius would have loved to have access to such a knife.
We've been playing with rockers and trunions for a while and Duke came up with this great approach for machining a fulcrum out of a piece of brass round stock. Note that the arm between sear and pivot is slightly longer than the one between pivot and button. There's plenty of sear engagement, so the knife has a solid lock closed, but when it fires, it does so with less than 5° of rotation. This trigger is fast and crisp, but it has no free travel. We are building display pieces, after all.
This is Duke's set-up for fitting everything and checking function. Once he had the locking shoulder fitted and everything rotating and compressing correctly, he tempered the springs.
There's a old rule of thumb that says, "Measure twice, cut once." Since this was such a needle-like profile, Duke did multiple practice runs, even cutting one out of mild steel and fitting a wooden handle. He is nothing, if not meticulous.
Duke was in the process of improving his tooling and refining his technique with narrow blades. When he was ready, the did the finished grind on the actual blade. I have since decided that I didn't do him any favors with this grind and have made subtle changes that I hope will facilitate him in the future. In any case, this one came out great!
Duke's history has been with producing working knives for use in the field, with an occasional display piece. Again Duke stepped up in equipment and technique to generate this mirror polished blade. He knows exactly what I like to see.
Solid 416 stainless liners soldered to 410 stainless bolsters. This is another great idea from Duke. The stainless takes a better polish than NS, and is much more durable.
The first set of Zebra scales I sent were a bit short (I screwed up) so I sent these superb red and black giraffe ones from Giraffebone.com and Jantz. Duke did a superb job of fitting them to the liners.
After this it was a matter of etching the logo, final assembly and polish. Duke was in his element here and it shows in the results. Thanks a million, Duke, for all your time and trouble. That's all, folks.
Duke (username: knifemaker44) and I are of a like mind in many things, for example, the slender and sinister look of the vintage, narrow knives. We like sturdy rocker mechanisms, exposed or concealed. While we can build safeties, typically we don't. Also, Duke kids that he has 'sausage fingers' so we're probably staying at the high side of 11" and not dealing with mini's. On my side of the equation are dozens of knives, all extant only in my CAD files, and shared with only a few close friends, if at all. Duke brings his experience of nearly three decades of fixed blade building to his new love of switchblades. To reduce the confusion between us, we've given each design a nickname. As the knives are built, we will show the designs. It's my intention to offer the designs freely to anyone who wants to tackle them. On Duke's side, advice and responses to building questions are also free. If you want to go the route of commissioning something from DoubleD, ask. But do please realize that's not our first consideration; we aren't trying to feed our families from this. We are simply doing what we love to do. Duke doesn't need a another customer, per se, because he is building for me.
The knife arrived on a cloudy Saturday, and I had to resort to artificial lighting. I apologize for the picture quality; I'll have to reshoot when the weather is more cooperative. It weights 10.8 oz. or 307 g. The overall length, as appropriate, is 14-1/8" (35,9 cm) with 6-7/16" (16,4 cm) of blade, and exactly 5/8" (15,8 mm) at the ricasso. The blade, springs, and rockers are made from 5/32" (4 mm) 1095 steel. The bolsters are 416 stainless and the liners are .06" (1,5 mm) 410 stainless. It uses a 5/32" steel pivot, while all other pins are 3/32" (2,4 mm) NS. The scales are stabilized giraffe bone.
As you can see, it's an exposed mechanism lockback with stepped bolsters. Duke added copper washers for speed and it does well for such a big knife. The sound it makes is a subtle double click on opening and a sharp double on closing. Duke and I are of the opinion that much of what makes a swinger sound so unique is inherent in the lockback mechanism rather than the swinging guards.
The giraffe bone has great character and polishes beautifully.
If I wasn't already enamored with stabilized giraffe, I am sure it would grow on me. I love the black patches that appear at random and which Duke has nicely bookmatched on both edges.
The earless bolsters and the lockback really make this a sleek knife.
This is a logo you will be seeing more of.
If you have no interest in how Il Punto was built, you can skip the rest of this post. Otherwise, we're going to look over Duke's shoulder and mine to see the progress.
This is approximately how the knife looks in CAD. It's only approximate because the program scales the work to fit my screen (and thus distorts it a bit). I can only effectively communicate the design if you have my CAD program or something else that will read a DXF, or if I print full sized templates (no distortion), or if I take a screenshot (like these, edited a bit for clarity, and slightly compressed vertically.)
Duke created this set of parts from laminated templates I provided, and then began the tedious process of fitting and tempering them. He and I agree that picklocks are tricky to build and suspect that the twist in the spine to rotate the locktab weakens the grain of the steel. For now, we're mostly building lockback. Aesthetically, we think this is in keeping with that "lean and hungry look". Cassius would have loved to have access to such a knife.
We've been playing with rockers and trunions for a while and Duke came up with this great approach for machining a fulcrum out of a piece of brass round stock. Note that the arm between sear and pivot is slightly longer than the one between pivot and button. There's plenty of sear engagement, so the knife has a solid lock closed, but when it fires, it does so with less than 5° of rotation. This trigger is fast and crisp, but it has no free travel. We are building display pieces, after all.
This is Duke's set-up for fitting everything and checking function. Once he had the locking shoulder fitted and everything rotating and compressing correctly, he tempered the springs.
There's a old rule of thumb that says, "Measure twice, cut once." Since this was such a needle-like profile, Duke did multiple practice runs, even cutting one out of mild steel and fitting a wooden handle. He is nothing, if not meticulous.
Duke was in the process of improving his tooling and refining his technique with narrow blades. When he was ready, the did the finished grind on the actual blade. I have since decided that I didn't do him any favors with this grind and have made subtle changes that I hope will facilitate him in the future. In any case, this one came out great!
Duke's history has been with producing working knives for use in the field, with an occasional display piece. Again Duke stepped up in equipment and technique to generate this mirror polished blade. He knows exactly what I like to see.
Solid 416 stainless liners soldered to 410 stainless bolsters. This is another great idea from Duke. The stainless takes a better polish than NS, and is much more durable.
The first set of Zebra scales I sent were a bit short (I screwed up) so I sent these superb red and black giraffe ones from Giraffebone.com and Jantz. Duke did a superb job of fitting them to the liners.
After this it was a matter of etching the logo, final assembly and polish. Duke was in his element here and it shows in the results. Thanks a million, Duke, for all your time and trouble. That's all, folks.
Dave Sause
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690
"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"
"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690
"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"
"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
Re: Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
D&D:
Great looking result of your labors. Congratulations to both of you on a striking piece of workmanship.
DonC
Great looking result of your labors. Congratulations to both of you on a striking piece of workmanship.
DonC
- ILikeStilettos
- Posts: 1576
- Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:36 pm
- Location: Norman, Oklahoma, USA
- Contact:
Re: Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
The workmanship is all on Duke, and he impresses the hell out of me, too.DonC wrote:D&D:
Great looking result of your labors. Congratulations to both of you on a striking piece of workmanship.
DonC
Dave Sause
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690
"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"
"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690
"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"
"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
-
- Posts: 4038
- Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2016 7:18 pm
- Location: Indiana
- ILikeStilettos
- Posts: 1576
- Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:36 pm
- Location: Norman, Oklahoma, USA
- Contact:
Re: Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
Thanks, Sam, that's why we are doing these things.sammy the blade wrote:Impressed me too.
Dave Sause
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690
"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"
"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690
"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"
"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
-
- Posts: 4038
- Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2016 7:18 pm
- Location: Indiana
Re: Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
Your doing them rather well too! Anxious to see what's next.
2024 candidate for president
Re: Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
Awesome design guys , love the slim profile . i always wanted a slim picklock stiletto 17 inches open but thin body like a 13 incher. Dave what would one of these il Punto cost to have made ?
- ILikeStilettos
- Posts: 1576
- Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:36 pm
- Location: Norman, Oklahoma, USA
- Contact:
Re: Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
Reply in pm.METALGOD wrote:Awesome design guys , love the slim profile . i always wanted a slim picklock stiletto 17 inches open but thin body like a 13 incher. Dave what would one of these il Punto cost to have made ?
Dave Sause
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690
"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"
"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690
"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"
"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
Re: Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
Awesome!!!!!
Re: Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
Great looking knife
I really love this Giraffe bone as a scale material Dave ,looks beautiful in this colour.
The knife is sleek and mean as these should be ,and I like this narrow deadly bayonet blade ,hard in itself to grind .
Thanks for explaining the build process ,its still amazing to me( as a predominately fixed blade military collector before I met these knives,), just how much work goes into them and how complex they are,its great to see it shown in pieces and parts.
Another great prioletta to Grace your magnificent group .
Got to get myself a Prioletta its become one of my favourite switchblades after seeing your examples.
All the best
Ian
I really love this Giraffe bone as a scale material Dave ,looks beautiful in this colour.
The knife is sleek and mean as these should be ,and I like this narrow deadly bayonet blade ,hard in itself to grind .
Thanks for explaining the build process ,its still amazing to me( as a predominately fixed blade military collector before I met these knives,), just how much work goes into them and how complex they are,its great to see it shown in pieces and parts.
Another great prioletta to Grace your magnificent group .
Got to get myself a Prioletta its become one of my favourite switchblades after seeing your examples.
All the best
Ian
- ILikeStilettos
- Posts: 1576
- Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:36 pm
- Location: Norman, Oklahoma, USA
- Contact:
Re: Il Punto, The Point, by DoubleD Knives
A few days ago I promised better pictures, here they are:
Dave Sause
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690
"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"
"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."
oldandfat@cox.net
(405) 694-3690
"And you're telling me this because, somehow, I look like I give a shit?"
"Let a smile be your umbrella and you're gonna get your dumb ass wet."