Friction Folding Knives

Introduction to making a friction folding knife in one day. This one day workshop will help you get started into making pocket knives. Knife design, grinding, heat treating, blade finishes, scale making and sharpening are all covered.

We will show you techniques, tools and hints on how to get started making your own friction folder knives with minimal equipment in one day.

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The course goes from 8am until 5:30pm in one very packed day. 

A friction folder is a simple pocket knives that uses friction and the pressure of your thomb on the back to keep it open. It doesn't have a lock, but is very useul for light everyday use.

The stock removal process makes knives from grinding them out of steel blanks. No forging or hammering is used in the method. It is a great way to get into knifemaking as it needs much less equipment.

After an overview of the day, we select a design for the knife from a number of templates. The design is traced onto the carbon steel blank then profiled using a the grinder.  Then holes in the tang are drilled for the pivot and the knife is tested to make sure the pivot works. Finally the blade bevels are ground in, with the edge ground to about 1mm thick.

Handle scales are selected from a range of timber then milled flat, drilled  for the pivot, stop and spacer. Then the shape is profiled. 

The blade is hardened and tempered before finally grinding the edge down to less than .3mm. Higher grits are used to get a good working finish on the blade.

The handle scales are then shaped for a comfortable fit and then finished before being pinned together with the blade.

A very busy day where you create you own pocket knife from scratch.

Cost - $500 (incl GST)
Cost includes: Tuition, insurance, materials, use of tools, workshop consumables, safety gear.
Need to bring: Lunch, appropriate clothing and covered footwear
Booking in advance is essential

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