New camp knife/pry bar

[villainvomit]

Sorry I am late to the game.....I know that 41xx is good steel and tough stuff, but will it take hammering on the butt without rolling and deforming? I think I would rather have a blade with the hardened 1075.

1075 should be cheaper, too.

Good job on the kydex, blackplague14.....do you use a press when forming ?

Thx,

Vv

 

[blackplague14]

I know very little about this type of steel application. I'm a sheet metal worker that makes HVAC duct. I started making Kydex holsters because so few companies offered a holster for a CZ Phantom. I figured Kydex had to be more forgiving than sheet metal.

Yes, I use a press that I made. 10 gauge steel with 1" foam. Temperature and pressure make the mold, then lots of time with a scroll saw, belt sander, and buffing wheel. I fine tune the retention on each piece by hand with a heat gun.

Here is where the magic is made!

 

[LewisBrookshire]

I would like to know the price once the decide to start selling. One thing I would like to see is a bolster to keep your hand from slipping down on the blade.

 

[Fatzombie]

Hey guys, I thought In would check out the thread Blackplauge started to see if anything was happening since the first post he sent me a link to. WOW... when I started making the knife I did not think there would be so much interest in such a simple design. Ill do my best to answer some posted questions and lend my opinion why we went one way or the other with certain design features. The original bar you see in this thread is 1075 carbon steel. This was easily purchased in bar form and made hand fabrication relatively easy but still slower than laser cutting and much more labor intensive. We changed to 1050 steel for production so that we could maintain the hardness level that we were shooting for (RC 53-55). The other advantage was the availability of 1050 in sheet so that we could cut our labor costs by lasering the blanks. The hardness level is a few points lower than good quality knives (RC 56-59) but still high enough to hold an edge way better than a standard prybar and not shatter if beaten with a hammer. Someone posted on here about the thumb jimping being too aggresive and I couldn't agree more. The new design still has the same look but small radia have been added to the corners of the jimping to calm that down a notch or two while still maintaining good purchase with gloved hands. The handle will come wrapped with paracord. I know it is not the most exciting thing but this is meant to be a versatile tool and I have seen people bail themselves out of more situations with cord and string than with a preshaped piece of micarta. However... I also like good ergonomic handles so we are planning to offer add on scales in the future or possibly as an option. These may be micarta or G-10 I dont know yet. The last hole on the handle is 1/4" hex so if you happen to have some type of 1/4" driver or bit with you it will double as a handle for that. The long edge is sharpened on both sides. The leading or tip edges will not be sharpened all the way. They will have a flat area approx 1/32 to 1/16 to help support the tip from breaking or chipping.

The idea of a prybar and knife in one is not new its just not easy to do. Everyone here probably knows not to use thier knife as a prybar but most of you have probably broke a knife doing just that (or broke the tip using it as a screwdriver). If you make it hard enough to hold a good edge for a long time it will be easy to break. But if you make it strong enough to be a lawnmower blade you will not shave with it twice. This knife will not be magic. You can break it if you put it in a vice and put a lever on it. You will be hard pressed to break it by hand. This is why we will not be making a machete length version. It is also why there are no lightening holes. They only contribute to failure of a knife that does not wiegh that much anyway.

The original finish was parkerized but required more maintenance to prevent from rusting than moly coat, which is what we went with for production. You will still get a little bottle of oil with your knife to help protect the ground edges.

Now for the most requested info... the price. We wanted to be in the 25-30 dollar range but that wont happen unless I resign myself to adopting everyone and calling the money I lose producing them your christmas present. The current retail price will be around $69.95. This allows us to use quality materials and local manufacturing and have room for dealers and us to make a little money. What you get is a high carbon molycoated pryknife. A kydex sheath with lanyard and maintenance oil.

For all the people who wont spend that much on a knife...I love you too. I have plans to do a few giveaways on ODT. Or for the creative broke ones, a naming competition. I dont know when this will be but Ill post beforehand to keep you in the loop. As this is my first post here I will have to check with admin on the rules for that. We are shooting to release them in the next month or so. They are still being hand ground.

 

[Fatzombie]

Always with the PBR can....so predictable.

I know very little about this type of steel application. I'm a sheet metal worker that makes HVAC duct. I started making Kydex holsters because so few companies offered a holster for a CZ Phantom. I figured Kydex had to be more forgiving than sheet metal.

Yes, I use a press that I made. 10 gauge steel with 1" foam. Temperature and pressure make the mold, then lots of time with a scroll saw, belt sander, and buffing wheel. I fine tune the retention on each piece by hand with a heat gun.

Here is where the magic is made!

 

[Fatzombie]

The 4150 was not available in sheet. unfortunately Rolling and deforming when hammered is a nessesary evil if you dont want the blade to break.

Sorry I am late to the game.....I know that 41xx is good steel and tough stuff, but will it take hammering on the butt without rolling and deforming? I think I would rather have a blade with the hardened 1075.

1075 should be cheaper, too.

Good job on the kydex, blackplague14.....do you use a press when forming ?

Thx,

Vv

 

[villainvomit]

awesome bp...thx for the feedback. necessity is the mother of invention.

Love the workspace. I should be so lucky. One day.....

Keep up the good work!

vv

 

[blackplague14]

Always with the PBR can....so predictable.

That is creativity in a can!

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
-- Benjamin Franklin

 

[Fatzombie]

Yeah....don't get any blood on my tools.

That is creativity in a can!

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
-- Benjamin Franklin

 

[blackplague14]

Yeah....don't get any blood on my tools.

Actually, I trace that empty can to radius the top of the knife sheaths. Low tech, I know.