Creating a folding knife adds a level of complexity and precision to knife making, and our course makes this achievable by anyone. Learn about some of the common mechanisms used in locking and non-locking folding knives before beginning the process of making your own single blade slip joint folder.
This course is taught by Alistair Phillips, the first Australian to ever design a production folding knife for Spyderco.
The course goes from Friday night 7pm until 9:30pm and Saturday and Sunday 8am until 5:30pm, a very packed weekend.
Friday night we will go over the various mechanisms used in folding knives before delving in depth into the working of a slip joint folding knife. Then we will choose a pattern and layout the parts and drill our pivot holes ready for fitting and grinding on Saturday.
Saturday begins with the shaping of our spring, followed by fitting the tang to the spring we have just made. Once the action of the knife is done we will grind the bevels of the blade and clean them up ready for Heat treatment. Heat Treatment is the last thing we do before calling it a day.
Sunday we will set the pre-tension on our knives and assemble them for the first time and feel them in action. Then we will shape our handle and prepare and shape our handle scales ready for final assembly. At this point we can do any final adjustments to our spring tension for a nice walk and talk. The last thing we do before assembling our knives is to clean up the blade and then we will pin the knife together. After a final clean up of the pins and polishing the handle we are done.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable course that sees you create something amazing that you can carry and use everyday.
Cost includes: Tuition, insurance, materials, use of tools, workshop consumables, safety gear.
Need to bring: Lunch, appropriate clothing and covered footwear
Course Dates
Slip Joint Folding Knives
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