Stuff From Knifekits.com=> Utility Balisong

[HAKViking]

Finally I have now finished my 2nd knife! But before we go into details, I better highlight that even if this is only my 2nd knife, I have a mechanical engineering background- which for sure helped in this project.

I designed and made what I call a Utility Balisong, since I like the concept of the Balisong. Very safe and will not close on you fingers when you use it (unlike one factory folder I have). But this knife kind of looks more like an ordinary folder. Now I have to learn some basic safe flipping.

The only power tools I have used are a $50 mini-bench drill (made in China) and a Dremmel machine. The blade was grinded by hand. I bought all the materials from knifekits.com- except for the blade and liner materials.

The blade is 3.5? long, .13? thick and made of Talonite. The liners are made of .10? thick titanium. The handle material is carbon fiber. As you can see of the below pictures, the locking latch is not of the traditional design and therefore gives you several options how you can manipulate the latch and lock the knife. It?s a sturdy design and the weight is 6.2 oz (183 grams).

Since I used the ?? pivot barrels, I had to take the .500 OD X .197 ID X .02 phosphorous-bronze washers, and drilled them to fit the ?? pivots. As I mentioned- I bought everything from Knifekits.com, except for the Talonite and the Titanium sheets. Great selection of knife making supplies and it?s getting better and better!

Here are some pictures. Not the best quality since I took the pictures with my mobile phone- but should be ok.



















The blade is scary sharp and did a good job in the kitchen yesterday. What do you think? I must admit that I am rather satisfied with the result.

Regards,

HV

[balibalistic]

Satisfied.....that is outstanding!

[Osprey Guy]

That is a wonderful knife!

Gee there's a lot to like about this...

The way the handles fit in the open position...is way cool...
The great grip you created with the cutout in the handle working with the guard on the tang...smart.
And I really dig the latch...both the choice of material and the shape.
You nailed the fit of the blade inside the handles...most impressive.
But then it's all quite impressive.

Before you brought this to life it's obvious that it was thoroughly thought out on the drawing board.

You've got serious skills!!! If you ever decide to get into knifemaking full-time....you'll have a heck of a future!

If this is your second...can't wait to see what you'll bring us next.



Dennis Greenbaum

[HAKViking]

Thank you balibalistic and Dennis!!! Wow- that great feedback is really encouraging!!! Thank you so much!!!

Exact- the design was thoroughly thought out on the drawing board. I designed the knife on a PC using a CAD program. Then I made cardboard mock-ups and adjusted the design until I was satisfied.

Yes, it?s my 2nd knife. Did one test blade earlier for testing the manual grinding, but never made the knife. So this is my 2nd completed knife. Before every step in the making of this knife, I thought carefully though the steps and sometimes did some trial & error on scrap pieces. That was very helpful in order to make sure the knife turned out as it did.

Thanks and Regards!

HV

[Xer0]

Nice! The only thing I don't understand is why you have a forward pin. The bottom one I understand, it positions and keeps the blade tighter when open as it looks to lock into the handles. The forward one does not seem to do anything on your design.

[HAKViking]

Originally Posted by Xer0

Nice! The only thing I don't understand is why you have a forward pin. The bottom one I understand, it positions and keeps the blade tighter when open as it looks to lock into the handles. The forward one does not seem to do anything on your design.

Hi Xer0! Thanks! The forward locking pin is simply there to keep the blade secured and in place when the knife is closed. If I didn't have this pin, the blade would wiggle back and forth, even if the latch is closed, and expose the edge- not good. This by the way is a standard design in most balis. There are other ways to solve this, but the forward stop pin is a very common design.

Regards,

HV

[Xer0]

OK. I know it works with regular bali's, but on your design it didn't look like it was touching the handles when closed. Hard to tell by the photos. Still a great looking knife!

[Darrel Ralph]

Nice work.

[HAKViking]

Xer0: Thank you! The forward pin (closets to the edge), does touch the handles when the knife is closed. When the knife is open, this pin has then temporally no function.

Darrel Ralph: Thank you very much! Means a lot to me!

Thanks and Regards,

HV