All About Pocket Knives

Hey guys,
I'm wanting to try to make my first folding knife, one simular to Bose's backpocket knife, but with a few small differences (single blade). My question is what would be the best material to use for a backspring? I would like to have a nice snap. I'm a tool & die maker by trade, and have alot of experience with many tool steels. I'm afraid D-2 would break if rockwell is too high. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

any carbon tool steel will do. 1095, O1, L6 ect. fit, spring design and temper are more of a factor to a good strong action rather than type of steel. I would go with O1 if it were me drawn back to a purple or dark blue.

http://www.chriscrawfordknives.com/CCK/ ... _Tutorial/

this is a great tutorial available on line, care of Chris Crawford.

also, http://www.engnath.com/ (go to Manual)

has some excellent commentary on knife making by, Bob Engath. His estate has kindly left his "manual" posted on the web for all to learn from.

Jaye

Thanks guys, I appreciate your help. If it don't turn out too bad I'll post a pic. Thanks again!

Post a picture regardless of how it turns out! It's always great to see other people's creations.

j

O-1 is good because if you screw it up as I have done with 1 or 2 OK OK more than that. But O-1 is forgiving, you can re-heat treat it. But 1095 is the cheapest of the bunch as is 1080/1084.

The best and cheapest way is to get old used Nicholson files (1095). I must have about 50 to 60 that I have annealed in the woodstove and let them cool slowly in the ashes. That's how we heat the house, SO it's kinda like doing it for free. I need to straighten one out, a large piece of firewood kinda bent it.

How I annealed the files is not my idea, some one did that in his woodstove last year, should be real soft by now.

I have a few.If you think you can use one send a pm,as you can see they have quite an arch to them,are about 1/8'' thick,and 4 3/8'' long and,I believe heat treated.There are two smaller straiter ones,about 3/32''thick and 3-3/4''long,one maybe HT,the other maybe not.
Greg

Hi Caddyman,

If you can sketch the spring you're wanting, I may have something you can fit to shape - I bought a 5-gallon bucket of springs, years ago. Lots of different patterns. If you could grind it to shape, it would be a bunch easier than HT and tempering a blank...

Whatever the case - if you're gonna make a spring, match the steel to the blade, is my advice.

G'luck,
JR

Hey guys,
Not had the computer on since Fri. night. All ideas greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the vote of confidence Diligence, I have a 4" blade fillet knife
nearing completion (for those tasty Cumberland River Rainbows and Browns). I'll post a pic when finished.
Hukk, great file idea. I have a few of 'em in my toolbox at work, (I would have never thought of that) Thanks!
Greg & Ringmaster, those are options that I will leave on the table. The blade will be D-2, that's why I mentioned D-2 (backspring) in the original post. Thanks.
This is my favorite forum, because of guys like ya'll.