Afghan Pocket Knife

[prizzim]

A colleague of mine picked this up in Baghram, Afghanistan for me a few weeks ago. It's totally hand-made, with several obvious poor grinds, no maker's mark, and less-than-ideal spring action.

On the plus side, the steel seems like a decent stainless, the fittings and side spacers are brass, and the scales are solid (ie, not reconstituted) Lapis Lazuli.

http://groups.msn.com/tidewaterforge...nw?albumlist=2

Once I get back into the swing of things, and figure out the spring/lock mechanism, I think it would be fun to try and make a copy of this thing and see if I can even improve on it.

Whaddya think?

[Jamey Saunders]

It looks like the locking mechanism is similar to the locking mechanism used in the Italian-style stilletto switchblades. It has some promise, but the origin is what really makes this a special piece.

[prizzim]

Yeah, just bought on the street. I don't even know what they paid for it yet. The lock is a loose piece of brass that when pressed towards the body of the knife, releases the blade under spring power. Most of the time, it makes it fully open, but not always. The blade does not lock in the open position, so some care is required.

But is sure is pretty, in its own sort of way. I can't get over the look of the stone scales.

[Jamey Saunders]

So the mechanism is just like the Italian stillettos.

Here's a link to a discussion we had about autos a while back.

http://ckdforums.com/showthread.php?...e&pagenumber=2

[MongoForge]

Kewl, i love the color of that stone...

A friend of mine donated a couple
knives to some Marines in Afghanistan..
At the very beginning of the fighting
over there...
And one of the Marines sent him
back a cheap Pakistani pocket
knife taken off a dead Taliban...

[Dana Acker]

Neat knife, Chris. Thanks for posting it.

Went back and looked at your Sword of Laban project photos again. I really like that sword. That was a heck of a job. Has it been shot in the film yet--any word? In my book, although only destined for a cameo appearance, it will be the show stealer. The real star.

[prizzim]

Thanks, Dana. Yes, the film has been shot, and they're going to debut the film in Utah on Sept. 12. See the link for dates and availability: http://www.bookofmormonmovie.com/tickets/index.html

It was a heck of a job, especially since I had to get it done in about 1 months time. Didn't nearly do as good a job on handle and hilt as I'd have liked, and the scabbard is absolutely atrocious. I think they tossed that part in the dumpster. But of all the work I put into it, I remember the drawfiling most. 14 straight hours of work with 2 grades of files, all day long. I was real pleased with the final blade, even though it's just a prop. Far too heavy at over 6 pounds, and not heat treated, it doesn't count as a real sword in my mind, but I have the twin piece of stock for the day I decide to make one of my own - properly sized, better handle, and HT for cutting. I left the prop soft so that if they dinged it up, a simple touch-up session with a fine file would take out their errors.

BTW, it isn't just a cameo appearance - the sword plays a rather major role in the beginning of the movie, and in the planned follow-on installments, also has great significance. If they do follow the book closely, then as Nephi puts it, "And I, Nephi, did take the sword of Laban, and after the manner of it did make many swords, lest by any means the people who were now called Lamanites should come upon us and destroy us; for I knew their hatred towards me and my children and those who were called my people." Later in the story, "And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi, to battle against his people. But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the sword of Laban". So as you can see, it doesn't just get its 15 seconds of screen time during the initial beheading of Laban (which is also very very cool) but endures thoughout the story of the Book of Mormon.

The sad thing about the movie is that they're petitioning members in various markets... and won't release it until they have 1000 signups in a given area. If you live in California, Utah, Idaho, or Arizona, you're already getting it in theatres. The rest of us have to wait. I dunno if we're even going to see it here, although it would be nice. Hopefully they'll send me a DVD later on, since I'm in the credits. I sent them some "making of" video I took while doing the work, that they said they'd include.