Joe Kertzman - Making a Modern Tactical Folder

Although Allen Elishewitz uses large industrial-type machines in his shop, his knifemaking methods are easy to follow employing simple hand tools.

There are many methods to build a knife and there is no wrong way to do it. You can use anything from simple hand tools to industrial machines. The method I have chosen for readers to follow allows for a high-tech folder to be fashioned with either simple or large industrial-type machines, the latter of which are like the ones I own.

The fancy locking-liner folder that has resulted from this step-by-step instructional is completely handmade. The reason I choose to build all my knives in such a manner is because it gives me, the knifemaker, more flexibility in my production method. It also allows the knife to take on more of an individual and unique appearance.

Keep in mind that, due to space limitations, there are quite a few small steps that I have excluded. I will do my best to mention them but I will concentrate on the most important aspects of making a high-tech locking-liner folder.

For this project, the knife has titanium bolsters, a carbon fiber handle and a damascus blade. The locking-liner folder integrates a classical handle/bolster combination that, to build it, entails an intermediate level of difficulty. What makes the folder more complicated to build than other plain-handle knives is the introduction of the bolsters. The bolsters add just one more aspect to handle construction, and the alignment of the bolsters and handle material must be constantly maintained during the knife assembly.

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 gathering all the knife materials, Allen sprays them with blue layout spray, allowing him to see what he scribes when he begins drawing patterns on the parts.

For each part of the knife, Allen clamps a pattern onto the knife material and scribes its shape onto the material.

When cutting, Allen uses a push-stick to protect his fingers and allow leverage in tight areas.

In a machine that laps the surface of the titanium liners so that they are flat, a Micarta square separates the parts. That way, the parts dont interfere with each other during the lapping process.

These are all the cutout knife parts.

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 linersone 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.

Depending on the tooth per inch, you might want to run a little bit faster when you are cutting thin liner materials. If you do not run the blade faster, you are chancing stripping the teeth off the blade.

When cutting, I use a push-stick to protect my fingers and allow leverage in tight areas. I also wear gloves, mainly to lessen the vibration to my hands.

While the liners are lapping, Allen grinds the blade to the scribed line with a 60-grit belt.

After the blade has been profiled to the scribed line, Allen flattens one side on a disk.

You can tell the difference between the two pairs of liners and blades. The ones on the right side are not perfectly flat and you can tell by the imperfection of the finish on the parts. The parts on the left side are what you want to strive to achieve.

The author uses a vise clamp to attach the blade pattern to the damascus blade.

The pattern allows the author to spot all the holes he will need to drill.

All titanium liners will be placed on my lapping machine. This machine laps the surface of the titanium so it is flat. The reason why you want your liners flat is that you will get a much smoother action and prevent warping of the liners, and thus the stressing of the folder when it is put together.

In the lapping machine, I separate the liners with a Micarta square so they do not interfere with each other. A foam pad is placed on top of the liners and on top of the foam pad is a 20-pound weight. The pad helps distribute the weight evenly on the liners. As the machine rotates, three rings also rotate giving an even and random motion against an abrasive disk.