Folding Pen Knife
For today, a rare one. Bob did not make many of these, as they weren't really well known. But when he sent me pictures of the first one he finished, I ordered one in this configuration as a birthday present for myself. This is Bob's Folding Pen Knife, Medium size, with Ti scales in full Rounded Treatment, frame lock.
And now for the details. OAL 7.25" open, 4.25" closed. BL is 3.25", .125" thick. This clip has an interesting story. It's made this way because Bob and I were discussing ways to carry the knife in the open without drawing too much attention. So the idea was inspired by Chris Reeve's Mnandi clip, where it could easily have passed as a pen. When I carried this, I usually had it clipped in between my shirt's placket. So with only the end and the clip exposed, you wouldn't have thought this was a knife.
A picture of the file work at the lock bar release area. Not perfect, but when you've done as much work on the knife at this stage, it's fine.
The trademark Chinaman's Hat pivot treatment. Which Bob hand turned on the lathe.
The raised backspacer. Which surprised me. Because the thickness is only .125". But typical of Bob, if you ordered the Rounded Treatment, you get the raised backspaced.
And a parting shot of the crisp logo etch in between the opening cutout, and another one of Bob's trademarks: the deep nail nick. Just one. And while you wouldn't think it would give you much in terms of traction, you can get enough of the fleshy part of your thumb in there for one-handed opening. Works amazingly well, without ruining the clean lines of the blade.
And in a case of proving Bob was just a maker, he wasn't entirely happy with the way this one turned out. What he was shooting for:
And the end result:
I would have never known if he didn't tell me. But the lock geometry changed while it was being put together, and he missed it by that much. I'm still happy with the knife.
I got lucky with this one, aside from being the only one I know of in this configuration, this one has a very crisp logo etch. I'm sure Bob was cursing me out under his breath when he was making this one, as the Ti scale are not thick scales, but standard .125" thickness.
And now for the details. OAL 7.25" open, 4.25" closed. BL is 3.25", .125" thick. This clip has an interesting story. It's made this way because Bob and I were discussing ways to carry the knife in the open without drawing too much attention. So the idea was inspired by Chris Reeve's Mnandi clip, where it could easily have passed as a pen. When I carried this, I usually had it clipped in between my shirt's placket. So with only the end and the clip exposed, you wouldn't have thought this was a knife.
A picture of the file work at the lock bar release area. Not perfect, but when you've done as much work on the knife at this stage, it's fine.
The trademark Chinaman's Hat pivot treatment. Which Bob hand turned on the lathe.
The raised backspacer. Which surprised me. Because the thickness is only .125". But typical of Bob, if you ordered the Rounded Treatment, you get the raised backspaced.
And a parting shot of the crisp logo etch in between the opening cutout, and another one of Bob's trademarks: the deep nail nick. Just one. And while you wouldn't think it would give you much in terms of traction, you can get enough of the fleshy part of your thumb in there for one-handed opening. Works amazingly well, without ruining the clean lines of the blade.
And in a case of proving Bob was just a maker, he wasn't entirely happy with the way this one turned out. What he was shooting for:
And the end result:
I would have never known if he didn't tell me. But the lock geometry changed while it was being put together, and he missed it by that much. I'm still happy with the knife.
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