Friction folder with bone handle

[jojo]

I finished this mountainman (ish) friction folder this week.

Overall, it's 7" long, the cutting edge is 70 mm long, so it's a legal EDC. The blade is a convex, rather than my more usual scandi, grind. I etched the whole blade overnight with mustard, wrapped in some twisted clingfim. That's given a really nice pattern to the etch.

The handle is also different from what I normally do with my folders. The liners are blued steel, the scales are bone, the spacer is brass. I used bronze washers on the pivot, so the knife folds very smoothly. The whole things is riveted with steel rivets (well, I used nails)

I am playing with the idea of doing some scrimshaw on the bone handle. Maybe I'll practice on some spare bone first

Sorry, the pics aren't that good. I just can't get the white bone scale to show up better. I'll try again tomorrow, to show the back of the knife and the neck sheath I made for it.

Hope you like it. I certainly do

 

[British Red]

Thats just plain smart Joel! Lovely bit of work with a nice period feel!

 

[BorderReiver]

Love it.

What kind of bone and what steel did you use please?

 

[dwardo]

They are lovely looking knives, very nice work.

If i was to change one little bit i would hide some of the pins.

 

[jojo]

Thanks! the blade is 01, the liners are just plain old steel from B&Q, something like 0.75mm I think. Once shaped I heated the liners with a blow torch to blue them. The pins are just riveted ordinary steel nails. The bone scales come from Pet at Home, filled dog bones. Give the filling to the dogs,wash them well! I chose the thickest/flattest I could find. Messy things to use though. It stinks and the dust is probably not very good for you, so wear a dust mask and work outside, preferably on a windy day and keep the wind on your back as much as possible! But once sanded and polished, it's lovely!

 

[Black Sheep]

Nice work I like the look of it.

Richard

 

[Shewie]

Very very nice Joel, I'm loving these folders

 

[BorderReiver]

Thanks! the blade is 01, the liners are just plain old steel from B&Q, something like 0.75mm I think. Once shaped I heated the liners with a blow torch to blue them. The pins are just riveted ordinary steel nails. The bone scales come from Pet at Home, filled dog bones. Give the filling to the dogs,wash them well! I chose the thickest/flattest I could find. Messy things to use though. It stinks and the dust is probably not very good for you, so wear a dust mask and work outside, preferably on a windy day and keep the wind on your back as much as possible! But once sanded and polished, it's lovely!

Great use of available material to make a useful and good looking tool.

 

[Matt.S]

Some great work there Jo! Have you riend local butchers for bones? Most sell them for a few pence and I'm sure they'd be easier to clean than 'filled' ones.

 

[jojo]

I haven't tried the butcher no. Mind you the Pet at Home bone are cleaned up of all the flesh, and probably bleached and the filling they put in there easy to remove, though I may give a go to the butcher's as they probably will be bigger, I'll just have to work out the best way to clean them up.

Some more pics, taken after getting some advice on taking better pics on the photography thread: