Slipjoint Folder Pin Placement 

Thanks Alan!

If you ever get time to make a video of the pitfalls in designing a slip joint folder template, I’d love to see it👍👍

Thanks Alan! i know the videos are kind of piecemeal. I get busy finishing orders and don’t always have time to slow down and record what I’m doing. If you have any recommendations for video topics I’d love to hear them.

J Wilson Handmade Knives thanks. I’d been keen to see the difference between heat treating the spring vs the blade. The time & process. Thanks again for the great videos!

Alan Mills that’s a good idea for a video. Just as an fyi- i’m using AEBL stainless. The heat treat is the same. 1725°F for a twenty minute soak and a quick plate quench. then 1950° for a ten minute soak and plate quench. -> Cryo treatment. -> Then the blade is tempered at 350°F for two hours and the spring is tempered at 1000°F for two hours.

J Wilson Handmade Knives Brlliant. Thanks for that-very helpful👍🏻😀

TheBeStLife i feel your pain! I’ve done it your way, too. Each way works, and each way has its own set of pitfalls. I think the key is to settle on a single method that is at least repeatable so that we know which potential hazards to look out for.

Andy Brocklehurst that measurement can be completely arbitrary. About the middle of the spring’s length looks good for the sake of balance, but it’s totally up to you. Obviously the farther away from then pivot, the less spring tension you will end up with.

i generally use 410, 416 stainless. I use the same for my bolsters.

@@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760 thanks buddy

You don't really need to calculate the distance from a spring design perspective. There is no "correct" place to put it. The central spring pin is usually going to end up somewhere around the middle of the knife, or at the apex of a curve. You want enough length between the central pin and the pivot to allow the spring to flex without undue strain. You also want enough spring length between the central pin and the place where the blade kick will rest to allow room to relieve the spring some if the spring tension is too strong. Mark where the blade's kick contacts the spring before you start grinding any relief. It's very easy to grind too high so that the kick falls into the hole and ruins everything. In case I misunderstood the question: If you are asking how to calculate the distance so that you can lay out the holes in the spring and the liners- you don't lay out those holes by measurement at all. It all starts with the pivot pin hole. You will already have drilled the pivot pin hole in the blade. This hole is the zero point for all other measurements / hole locations. Take both pieces of your liner material and stack them. Lay the blade on top and drill your pivot pin hole in the liners through pivot pin hole in the blade. Now you have a pin going down through the blade and both liners. Keep the pin in the hole. Then you lay out the spring (with no holes in it anywhere) engaged with the blade. Clamp everything down to the liners so that the blade and spring stay engaged as thought the knife were assembled. Drill the hole for the central pin through your spring and liners all at once. The final hole in the bottom of the knife is what sets the tension, which is why it's the last hole you drill.

refer to my video on "setting the spring tension" for a much better explanation. Thank you for watching!

Many thanks cleared that up nicely 👍👍thanks for sharing , most appreciated

The template for this knife is found in a great book called "Slipjoints - My Way" by Don Robinson. It is a wonderful book and available on Amazon.

@@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760 wow thank you ;-)

there is no need to. You’re going to clamp the spring down and drill the hole through the spring and liners at the same time. That hole can be anywhere you want it. The blade and liners will already have the pivot hole drilled, so that is already fixed. Put your pivot pin in. All you have to do then is engage the spring to the blade, clamp it in place and drill it. The last hole at the bottom comes much later when you set the spring tension.