After 3 months' hardwork, it is finally done.
Introducing the M1911 Folding Knife! :rock:
The idea is standard 1911 bushing, screws and grip panels, so I can actually customize the knife according to my mood of the day. But it looks quite nice no matter what kind of grips I put on it.
Here is the story behind this special project:
I live in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I came up with the idea some time ago when I was wondering what kind of knife I want to carry. Got to have a knife with the .45 grips. I started sketches, drawings, and then prototyping.
At the same time I ran a search online and found out that there were other people who had done this before (e.g. search for "Gene Baskett" in Google). But I believed I could make something better than those existing designs.
Prototyping went pretty well, and I was happy with how the locking mechanism worked. Showed it to some knife nuts, and I was told that I needed to use a good blade steel. I ordered some 440C, and also some CPM S30V from Crucible.
In September 2009 I tried and ran a trial production in a friend's workshop in South China. I flew over there with the steel, and stayed there to make the knives. Blade hardening was done according to Crucible's heat treatment guide, so no problems there. Steel cutting, machining and grinding were all pretty easy. However I went into a lot of problems in making the standard 1911 screws and screw bushings, because it was a very special tap specs that nobody else uses. I have a couple sets of M1911-A1 drawings, but without the specialty taps (to create the threads) I couldn't make them right. Many attempts later, I ordered the taps from Brownells and Midway USA, and was finally able to make correct threads that are compatible with standard 1911 screws and screw bushings.
In 2010, I have been working hard on moving production back to Canada. I make about 50 - 60 knives every time, offering a mixture of blade steel (S30V and 440C), and an assortment of wood and G10 grips. I hope to see how 1911 owners respond to it, and will decide whether I will continue and make some more.
Introducing the M1911 Folding Knife! :rock:
The idea is standard 1911 bushing, screws and grip panels, so I can actually customize the knife according to my mood of the day. But it looks quite nice no matter what kind of grips I put on it.
Here is the story behind this special project:
I live in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I came up with the idea some time ago when I was wondering what kind of knife I want to carry. Got to have a knife with the .45 grips. I started sketches, drawings, and then prototyping.
At the same time I ran a search online and found out that there were other people who had done this before (e.g. search for "Gene Baskett" in Google). But I believed I could make something better than those existing designs.
Prototyping went pretty well, and I was happy with how the locking mechanism worked. Showed it to some knife nuts, and I was told that I needed to use a good blade steel. I ordered some 440C, and also some CPM S30V from Crucible.
In September 2009 I tried and ran a trial production in a friend's workshop in South China. I flew over there with the steel, and stayed there to make the knives. Blade hardening was done according to Crucible's heat treatment guide, so no problems there. Steel cutting, machining and grinding were all pretty easy. However I went into a lot of problems in making the standard 1911 screws and screw bushings, because it was a very special tap specs that nobody else uses. I have a couple sets of M1911-A1 drawings, but without the specialty taps (to create the threads) I couldn't make them right. Many attempts later, I ordered the taps from Brownells and Midway USA, and was finally able to make correct threads that are compatible with standard 1911 screws and screw bushings.
In 2010, I have been working hard on moving production back to Canada. I make about 50 - 60 knives every time, offering a mixture of blade steel (S30V and 440C), and an assortment of wood and G10 grips. I hope to see how 1911 owners respond to it, and will decide whether I will continue and make some more.