This
tutorial will show you how I make a slip joint pocketknife
step by step. I don’t have any special equipment
such as milling machines or surface grinders, so the
knife in this tutorial should be able to be made in any
standard knife shop. If you don’t have some of
the tools that I’m using, be creative. Almost every
step could be done in a way other than the way I do it.
The methods that I use here have come form a combination
of other makers, books, discussion forums, and trial
and error.
A Note About Safety: The primary purpose of this tutorial
is to demonstrate how I go about making a slip joint
pocketknife. It is NOT a lesson on shop safety. It
is assumed that the reader already knows basic knife
shop safety. If not, please do not attempt this project.
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(1) 
OK, Lets get started. I will be using the following
material: a 1/32 inch brass sheet, a 1/8 inch nickel
silver sheet, a 3/32 inch brass rod, a 1/16 inch
brass rod, a 3/32 inch nickel silver rod, a cow shinbone,
and a 3/32 inch precision ground bar of 01 tool steel.
If you don’t have access to a surface grinder,
it becomes very important to start off with flat
steel for making the blade and spring. Also, great
care should be taken to keep the spring and blade
perfectly flat during the making of the knife. To
do this, I will do very little grinding on the sides
of the steel. All scale and scratches will be cleaned
up with sandpaper. It’s slower working with
sandpaper and files than grinding, but the slower
work allows me to achieve better accuracy and a better
fit when the knife is completed. If you are wondering
where you are going to get a shin bone, just go down
to your local pet store and pick one up in the dog
treat section. Make sure that the bone is labeled
as a bleached shinbone.
(2)
It’s a pretty difficult task to explain the geometry
involved in making a slip joint pocketknife. The relationship
between the spring and the tang of the knife is very
important. So rather than getting into all of that,
I will use an old knife that I’ve taken apart
as a pattern for the project. If you don't have an
old knife, feel free to download this pattern that
I made up out of some 01.
(3) 
Take a black magic marker and color in enough of the
01 to allow the outline of the blade and spring to
be scribed onto the steel. Using the old blade and
spring as a pattern, scribe around each.
(4)
Use a metal cutting band saw to roughly cut the blade
and spring out of the 01. If you do not have a band
saw, a hacksaw will do the trick also. (It just takes
longer.) Be sure to use a push block if you are cutting
through pieces. It will be nice to finish the project
with all ten fingers.
(5) 
Now that I have the blade and spring roughly cut out,
it’s time to grind them down to their correct
shape. I start off using a 36 grit belt on my 2x72.
I grind the pieces down to just outside of the scribed
lines. Be sure to keep the dunking water nearby because
the small pieces heat up pretty quick. You will notice
in the second picture that I’m using a push
block to support the piece while grinding it. I use
a push block a lot, so I will not comment on it each
time.
If you would like to continue this
tutorial click here.
.
