Bryan Report post Posted December 9, 2010 Well, I've done it. After a few months of trial & error, I've finished my first swivel knife! Here's the skinny: It has a solid copper barrel (blasted finish), double ball bearing action, stainless yoke & stem & press fitted Henley blade. That's right, this knife does not have a set screw. It is nice & clean all the way around. I bought a quality blade so I will not be changing it. This thing is super smooth! I can't wait to use it. Hope you guys like it. -Bryan BW Hand Tooled Leather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
builderofstuff Report post Posted December 9, 2010 I do quite a bit of machining and I thought it would be fun to make a swivel knife, but I've never attempted it. I like the one you made though, very nice. Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bevan Report post Posted December 9, 2010 Gday Bryan That tool looks very nicely made mate , have you every thought about making a few to sell to some of us other LWs ?? I am in the market for 1 or 2 of them if you are interested in making a few PM me if you want Cheers Bevan www.bwrwhips.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mugwump Report post Posted December 9, 2010 that looks great and very well constructed, beautiful, and unique!!!... are you going to clear-coat it? or leave it 'in the raw' to patina? also... ...i used to to have copper acoustic and bass strings, they would sound fantastic (when fresh/new-very loud, clear and 'piano-like'), but had an issue with them causing my fingertips to blacken where they came in contact, and both the string and hands started smelling like you've been holding a handful or two of pennies in your hand throughout the summer... that wouldn't wash out/off immediately... so... two roundabout questions, does this have any issues like that? and second, did you make it for personal use, or are you planning on offering them up for sale? take care, happy carving.... eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sheridanman Report post Posted December 9, 2010 hi Bryan i really like the knife you made. excellent workmanship. how did you fabricate the ball bearing action? i am really curious about how my knife works as i don't have the courage to open it up and see how the ball bearing works. did you get the original from a stock swivel knife or you made your own yoke and ball bearing assembly? hope you take time to maybe think of turning your knife making into a small biz to cater to some of us here at LW. its just beautiful! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King's X Report post Posted December 9, 2010 very nice work. I like the copper finish. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted December 9, 2010 but had an issue with them causing my fingertips to blacken where they came in contact, and both the string and hands started smelling like you've been holding a handful or two of pennies in your hand throughout the summer... that wouldn't wash out/off immediately... This was my thought when I read the part about you using copper to make it. That your hands woudl soon be black and they would stink. Your workmanship looks good (very good), nickel silver would likely been a better metal choice of metal though. Aaron Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bryan Report post Posted December 10, 2010 First, thank you all so much for the kind words! I am really excited about this & your comments are encouraging. To answer some questions: mugwump, no plans to clear coat. The copper is sort of an experiment. I'm curious to see how it will look after some use & also wanted to try a knife with some extra weight to it. sheridanman, I purchased the ball bearings from an industrial supply. The nicest knife I own is a Barry King & it has one single ball. Other than that I have absolutely no idea how other knives are built so this is just what I came up with & I think it is a solid design. Simple, clean & functional. I would love to get a few of these out to some of you for testing. Any one interested please send a pm & I'll get a list going. Here are two more knives I finished today. One in brass & one in magnesium. The magnesium barrel is incredibly light weight! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bkingery Report post Posted December 10, 2010 Very coool, I sent you a p.m. Bryan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gary jackson Report post Posted December 14, 2010 First, thank you all so much for the kind words! I am really excited about this & your comments are encouraging. To answer some questions: mugwump, no plans to clear coat. The copper is sort of an experiment. I'm curious to see how it will look after some use & also wanted to try a knife with some extra weight to it. sheridanman, I purchased the ball bearings from an industrial supply. The nicest knife I own is a Barry King & it has one single ball. Other than that I have absolutely no idea how other knives are built so this is just what I came up with & I think it is a solid design. Simple, clean & functional. I would love to get a few of these out to some of you for testing. Any one interested please send a pm & I'll get a list going. Here are two more knives I finished today. One in brass & one in magnesium. The magnesium barrel is incredibly light weight! That brass knife is primo and I imagine it is weightier to the grip. Superb effort. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites