All About Pocket Knives

This was a 5OT that had a blade with a broken tip on the blade.
Since I had to put a new blade in it, I decided I may as well put give it the beauty treatment.

It got rope file work on the lock bar.
Sorry I couldn't get a good pic without too much glare so here is a couple angles on it. The handles are Culpepper's Amber bone with the Shetland jigging pattern. I even copied Schrade's odd little angle at which they put in the Old Timer shield.
I am not sure why they did that, but I installed it that way so it would follow factory specs. I will probably end up putting this one in my store, but I am tempted to EDC this one!

That's a good looking Old Timer .Nice job Dale

Dang, Dale! You been busy, boy.

That sure came out looking sweet.

Thanks guys, glad you like it.

Glenn, I have another one to post as I finish polishing it out. It is different, but I like it.

::tu::Man you are good!!!

Dale that's a sweet looking custom job. Nice work!

That is great Dale! One thing that amazes me is you are able to get such good, round heads on the pins. This isn't easy to do. Have you found a pin spinner to do this with or are you doing this by hand? In a recent issue of Knife World they had an article on a guy making custom knives. He had perfect round pin heads flush with some very expensive micarta. I just wondered how many sets he had ruined and how long it took him to perfect the process. I've been practicing on wood handles and have a long ways to go. Keep up the good work Dale and I'm glad to see your hands are allowing you to get in the shop.

Absolutely amazing! Great work Dale!!

just bob wrote:That is great Dale! One thing that amazes me is you are able to get such good, round heads on the pins. This isn't easy to do. Have you found a pin spinner to do this with or are you doing this by hand? In a recent issue of Knife World they had an article on a guy making custom knives. He had perfect round pin heads flush with some very expensive micarta. I just wondered how many sets he had ruined and how long it took him to perfect the process. I've been practicing on wood handles and have a long ways to go. Keep up the good work Dale and I'm glad to see your hands are allowing you to get in the shop.

When you look at a knife you may see a couple different rivets on it.
Over the years Camillus used different rivets on different knives. I have some semi-tubular rivets that Wallace Rockwell sent me from the old Camillus factory. I think they used them on a lot of handles. They are round headed rivets with a hollow shaft up about 1/3 the shank. That means when you install the rivet there is less leftover brass to cause the blade to bind. They were quick & easy to install, no spinning & no inside cleanup. I think they were used to pin on the handles to the liner.

When I customize a knife & install a new handle I glue it first, (this seals the back of the handle and keeps moisture from getting in there and causing rot) and then I pin it on. The pins I use are ones I make. I use a length of brass pin stock (brass rod) and clamp it into a drill press vise leaving enough sticking up to make a head, which is about half the diameter of the rod. I put a drop of Ultra Lube gel on the pin and bring the spinner down on the rod. It takes anywhere from 5 to 15 seconds to spin the head. I then flatten the end of the rod on a sander, replace the pin stock in the vise and spin another one.

All the pins I use on a knife are ones I pre-spin a head on one end, including the rocker pin. When I have the knife assembled and I insert the rocker pin I push it through the hole until the head is seated into the handle (I pre-fit the heads to the rocker hole before assembly) and then I cut off the excess pin and spin a head onto the backside of the rocker pin. That is the only pin I typically spin on the knife. There is no need to spin the handle pins in place. It is easier to pre-spin them and then peen over the back and flatten the excess before assembly, than try to spin them on the knife. The same is true of the rocker pin.

I hope this explains why I can get such round pin heads. IMO it is easier, faster and looks better to install the pins with the heads already on them.

Thanks for explaining that Dale. Looks like some of the knife suppliers would sell those kind of rivets. Would be great to experiment with.

I have never seen that type rivets at Jantz or any of the other suppliers.
I imagine there was a rivet company somewhere that sold rivets to Camillus by the thousands or the tens of thousands. I suspect quantity is the key to getting a good price.
If the minimum order was 10,000 per size, we could all split it up and we would still have them to pass on to our grandkids!
I would hope in that quantity they would probably be pennies each, but at just 4 cents each it would be $400 for 10,000.
I think I will keep making mine.

Really nice Dale, a very knife talent you have there.

Thanks Ken, Scott, Phil, Glenn, et al.
I am glad you enjoy it.
I think it looks good in that amber bone with Shetland jigging.
Sometimes it is difficult to imagine what colors would look good on a certain knife.

Does anyone have suggestions for another color on this knife?
I do appreciate the input.

Maybe a nice hunter green?

glennbad wrote:Maybe a nice hunter green?

Great suggestion Glenn, thank you.
I think I need to pick up some, I have some CSB in moss green I think, but I don't think I have hunter green in any jigging pattern.

Sometimes it is helpful to have a different pair of eyes to look through, if you know what I mean.
I appreciate the suggestion!