My First Handmade Damascus Friction Folder

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tommyw68
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2017 8:29 pm

My First Handmade Damascus Friction Folder

Post by tommyw68 »

I have been collecting and tinkering with knives for years, but a couple recent custom projects have inspired me past the point of no return. About a year and a half ago I commissioned Kaleb Reynolds (Muskratman) to modify a Lepre automatic into a mammoth scaled beast with mokume bolsters. I officially had the custom itch. Move ahead to about 8 months ago and thanks to member Bill DeShivs whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the 2016 Blade Show, I was then introduced to "Picklock" Pat Havlin who worked with me to build a 12" piece of knife art - an ivory handled square button stilletto with Mike Norris Hornet's nest damascus. That knife can be seen in the Fat Tony thread.

So in the interim, armed with an old 1x42" craftsman belt grinder, a bunch of files, a dremel, a buffing wheel, a map gas coffee can forge, and the miracle called YouTube which shows you how to make most anything, I fabricated my very first friction folder.. and damn it, I'm pretty proud of how it came out!

I used a cheap billet of random damascus I grabbed at the 2017 blade show, made handles of black linen micarta, inlayed with silicon bronze TextureTec in Gila pattern (thanks Alpha Knife Supply) and finally, I borrowed a feature from Morris Knives... an incorporated bottle opener so It has some utility. I hate stealing an idea and I want to buy one of their knives but they are 8 month backordered. I copied a simple filework pattern I had on another knife using a dremel and tungsten cutters (I didn't want to get too crazy).

Call it a faux pas, but after heat treating, tempering, grinding and polishing, I etched the blade rather aggressively with a combination of muriatic acid for my pool and hydrogen peroxide (1:3) and then re-ground and mirror polished the pattern right out of the flat sides of the blade so that the damascus pattern is only visible on the main grind of the blade. I have no idea of the hardness.. I heated the blade portion until she was glowing red and quenched it in warm motor oil. It seems ridiculously hard and holds an edge well. I didn't heat treat the opener side but probably should have.

Despite the thickness and heft of the tanto style blade ( about 4.4 mm), I put a 22 degree edge on it as a compromise between durability and hair-splitting, and took it up to 5000 with my homemade version of a wicked edge/lansky. It has two points of tension adjustment-- the pivot and the stop pin.

I didn't go apeshit polishing the micarta because I kind of like the satin look and also because I couldn't seem to get much more of a shine out of it. Perhaps I was doing something wrong but I sanded it to 800 and then hit it with the buffer and white tripoli and it just didn't seem to want to get glossy. Suggestions?

Considering this is my first deep dive into the pool, I'm exceptionally pleased with the results, despite some obvious flaws here and there.

See for yourselves and please feel free to point out possible improvements or suggestions. I am all ears. (And, yes, I am a lousy photographer.) I am considering etching a mark or initial on the blade with a battery charger but I need to find a vinyl sticker or something first....

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss81 ... znsdyj.jpg

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss81 ... wqkpuu.jpg
Last edited by tommyw68 on Thu Aug 17, 2017 4:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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natcherly
Connoisseur dei Coltelli
Posts: 6336
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 3:59 pm
Location: Baghdad by the Bay

Re: My First Handmade Damascus Friction Folder

Post by natcherly »

That is outstanding! If this is just your first effort, I foresee great things coming out of your shop. The bottle opener is a nice touch adding utility to the opening lever that otherwise is simply just there. And don't feel bad about appropriating this feature, remember BASE, borrow and steel everything! :lol:
tommyw68
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2017 8:29 pm

Re: My First Handmade Damascus Friction Folder

Post by tommyw68 »

natcherly wrote:That is outstanding! If this is just your first effort, I foresee great things coming out of your shop. The bottle opener is a nice touch adding utility to the opening lever that otherwise is simply just there. And don't feel bad about appropriating this feature, remember BASE, borrow and steel everything! :lol:
Thanks.. don't really have a shop- just my garage. She gets the house, I get my garage. Luckily we keep the beer in there. :)
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ILikeStilettos
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Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:36 pm
Location: Norman, Oklahoma, USA
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Re: My First Handmade Damascus Friction Folder

Post by ILikeStilettos »

Great job, fantastic for a first try. PM me your email and I will send you a couple of designs to try. Looking forward to seeing the next one out of your garage. You seem ready to try making a switchblade.
Dave Sause
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tommyw68
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2017 8:29 pm

Re: My First Handmade Damascus Friction Folder

Post by tommyw68 »

I have a feeling an auto IS in the very near future... Can't decide whether I would go coil spring or more towards traditional Italian first time out. I wish I knew more about the inner workings and designs of the square buttons but I have no idea where one might even find that information. I do know I'm going to have to try and build a tool rest for my belt grinder - that seems like a must.
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