Some of the projects that were on my bench today ...



Two casting molds and Barnes handles. One was in for tuning the venting. The other is new. They went out today.



Was a beautiful walk back to the shop after dinner, about 7pm.



One of my clients has been waiting for years, to have me restore a Barnes pocketknife he bought online, and has carried as his daily knife. It had badly cracked bone handles.



I disassembled the knife last week. Removed the cracked scales. I cut bone slabs from cow shin bone. Flattened it. Fitted the new scales in place on the frame.



The knife is Serial Number 108 completed 7-11-79. i made it in Braddock Heights, Maryland. That's the rented home that burned while I was away at a knife show. This was the 9th knife I made there IIRC.

The milled circles are minor upgrades of integral bearing surfaces for the slip joint folder.

Gary

Wow Gary it's amazing to see one of your earlier knives and showing not much wear for a daily carry. That's quality at its best. It must be great for the owner to receive this knife looking like new again.

Looks like the biblical catastrophes are finally giving you a break, weather-wise. Must be a relief.

I've often wondered, why do your mold handles close at the far end, instead of being the "scissor" type?

Geometry Sean.

The accuracy of a mold is very much in the handles. The arms need to pivot flat. The blocks should open and close as flat as possible. Pin and socket wear is minimized by the blocks closing flat and engaging accurately, instead of shearing together because the blocks are so close to the pivot hinge. The traditional rattle/slop closing of molds doesn't suit my needs.

The commercal handles I've used all needed reworking. They needed surface grinding, and tightening. Drilling and tapping. I'd buy them and then start rebuilding them. That's jack.

And so, the young man sat off to design the perfect casting mold handles. With a dead flat heavy pivot hinge. And he labored happily ever after.

Gary

Lead soups on!

They arrive already?

Naw, just getting ready!

Makes sense. I suppose any mis-alignment in the mold blocks would give you excessive flashing and slightly off-center projectiles, neither of which is good for accuracy. Do you ever use locating pins in the blocks themselves? I can't recall seeing any in past photos.

Hi Sean,

All blocks have locating pins. Yes. Always have.

Any "flashing" would mean something is horribly wrong. The mold would be adjusted or designated as ruined.

The only projections after casting may be tiny "whiskers" from the small venting veins surrounding each cavity.

Gary

Is one of them for me ?

After seeing the completed picture of the knife, I was curious how the process of making the scales worked. Thanks for the photos.
I know the guy who gets to carry that knife again will be very happy when it arrives.
It is amazing how well that knife, including the blade, has worn since 1979. Great craftsmanship does matter.

Scott

Hi Scott,
It's always enjoyable to see older work again. I remember working on most of it. Always amazed how much work I've done since.
Good traditional materials and methods yield items that will last a lifetime or more.

Gary