file work

[TheClash]

with the kits that come from knifekits.com can you do file work on them? or is it too hard or will it ruin them because they have been cryotreated?? sorry if this is a silly question..

[SharpByCoop]

.... only silly answers.

I used a rotary grinder and stones to do filework on the hardened blades. Others have sacrificed a file to do them. More work, yes, but achievable.

The optional backspines are soft steel. Go to town....

Coop

[skippydm]

yes it is possible

i am doing a vinework pattern on an SG4 tang at the moment, it is hard work and takes a while to do, i am using files that i bought from Knifekits.com

[Alberto]

You can also use carbide burrs and a Dremel,or diamond coated burrs,and files too!!(diamond coated jewelers files)(or normal ones that don't last too long!!)
Regards:Alberto

[TheClash]

thanks all......i am thinking some simple file work can really add a custom look to a kit knife.......maybe i will have to practice on an old old knife first

[skippydm]

not the best photography but this is the filework that i was doing this morning, i finished it off just after the picture was taken... yes i was in shorts but thats what central heating is for



all hand filed, so got pretty sore fingers now, the line was a guide as for how far to file

ps: this was my first attempt at doing any sort of filework and its the first knife i have ever tried to make

[Osprey Guy]

I think it's safe to say that in this forum, fileworking kit knives has been the norm, not the exception. It would be my guess that most of the kit knives that have been posted here over the years have been fileworked to varying degrees. It might be just the backspine, or just the liners,...more often a combination of both.

Do a search and you should be able to find hundreds and hundreds of photos of fileworked kit knives.

I'll start you off with a couple of pics of kit knives I made years ago:





Here are some pics of another GX6. I had forgotten all about this one and just came across the photos last night. My filework on this one was kinda ambitious.







I thought maybe I better show you one with a much simpler pattern. Here's another knife that I had forgotten about...Found the pics last night. This was one of my earliest kits. The filework could have been a lot more precise (I was new at this)...But I think the pattern is still interesting.







Hope that helps to get you started....

Dennis

[TheClash]

thanks dennis and i have looked at many of those...but most of them seemed to be the spine of lockers..and i wasn't sure..for a kit....if the spine was different on a kit knife than the while piece on a fixed blade kit...hope that made sense.....hahaha...beautiful work btw...

[Osprey Guy]

Ah, I see know what you were getting at...

Let me first explain that a "Kit Knife" can be either a folder OR a fixed blade. And yes there can most definitely be a difference between trying to filework a backspine, that may or may not be heat-treated vs the spine of a fixed blade, which will most certainly be heat-treated, and possibly cryo-treated.

While the spine of fixed blade might be hardened, it can still be fileworked. You can use some of the methods described earlier...rotary tool, diamond files, etc.... Or if you're feeling real adventurous you could 1/2 anneal the backspine in order to soften it a bit.

Clamp the handle area of the blade into a large vise. To better protect it from heat it would help a lot if you could sandwich it between two fairly thick (1/16" or more) pieces of brass or copper in order to help draw any heat away from the rest of the blade. Allow only the very top part of the spine (the area to be fileworked) to peak above the sandwiched/clamped part of the blade. Turn the lights down very low, almost dark, and using a torch (propane will work) heat the exposed area using a back-and-forth motion with the flame, until the backspine is a dull red. Allow that to cool and the spine should now be "soft" enough to filework more easily. Whatever you do, be careful that you don't allow the heat to creep up toward the blade, or you'll ruin the heat treat. You might even try wrapping the blade with a damp cloth before using the torch...or you might try locating a "heat sink" paste, that's made especially for blocking heat. I have some called "Thermo-Trap"...but I don't recall where I got it. Any good plumber's supply should carry it.

Have fun!

Dennis

[Osprey Guy]

Skippydm-

I almost missed your posted photo...

Looks like you're off to a good start. I can't see it that clearly, but if you're doing a vine let me make this suggestion. Always make sure that the primary "trunk" maintains the same thickness throughout...especially around the "buds"/"branches" where there's often a tendency to alter the thickness to accomodate the cut. Also, keep in mind that as you would find in nature, branches are always smaller in diameter than the trunk, never as thick and certainly never thicker. Also, not that you've done this (I can't tell from your soft focus photo), no two branches ever sprout from the same spot, they always alternate from different areas of the trunk. When they're done really well, the very best vine filework patterns tend to be light and delicate-looking....no "heavy" trunks or branches.

Keep up the good work. More pics!!!

Dennis

[TheClash]

dennis, great advice...sorry i thought i mentioned that i was going to build the modern skinner kit from knifekits.com....my bad. some great advice though and i think i will give it a try.

just a question to those skilled at file work....what would be the easiest ( read hardest to really screw up) design to do? i like the vine...but i am worried that if i don't get it right then it will ruin the look of the whole knife. is there a really simple design that is hard to screw up...but that will really add an extra look of customization to the knife?


dennis you are a wealth of knowledge, thanks so much

[Osprey Guy]

Before you run the risk of "screwing up"...it's really important that you log in some practice time. Any home improvement/hardware store will sell 1/8" bars of mild steel by the foot....usually no more than a $1 buck a foot. Buy a couple of feet and let 'er rip!

You should be able to pretty much figure out any pattern just by looking at it, and thinking how it was done. Carefull mark off your practice bar using a fine marker (such as a Sharpie). DO NOT TRY TO EYEBALL YOUR MEASUREMENTS. This is where so many guys go wrong. You only need to be off by a hair to have a pattern turn out looking like crap.

Practice, practice, practice...and when you feel you're ready to filework that blade, it's gonna look great!!!

Good luck!

Dennis

[TheClash]

good advice on the steel..i will have to do that. i had planned to practice on an old knife...bt now i am thinking i might try to restore that knife....again thanks for the help.

[skippydm]

thanks for the advice dennis, it was just a quick picture so its not in the best focus, i am going to thin it down quite a bit perhaps even try to taper it as it gets away from the base, just need to know what i am going to do with the bolster as i am unsure whether to curve the base of the bolster of leave it flat, as i am going to make a line across (a faint one) so it liikes as tho the bolster wraps around the tang. well thats what i am hoping for