Ita-Knife (update 1)
I wasn't very much a knife person when I originally bought a bootleg Boker Subcom while browsing DealExtreme. I liked it just because it looked cool (and cute). Weeks later, the knife arrived, and I felt the workmanship on it was so shoddy that I just had to get an authentic one.
So I researched Chad Los Banos' other knives and they all appear to have rugged yet safe and usable designs.
Of course, I had to personalize my knife. And so I did. After experimenting with polypropylene and acrylic, I settled on polycarbonate sheet for its impact resistance and optical clarity. Of course, there is no point to making it transparent if not to have it show something behind, so that's why this post ^^;
Update, 2010-11: I got around to printing on waterproof vinyl. The resolution on it is much improved, as you can see.
I also came up with using some obscure rubber-lined plastic cylinders I salvaged from an inkjet printer to plug up the lanyard holes. This makes the entire knife very slim.
Lexan (polycarbonate) scale. This was the previous state of the knife.
Back of the Wharcom. Frame lock. I removed the clip and added a lanyard for fishing out of the pocket.
Front.
In the absence of a clip, I use the lanyard to also help in opening it single-handedly.
Design B I stole and edited from the album cover for Alstroemeria Records' Fragment Reactions.
My first scale, a polypropylene prototype. Here you can see the modding potential. You can pretty much use any sufficiently dense material and rely on the steel backplate to keep the knife still functioning safely.
Tools, and original scales. I found and used an ancient VHS cassette case. I'm actually only halfway certain it's made of polypropylene :X
Not bad for a first scale?
But I found the translucency not transparent enough, so I disqualified this material.
Polypropylene has fuzzy edges that you can pick away at indefinitely.
Before settling on polycarbonate, I tried acrylic. It appears fine but is too brittle, and is a bit more prone to scratching. Stress-induced cracks begin to appear at screwholes. All of this I knew at the time but I didn't mind the Dremel practice ^^;
i love it! ive been using my Ka-Bar for the outdoors cuz it gets the job done while camping and treking but its alittle too big.
Thanks!
Apparently there's a Ka-Bar in this house but it's a rusty relic. The other knives I have are just part of multitools...
that looks awesome
what did you print it on? is it water proof? what happens when you take your knife camping and it gets wet?
That's an issue, although I mostly use this knife for opening packages.
I will have to try it on some waterproof paper. It's currently inkjet printed on typical paper and coated with lacquer, which doesn't do anything at the edges, and is probably too thin to make a difference.
I have a feeling that these sorts of knives are high illegal to import into Australia which is a shame, since I'be been looking for a practical knife.
That sucks. I'm fairly certain that work-related carry is allowed here, though otherwise I'm uncertain about local knife law specifics.
However, most would agree that many knife laws are dumb. In fact one of the reasons why the CLB Subcom series is so popular is because the blades are very short, so making them "legal in most municipalities."
I like to think of the Wharcom as a very sturdy box cutter ^^;
They even make "tactical" box cutters that operate like folding knives...