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Howdy, all. I've been working on a pair of Nessmuk-inspired friction folders. I thought I would share the schematics and forged/rough ground blades with ya'll. The smaller is W1 and was forged at the historic forge at Fort Atkinson State Historical Park in Fort Calhoun, NE (see related post titled "Historic Forge"). The larger blade is 1095.
I've not made this blade profile before, but must say I really like it. It seems to lend itself well to what the steel naturally wants to do when forging. At any rate, thanks for looking...critique always welcomed! (Sorry for the rough cell-phone picture)
-------------------- "Walk softly...and carry a bent stick."
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Col. 3:17 Posts: 1168 | From: Nebraska | Registered: Aug 2009
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nessmuk was one hell of a man , had great ideas about wilderness life and his cutting tools are very interesting as well. my fav would have to be the double bit axe with two different grinds.
-------------------- JD EVANS ------------ KAW RIVER KNIVES
STICKS AND STRINGS, A SIMPLE STEP BACK IN TIME!!! Posts: 389 | From: lawrence,kansas | Registered: Oct 2010
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Curt, anxious to see the finished knives! Very nice drawings! And have always admired fine hand writing skills, to me, an indication of creativity.
Also the Historic Forge inspires creativity too! I'm lucky enough to forge in the Moran shop!
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Here's an update. Both blades have gone through the heat treating process, although I've got to draw the tangs back just a touch. I've rough ground the larger of the two and am ready to begin sanding. The bigger blade has some weird lighting streaks and fuzzies on it making it look like there are nicks and cracks. Just ignore 'em!
I take the drawings I made, make a copy, and cut out the parts to use as templates. Using double sided tape, I stick one template to the blade to get the exact placement for the pivot hole. I stick the other template to the handle material to make cutting it to shape easy and to identify exactly where the pivot hole should be drilled. Ignore the silly "use 1/16" pin" note. That's wrong, but I forgot to erase it. The smaller knife will use a 3/32" pivot pin.
Here's the parts laid out with temporary pins. The scales are bookmatched, stabilized, and dyed figured maple.
And a very rough dry assembling to see how things are coming along.
-------------------- "Walk softly...and carry a bent stick."
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Col. 3:17 Posts: 1168 | From: Nebraska | Registered: Aug 2009
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Here's the larger of the two all dolled up and sharp as snot. I wanted to take more pictures of the process, but just didn't have the time.
The blade is etched in saltwater and slightly antiqued to give a used appearance. The etching revealed the hardening line, which turned out nice and even (I think). The pins are hand hammered. The spine has been rounded over, which I thought flowed a little better. I've left a touch of the forge remnant on the left side of the blade and just a speck of it near the tip of the right side. I got a few strange shadows/highlights on the blade/cutting edge in the last two pictures.
-------------------- "Walk softly...and carry a bent stick."
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Col. 3:17 Posts: 1168 | From: Nebraska | Registered: Aug 2009
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Thanks, Steve. You make a good point, and I debated long and hard about what you pointed out, but came to the final design based on two things:
1) The new owner requested a Nessmuk along the lines of those that Andy Roy produces at Fiddleback Forge, which do not utilize a ricasso or guard.
2) The truth be told, a good deal of friction folding knives are built without either (or at least very minimally so) and are therefore, by nature, prone to a dangerous, careless slip forward toward the cutting edge more than many other knife varieties. Perhaps that's why there's not that many guys carrying them around these days.
-------------------- "Walk softly...and carry a bent stick."
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Col. 3:17 Posts: 1168 | From: Nebraska | Registered: Aug 2009
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After several months on my bench, I finally got up the gumption to finish number two. The pictures are terribly fuzzy and ill-focused, so I apologize. On the bright side, I got this one bloody already, so there's a slight stain on the bone inlay on the the left side. I think I'll leave that for "patina." Again, this one is saltwater etched with the same scale material as #1.
-------------------- "Walk softly...and carry a bent stick."
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Col. 3:17 Posts: 1168 | From: Nebraska | Registered: Aug 2009
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(Sorry for the rough cell-phone picture) 
