First attempt at a friction folder. Still only doing stock removal blades but Iam getting a lot of practice heat treating. This one is 1084 steel with a zebra wood handle. Basically designed it around the last little end piece of some bar stock I had. I wanted to leave the colour from tempering on the blade but I lost most of the really cool blue when I sharpened it.
love it. I made one friction folder just to see. It turned out okay but nowhere near as good as yours looks. I have lots of "fudged" bits on mine. Still works and is super sharp though. What's your pin there? Is it a bolt or a screw with the slot sanded off? Also, do you feel that the metal liners are necessary? I didn't use them in mine either but I'm a bit nervous about using it and putting too much force into my cuts. I feel like it may explode the handle or something. Lots of stress on that one pin.
The pivot pin is an aluminum chicago screw (aka a sex bolt) that I got for 2 bucks at lowes and just polished it up. The side in the pictures has a rough bottom to prevent it from turning and the other side has a flat head slot in it. For the stop post inside it I used 1/8 inch acrylic rod so that i could fudge it a bit. Good thing cuz it ended up slightly crooked and i was able to fit a tiny file and take off the high corner. As for the metal liners since i was using scraps I had laying around for everything I just skipped them. The blade is slightly thicker then the tail on the other end so my thumb keeps it open and a slight pressure fit from the wood scales keeps it from opening in my pocket. It probably will wear out over time and be a bit loose but other then the 2 bucks for the chicago screws it was all stuff I had kicking around the shop.
Metal liners will add some lateral stability on the pivot. But, providing you're not using the thing as a pry-bar or screwdriver, it should be fine.
