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Michael Pearce
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Location: Seattle, Wa.
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PostPosted: Tue 30 Aug, 2011 4:19 pm    Post subject: How about a 'Tactical' folding Sax-knife...?         Reply with quote

(This may make Jeroen wish he was dead just so that he could roll over in his grave...)
Years back a friend of mine was over to dinner and challenged me to make a 'tactical sax.' I went him one better and the next time he was over for dinner I presented him with a Tactical Folding Sax... which he bought immediately. Since then I've made a few more, tweaking the design each time until this one. This is a prototype for a possible production version of this knife.


Normally I would make the scales in Textured G-10 but this is a prototype... and the cocobolo is pretty...
Here's a pic of the lock engagement- because some one always asks...


Blade length: 4 inches
OAL (open): 9-1/8 inches
Thickness: 7/16 inch
Weight: 5 ounces
The prototype features a chisel-ground O-1 tool steel blade, stainless fittings, titanium liners and cocobolo scales. Naturally a production version of this knife would include a stainless steel blade, G-10 scales and a pocket clip.
Oh- here's the other side:

Michael 'Tinker' Pearce
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Then one night, as my car was going backwards through a cornfield at 90mph, I had an epiphany...
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Jason Elrod




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PostPosted: Wed 31 Aug, 2011 2:28 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Haven't bought a knife in about 5 years but I'd buy one of these. I like it.
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Ken Speed





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PostPosted: Wed 31 Aug, 2011 5:01 am    Post subject: Re: How about a 'Tactical' folding Sax-knife...?         Reply with quote

Michael,

Thank you for writing, "(This may make Jeroen wish he was dead just so that he could roll over in his grave...)"
I nearly sprayed my computer with coffee when I read that! Jeroen, no offense please, it was just funny.

The folding sax is amazing inasmuch as it is an idea that stems from a roughly 1300 year old prototype and presents itself as such a modern looking and sleek pocket knife. My take on it is you should make two models a big one with g10 grips or whatever but also make a much smaller one with wooden or embellished grips as a "gentleman's" knife.

Thanks again for the laugh!
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Michael Pearce
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PostPosted: Wed 31 Aug, 2011 6:38 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I was actually planning a 3-inch blade version; if it gets much smaller than that the handle doesn't 'work' right in the hand. There was some real temptation to make the scales thicker and carve them but that wasn't appropriate for this particular knife but I like your idea of doing the smaller, embellished version.

Oh yes- no offense intended Jeroen; just a bit of friendly ribbing.

Michael 'Tinker' Pearce
-------------
Then one night, as my car was going backwards through a cornfield at 90mph, I had an epiphany...
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William P




Location: Sydney, Australia
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PostPosted: Wed 31 Aug, 2011 7:41 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

that has a very striking resemblence to my lebendwell pocket knife,
http://www.kingofknives.com/Cutlery/Brands/LE...Knife.html its not as close a resemblence as i thought i remembered but when folded looks quite similar. the shapeof the handle is stainless steel and skeletonised sort of.
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Michael Pearce
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Location: Seattle, Wa.
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PostPosted: Wed 31 Aug, 2011 8:15 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

William P wrote:
that has a very striking resemblence to my lebendwell pocket knife,
http://www.kingofknives.com/Cutlery/Brands/LE...Knife.html its not as close a resemblence as i thought i remembered but when folded looks quite similar. the shapeof the handle is stainless steel and skeletonised sort of.


I can see a bit of resemblance there. I guess great minds think alike... and so do we! Razz

Michael 'Tinker' Pearce
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Then one night, as my car was going backwards through a cornfield at 90mph, I had an epiphany...
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Raymond Deancona





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PostPosted: Wed 31 Aug, 2011 1:58 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Me Want! Me Want! Will this be a regular addition to your tactical folders??
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Michael Pearce
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Location: Seattle, Wa.
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PostPosted: Wed 31 Aug, 2011 8:58 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Raymond Deancona wrote:
Me Want! Me Want! Will this be a regular addition to your tactical folders??


Yes, this will be available as a hand-made custom but the real point is to get this into production.

Michael 'Tinker' Pearce
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Then one night, as my car was going backwards through a cornfield at 90mph, I had an epiphany...
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M. Parrish




Location: Seattle Metropolitan Area
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PostPosted: Wed 31 Aug, 2011 11:11 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I've had the pleasure of handling it and it's a great feeling folder in the hand. Unusual shape yet it fits well!
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Eric W. Norenberg





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PostPosted: Thu 01 Sep, 2011 12:33 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

If this takes off as a production piece, any chance there might be a broken-back version someday?

Actually, ever since I started to appreciate your work in folding knives, I've wanted to see you do a "tactical folding baselard". If you kept the cross and pommel "lobes" short (as in your recent traditional baselards) it might work pretty well. Maybe with a pocket clip?

-Eric
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Michael Pearce
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PostPosted: Thu 01 Sep, 2011 5:07 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Eric W. Norenberg wrote:
If this takes off as a production piece, any chance there might be a broken-back version someday?

Actually, ever since I started to appreciate your work in folding knives, I've wanted to see you do a "tactical folding baselard". If you kept the cross and pommel "lobes" short (as in your recent traditional baselards) it might work pretty well. Maybe with a pocket clip?

-Eric


I might come up with a 'broken-back style but it doesn't go with this handle-shape... baselard... Hmmm...

Michael 'Tinker' Pearce
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Then one night, as my car was going backwards through a cornfield at 90mph, I had an epiphany...
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Ben Sweet




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PostPosted: Thu 01 Sep, 2011 9:12 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Looks great Tinker!
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Ryan Moody




Location: Manitoba
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PostPosted: Thu 01 Sep, 2011 6:11 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Beautiful! Good to see that the thumb stud appears to be reversible for us lefties. I would definitely prefer the wood grain scales though. The shape is very pretty, would love to see how the 3 inch version looks.
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Jean Thibodeau




PostPosted: Thu 01 Sep, 2011 8:03 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Ryan Moody wrote:
Beautiful! Good to see that the thumb stud appears to be reversible for us lefties. I would definitely prefer the wood grain scales though. The shape is very pretty, would love to see how the 3 inch version looks.


Yes reversable stud or a double stud would also be a nice option.

Very nice design. Big Grin Cool

You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Ken Speed





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PostPosted: Fri 02 Sep, 2011 7:09 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Michael,

Yeah, I came back for another look! I have to agree with another writer who said he prefers the wooden scales. The knife is streamlined and sophisticated looking so the wooden grips seem to suit it more than military style grips would.

I noticed the prototype has a chisel grind and I'm wondering why. Is there any benefit to a chisel grind on a knife blade?
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Michael Pearce
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Location: Seattle, Wa.
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PostPosted: Fri 07 Oct, 2011 7:37 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Ken Speed wrote:
Michael,

I noticed the prototype has a chisel grind and I'm wondering why. Is there any benefit to a chisel grind on a knife blade?


I tend to do chisel grinds on all my folders these days. A properly done chisel grind provides an extremely sharp edge and is very strong, cuts well, is simple to do and I've learned to appreciate it from using chisel grind 'Kiridashi' style utility knives in the shop.* When ground to a 'zero-edge' it also does not have the tendency towards 'handedness' that a bevelled chisel grind has- to me if you add an edge bevel to a chisel grind you now have half of a knife blade.

News on the production end- I have met with the production guy, Mikey Vellencamp at Fox Knives USA and we've settled on the final details for production. The good news is that production costs for this knife are less than expected and we are looking at an MSRP of right around $200 US.

I will be posting photos of the final production prototype early next week.

The production knife will feature stainless steel liners, textured G10 scales in Black, Olive Green or Earth Brown, a Sandvik S30V blade, strategically placed grooves to enhance traction on the grip and a pocket clip situated to allow 'tip-up' carry. At this time it seems at least possible that I may offer the option of Cocobolo scales on a VERY limited number of knives (most likely 5 knives-) but these scales will be individually hand-made and will add as much as $100 to the base cost of the knife.

S30V knife steel was developed specifically for the cutlery industry and displays a combination of good corrosion resistance and excellent edge holding ability that make many feel that this is the best steel available for folding knives on the market today.

G10 is a glass-fiber/resin composite- sort of a 'super-fiberglass.' It is impervious to moisture and highly resistant or impervious to common solvents making it an excellent handle material for cutlery applications.

If you are interested in this knife as a distributor or individual feel free to contact me.

*Years back I found myself in the shop needing a knife and- somewhat weirdly- I didn't have one on me. I grabbed a wood-chisel with an angled blade and used it. It worked but the length of the handle made it awkward. The next time this occurred I grabbed an end-cut of heat treated steel (extra length from the end of a tang) and it was the work of about 3-1/2 minutes to grind an angled chisel grind on it, wrap the extra length in athletic tape (as used on tennis rackets, not the medical kind) and back to work. I'm always losing them so over the years I've made several more similar knives. These 'shop' knives have been excellent for slicing leather, paper, shaving a bit of wood now and again, opening boxes etc.

Michael 'Tinker' Pearce
-------------
Then one night, as my car was going backwards through a cornfield at 90mph, I had an epiphany...
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