Mike, Jim Skeleton turned me on to your channel and I spent half the day watching your stuff today. Thanks for all your tips and generosity with your time. There are so many great people in this "knife" community, and you are one of them. I really like your knives and your skill and generosity is evident in those knives. I'm sorta new in this stuff, just a couple of years. I've always loved working with my hands and needed something to do after retiring from a real job. I've turned into a complete knife nut, and with people like you in the "business" it's been easy and fun to get into it. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!!
Hi Mike I'm a knife maker from Perth Australia. Primarily I make fixed blades and just getting into folders. Been following this series since the beginning. Of all the vids i've seen on YT yours are the most detailed and easiest to follow. Really great work, thanks for sharing.
Thank you!! I really try to share what I've learned as clearly as I can so everyone can learn it. I can't wait to see what the next generation of knife makers come up with if I can give them a little head start!
Mike, excellent work so far so good. This is one of best series on RUclips. Thank you for guiding all the people wants to create something. I thank you so much.
A couple of comments on the video: First off, very good job on the production and planning of this. it's very easy to watch and very easy to understand, however, there are a few things that stood out to me personally. First, I'd highly advise against using a flat lock face, because they don't tend to work well across the range of motion of the lockbar. They can be tuned to be perfect in one place, but if they wear over at all, they start to have issues. Basically, your lockbar face travels in a circular path around the lock bar relief, and as such, the lock face should have a comparable radius to match it. I made the transition from flat to radial over a year ago, and have never looked back. It's by far the best setup I've encountered this far. Second, about grinding the lock face too far, your comment about there being nothing to do to fix it but start over is false. If you ground too far, what you can do is heat up the free end of the lock bar nice and hot, then carefully with a hammer forge it slightly thinner. This will lengthen the lock bar a significant amount, and allow you to have another go at lockup. As an added bonus, I've found that forged locks exhibit increased strength, resilience, and wear resistance, and that carbidizing is almost completely unnecessary. All in all though, great video, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that the guys who are just starting out will appreciate what you're doing immensely.
A gold mine of knowledge on your channel!! Thanks for the videos Mike! They're great and I really appreciate the time you take to put them out. I've learned so much.
It's been a little while since I've seen one of your videos here. Thank you for the enjoyable content. You are one of the reasons that I recently started my knife making channel and I would like to thank you for the inspiration to do so and to start making knives in the first place.
Mike, many thanks - really. I am just starting this knife making thing (bug) and you have helped so much. Great videos, inspiring because you share as you progress and you have really helped me a lot. I really appreciate the effort you take in making your videos and sharing!
I've been having all the same issues with the carbodizing. I tried lockbar inserts, but as you pointed out it's very hard to do without special tools so I'm carbodizing at the moment also. If I figure out an easy way to do the inserts I'll let you know. Thanks for the videos I give you lots of cred on my Todd Knife And Tool account
Hey love your vids, extremely detailed. Got a cheap knife because i like the design, and get a bit of lock stick because the liner goes to far, everyone says the screws strip out.. so i dont want to fix it, but if i did take it apart should i weld the grind on the knife and regrind, or peen the liner out longer and have to mess with the detent hole, which could use work anyways...doesnt seem like it's dropping in enough. Some people have pumped the liner back but you still have to possibly deal with buying and tapping new hardware, so i dont want to take apart to just pump the liner out a bit.
Mike have you watched Alic steele forging Damascus? the guy is infectious. Any how thanks for the vid my frame lock has been put on hold bud to my building a 50 ton forge press. I always wait for your videos impatiently admittedly...but I love you man. More vids faster lol
Carbidizing alone will not fix lock stick. Heat treat the lock end before carbidizing (heat to orange, cool down). I definately recommend a concave lock face. You don't want the lock face on a sideways angle but rather a very slight curve with the lock touching as far away from the pivot as possible, about 2-3mm of contact, but NOT the very edge of the lockface (that will bite into the titanium lock causing most stick problems). Buff those lock face edges so they are not sharp. And use a worn 240Grit belt to finish your lock face (before buffing) - any thicker and you will get stick no matter what you do. And definately do it slower with more testing in between - it takes alot of time to get it right, you don't want to go from no locking to 30% lock after one pass because you have no place to adjust the geometry then. Good luck, great videos!
you can pick up the Tung Carb carbodizer on Amazon they are usually in stock and you can get replacement rods for it. As much as I love USA Knifemaker they never have this thing in stock. It's always there on Amazon
Hey Mike, Ive been using 8 degrees for the lock angle and am having some issues with knives unlocking if i hit the back of the blade with some force. Would going to 7 deg help this issue? Great videos btw!!
hey mike, kind of unrelated to the video but i recently got a grizzly drill press for knife making and i was wondering who you think makes a good drill chuck? or in other terms, what is an acceptable amount of runout for making fixed blade knives?
Nice vid, brought up a question on me though: Wouldn't it make a lot of sense to go for lockbar inserts? No stick problem at all and if you screw up grinding your angle on the blade, you can easily adjust your small steel insert or make a new one while minimizing the amount of wasted material.
es la primera vez que veo tu .....canal.. es muy interesante...que4 te parece si lo puedes hacer en español para poder hacerte preguntas ...felicidades ..mucha suerte eres muy talentoso...DESDE ECUADOR ..UN SALUDO AMIGO
This method is easier for someone making it at home without sophisticated equipment. Lock bar inserts are a lot of work and offer only a small benefit if done correctly.
Omg... I learned soo much! thanks as always bro! Just curious if there is anything you can put on the lockface to get rid of the stick like graphite or something instead of all the extra tinkering.
There are a few things like the sharpie trick but I prefer to tinker to make it easier for the customer. This way they know they will get a solid lock that requires no maintenance right out of the box.
Ekim Knives I can definitely appreciate your pursuit of perfection, it just seemed like you had it right on and if you had something to just prevent the friction stick it might stay at a closer tolerance than perhaps tinkering and losing it. I know from just taking them apart and reassembling they seam to have slight differences between doing one screw torqued more than the other at times. But then again I am not dealing with the tight tolerances that you are able to achieve either. The sharpie just sounds like it would make it stick worse, I guess whatever works.
hey Mike , I'm trying to find a grinder like you have that's mounted to ur bench. , what is it called. I can't find anything even close. please and thank you
Great videos, picking up things here and there, but ooooone little thing, the 7,5 degree angle difference between workrest and the platen, I know why there's a difference but I think you should have explained why it's there, or am i half a sleep :-) I think you gonna make it BIG time. Keep up the good work :-)
Anyone looking at a more affordable carbidizer, should just buy a power supply for a $140, and a Dremel engraver. You can use the power supply for anodizing as well as carbidizing. Here's a power supply that will work: www.mpja.com/0-120V-1A-Variable-Benchtop-Power-Supply/productinfo/29312+PS/
I’m on prototype #2 and you have been the single best resource on the whole of the internet. You’re the best, man. Excellent series
Mike, Jim Skeleton turned me on to your channel and I spent half the day watching your stuff today. Thanks for all your tips and generosity with your time. There are so many great people in this "knife" community, and you are one of them. I really like your knives and your skill and generosity is evident in those knives. I'm sorta new in this stuff, just a couple of years. I've always loved working with my hands and needed something to do after retiring from a real job. I've turned into a complete knife nut, and with people like you in the "business" it's been easy and fun to get into it. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!!
These videos are great! Thanks for sharing your process. I’ve found them really helpful
Hi Mike
I'm a knife maker from Perth Australia. Primarily I make fixed blades and just getting into folders. Been following this series since the beginning. Of all the vids i've seen on YT yours are the most detailed and easiest to follow. Really great work, thanks for sharing.
Thank you!! I really try to share what I've learned as clearly as I can so everyone can learn it. I can't wait to see what the next generation of knife makers come up with if I can give them a little head start!
Mike, excellent work so far so good. This is one of best series on RUclips. Thank you for guiding all the people wants to create something. I thank you so much.
This is the best video I have seen on that process.
A couple of comments on the video:
First off, very good job on the production and planning of this. it's very easy to watch and very easy to understand, however, there are a few things that stood out to me personally.
First, I'd highly advise against using a flat lock face, because they don't tend to work well across the range of motion of the lockbar. They can be tuned to be perfect in one place, but if they wear over at all, they start to have issues. Basically, your lockbar face travels in a circular path around the lock bar relief, and as such, the lock face should have a comparable radius to match it. I made the transition from flat to radial over a year ago, and have never looked back. It's by far the best setup I've encountered this far.
Second, about grinding the lock face too far, your comment about there being nothing to do to fix it but start over is false. If you ground too far, what you can do is heat up the free end of the lock bar nice and hot, then carefully with a hammer forge it slightly thinner. This will lengthen the lock bar a significant amount, and allow you to have another go at lockup. As an added bonus, I've found that forged locks exhibit increased strength, resilience, and wear resistance, and that carbidizing is almost completely unnecessary.
All in all though, great video, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that the guys who are just starting out will appreciate what you're doing immensely.
Another nice job Mike! Can't wait for the next installment. -Chris
This series is the best I have seen on youtube!
And i saw a lot of Videos about making frame or liner locks.
Greetings from Germany
A gold mine of knowledge on your channel!! Thanks for the videos Mike! They're great and I really appreciate the time you take to put them out. I've learned so much.
Thank you for watching the videos!! I really appreciate it!
this is so awesome Mike. I get excited every time you put a video out. look forward to the next.
It's been a little while since I've seen one of your videos here. Thank you for the enjoyable content. You are one of the reasons that I recently started my knife making channel and I would like to thank you for the inspiration to do so and to start making knives in the first place.
I can’t afford your knives but I just watched like an hour and a half of you making knives because these are incredible haha
Mike, many thanks - really. I am just starting this knife making thing (bug) and you have helped so much. Great videos, inspiring because you share as you progress and you have really helped me a lot. I really appreciate the effort you take in making your videos and sharing!
You really know your stuff bro. And the video is well made also. Nice job.
i just subbed you because i can see the phenomenal amount of knowledge here, the huge complexity of achieving something simple, thanks .)
Good stuff as always.
Awesome video as usual Mike...
Thank you brother! Nice to see you on here as well!
Finally carbidizing! lol! Great vid Mike.
Lol I was thinking about you when I started carbidizing. I think you requested this video a year ago..Sorry for the massive delay brother
Great work and it's good to see your back with a great video...
Thank you very much for watching!!
Very nice work 👌💯and as always greate video ! 👍
Thank You!
That albatross knife is bad ass looking.
I've been having all the same issues with the carbodizing. I tried lockbar inserts, but as you pointed out it's very hard to do without special tools so I'm carbodizing at the moment also. If I figure out an easy way to do the inserts I'll let you know. Thanks for the videos I give you lots of cred on my Todd Knife And Tool account
I triple heat and carbidize the lock bar. Also if you hit it with a torch after carbidizing it can get rid of lock stick as well.
Enjoyed your explanation of things. Looking forward to more..
Thank you Joe G!!!
Hey love your vids, extremely detailed. Got a cheap knife because i like the design, and get a bit of lock stick because the liner goes to far, everyone says the screws strip out.. so i dont want to fix it, but if i did take it apart should i weld the grind on the knife and regrind, or peen the liner out longer and have to mess with the detent hole, which could use work anyways...doesnt seem like it's dropping in enough. Some people have pumped the liner back but you still have to possibly deal with buying and tapping new hardware, so i dont want to take apart to just pump the liner out a bit.
Mike have you watched Alic steele forging Damascus? the guy is infectious. Any how thanks for the vid my frame lock has been put on hold bud to my building a 50 ton forge press. I always wait for your videos impatiently admittedly...but I love you man. More vids faster lol
Parabéns, muito bom seu trabalho a peça ficou perfeita! !
Great vid man I wish I had your skills and shop haha I love knives and love to hear what you know just wondering why not use a SS lock bar insert?
Carbidizing alone will not fix lock stick. Heat treat the lock end before carbidizing (heat to orange, cool down). I definately recommend a concave lock face. You don't want the lock face on a sideways angle but rather a very slight curve with the lock touching as far away from the pivot as possible, about 2-3mm of contact, but NOT the very edge of the lockface (that will bite into the titanium lock causing most stick problems). Buff those lock face edges so they are not sharp. And use a worn 240Grit belt to finish your lock face (before buffing) - any thicker and you will get stick no matter what you do. And definately do it slower with more testing in between - it takes alot of time to get it right, you don't want to go from no locking to 30% lock after one pass because you have no place to adjust the geometry then. Good luck, great videos!
you can pick up the Tung Carb carbodizer on Amazon they are usually in stock and you can get replacement rods for it. As much as I love USA Knifemaker they never have this thing in stock. It's always there on Amazon
That's excellent to hear. I know quite a few guys trying to track one down. Thank you
Hey Mike, Ive been using 8 degrees for the lock angle and am having some issues with knives unlocking if i hit the back of the blade with some force. Would going to 7 deg help this issue?
Great videos btw!!
great video!
Thank you!
Very nice Video! :)
26:08 Someone is really looking satisfied :-) ,all well deserved. Great job with that knife!
Great work, I also make knifes and a lot of useful. For titanium what tapes vsm or other
Finally!!! Thank you.
Lol sorry for the delay and thank you for watching!!
Grays on 10 k big mike
hey mike, kind of unrelated to the video but i recently got a grizzly drill press for knife making and i was wondering who you think makes a good drill chuck? or in other terms, what is an acceptable amount of runout for making fixed blade knives?
so cool!!!!!
Thank you very much for your great job Sir)))
Do u have a video How you putt ball in that
Nice vid, brought up a question on me though:
Wouldn't it make a lot of sense to go for lockbar inserts? No stick problem at all and if you screw up grinding your angle on the blade, you can easily adjust your small steel insert or make a new one while minimizing the amount of wasted material.
If he had a cnc at the time yeah!
es la primera vez que veo tu .....canal.. es muy interesante...que4 te parece si lo puedes hacer en español para poder hacerte preguntas ...felicidades ..mucha suerte eres muy talentoso...DESDE ECUADOR ..UN SALUDO AMIGO
Very cool young man thanks
Thank you for taking the time to watch!
Is this method preferable to the other method I have seen using an insert on the lock bar?
This method is easier for someone making it at home without sophisticated equipment. Lock bar inserts are a lot of work and offer only a small benefit if done correctly.
Omg... I learned soo much! thanks as always bro! Just curious if there is anything you can put on the lockface to get rid of the stick like graphite or something instead of all the extra tinkering.
There are a few things like the sharpie trick but I prefer to tinker to make it easier for the customer. This way they know they will get a solid lock that requires no maintenance right out of the box.
Ekim Knives I can definitely appreciate your pursuit of perfection, it just seemed like you had it right on and if you had something to just prevent the friction stick it might stay at a closer tolerance than perhaps tinkering and losing it. I know from just taking them apart and reassembling they seam to have slight differences between doing one screw torqued more than the other at times. But then again I am not dealing with the tight tolerances that you are able to achieve either.
The sharpie just sounds like it would make it stick worse, I guess whatever works.
hey Mike , I'm trying to find a grinder like you have that's mounted to ur bench. , what is it called. I can't find anything even close. please and thank you
Great videos, picking up things here and there, but ooooone little thing, the 7,5 degree angle difference between workrest and the platen, I know why there's a difference but I think you should have explained why it's there, or am i half a sleep :-) I think you gonna make it BIG time. Keep up the good work :-)
Super vidéo qui mériterait être traduite en plusieurs langue.
Wish Ontario rat 2 makers would have taken this class on lock up .
I use to have a Schrade Old Timer Mustang liner lock
can I buy that prototype
good stuff! thanks
Smorio si dusu...
Dobro da ti trebalo 13 epizoda za jedan noz.... Ko u svemir da ce da ide
ima vise od trinaest,salju ameri na mesec noz
cool
Wow my fingers are to fat GRATS bro
Would you be willing to sell me one of the knifes you made?
😎
Mikeeeeeeeee where are youuuuuuuuu
Anyone looking at a more affordable carbidizer, should just buy a power supply for a $140, and a Dremel engraver. You can use the power supply for anodizing as well as carbidizing. Here's a power supply that will work: www.mpja.com/0-120V-1A-Variable-Benchtop-Power-Supply/productinfo/29312+PS/
Been watching a lot of other videos I feel like I'm cheating on you...
Brats rather