How to Make a High-Tech Folder

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How to Make a High-Tech Folder

Before a knifemaker begins fashioning a knife, he or she needs to select the materials from which it will be built. The blade can be damascus or plain stainless steel; the handle could be manmade or natural.

Whatever the materials are, they need to be gathered for the beginning of the project, and upon choosing the materials, the maker can mentally picture what the knife will look like. Colors, textures and patterns play a big role in the appearance of the final product.

In this case, the bolsters are .100-inch-thick titanium, the handle material is .125-inch-thick carbon fiber, the black G-10 spacer is .150-inch thick, the liners are .050-inch-thick titanium and the blade material is .125-inch-thick damascus.

I gather all my materials and put the titanium and steel on a piece of cardboard. Then I take blue layout spray and I spray them, allowing me to see what I scribe when I begin drawing patterns on them.

After the layout spray is dried, I take a vise clamp and I clamp my pattern onto the .050-inch-thick liner material. With a carbide-tip scribe, I trace the pattern of my handle onto the titanium.

For the knife, you will need two liners—one is the lock side and one is the opposite side. Then you want to scribe your bolsters. Remember you also need two bolsters, one for the left and one for the right side of the knife. You want to clamp your blade pattern onto your damascus bar and then scribe out the pattern of the blade. Continue this process for each part of the knife.

Once all your parts have been scribed, you are ready to cut them out. Remember to always wear safety glasses and hearing protection when operating a band saw. Make sure you run the band saw at the correct speed for the material you are cutting. For example, you want to run your band saw faster when you are cutting your handle material, slower when you are cutting your blade material and thicker titanium.


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