Finishing out the virtual HG slicer

[dbcad]

It's been a couple of weeks and it's time to start finishing this thing out over the next week or 3. All suggestions are welcome and will be entertained :) When done this thing will perform in a Solidworks motion study and all parts should fit precisely :) Thanks EvilD for the blade ideas :)

Current stats:

Blade length: 3.25"-3.75"
Blade thickness: 2.5 mm
Blade material: Unobtainium :eek:

Obviously this thing is Spyderco inspired. It is not being virtually developed for profit, rather as a learning tool for myself and hopefully others. If I am violating any rule, code, ethic, etc. please let me know and I will respect.

Looking forward to all input and ideas. Here is the current state:

[gbelleh]

Looks great!
How about trying a blade with a little more point too?

[Jazz]

Quite a nice looking knife. Only thing I'd change (since you asked) is to soften the point on the thumb ramp a tad. I'd buy it. Nice work, bro.

[billy blade]

Handle shape is great. Delica/Endura inspired I assume. I agree with gbelleh it could use a little more point on the blade. IMHO more of a Wharncliff than sheepsfoot shape. That said, I would still buy one as is. Great Design.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I like it! See, if we had 3D Steel capable printers, you could go from design to actual production in days or hours.

Spyderco designers please take note: We want this knife :)

[Evil D]

If anything I would change it to more of a wharnie tip rather than a sheepsfoot, only because you gain better penetration while still keeping a somewhat strong tip, sort of like I've done with my Rock Lobster.

[dbcad]

Thanks for the input folks. Thumb ramp definitely needs some tweaking Jazz :o

First step will be nested liner and scale modifications so the larger blade will fit, then making sure the lockbar-spring-backspacer will fit and function in some way. The scales and liners will have to change quite a bit.

I'll save a few different copies of the entire assembly, each of which can have a different blade shape configuration as well as different handle options. It's all dependent on the amount of time I have to spend on it :eek: Potentially the project could get quite ambitious :eek:

A 3D printer would be fun to play with, even if the parts were "printed" in polymer. What kind of precision can you get out of a 3D printer??

Making the parts work together is the challenging part. Next picture will be a translucent version that shows the innards and larger handle.

PS. A real knife designer would probably get a good laugh, but the intent of this is purely creative and education in both knife and software.

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

I'd like to see a more gentle angle on the thump ramp...And maybe push the edge up a little to bring it to more of a point..but not by a lot.

[w3tnz]

I'm trying to imagine how the spyderhole would feel, with the grind finishing where it does, might be a bit rough on the thumb. Cool concept though nice work.

[dbcad]

BUMP, Just a quick status report and a couple of comments:

Scales and liners have been enlarged to fit the blade, a few screw locations still need changing.

Lockbar needs more length, maybe pivot location change, which will change the location of the lock release cutout in the scales.

Backspacer needs enlarging

Blade aft of pivot geometry may need modification depending on lockbar changes.

And there may be more :eek: Once one thing changes it seems every other component has to change with it :) And they all have to change in concert with each other :eek: :D This is just to get components to fit together and move realistically from open locked to fully closed :eek: The cosmetic concerns will be left for last. This is a worthy project, as long as I'm not stepping on any toes.

Hopefully a couple of in progress pics before the end of the weekend as I'm working tomorrow and Sunday because of the south freaking out over 2.5" of snow

[SolidState]

Hey Charlie,

Can you post a pic of it folded up? That will give me more to work with.

Also, polymer can get to a few microns. Typically, the cheaper prints can get down to around 200-500 microns, but some of the more expensive can get better.

[Commendatore]

Hi dbcad.

The blade somehow resembles the Boker Rhino which is about the best HG slicing knife I have-an of course not made of Unobtanium

Very interested in the directions this project is heading to!

[Blue Possum]

I liked the blade shape just the way it is pictured.
The handle does appear to be similar to the Delica, for me only a ok handle shape for my hands, but your not making for me.
I think the handle would need to be a little bigger for the blade to sit deeper into the handle when closed.

Very nice

[kbuzbee]

Nice Charlie!

I always enjoy seeing your "modeling" projects.

In a former life I did 3d modeling (land forms for civil engineering projects) so I have some feel for what you're doing. But that was 30 years ago. Things are much different these days.

Ken

[dbcad]

Solidstate: I'll be able to get a good pic of it closed tomorrow. As well there will be some decent pics open with one scale and liner removed. Still massaging components. Cleaned up a lot of dimensional references today. Should help smooth things in the future.

Possum: The handle does not look like a Delica's now :eek: I should have some pics tomorrow afternoon to share.

Thanks again for the interest. This project is teaching me a lot :) I may be going about things in a completely back***wards way, and I do feel like a bull in a china shop :eek: But they're fun to watch sometimes too We'll see the progress on the fit tomorrow. It'll be an interesting next few weeks

[dialex]

Very nice work, thanks for sharing. Keep up the excellent work, I can see a lot of potential in this blade. I'd like to see a rendering with the knife closed if possible.

[dbcad]

I didn't get quite as many images as I had hoped, but the time I had was spent focusing on making things fit together well :)

The backspacer fits now and the edge will fit into the handle, readjusted the position of the lanyard hole and a couple of other holes, recreated the right hand scale to be a mirror dependent of the left hand one, geometrical changes to the LH scale will now automatically be applied to it's twin on the right.

Many more changes still need to be made. I get things looking good when open, then run into challenges when I close it, as well as during the transition from open to closed and vice versa :eek: Getting the lockbar pivot relative to blade pivot relationship right seems to be pretty important. Geometry of the blade surfaces that interact with lockbar surfaces also play heavily in this equation. Plus you want the actuating end of the lockbar to be in the right place at the right time.

The progress, slow as it may be, is still enjoyable, gratifying, and edifying. The only frustration is a deficit of continuous time I'm able to focus and get a real good bite on this project.

PS Blade length around 86mm, 3-5/16"

Dialex, Ken, David, Possum, W3tnz, Commendatore, Solid State, Snoo Snoo, Billy, and anyone else I've missed, thanks for the tips and encouragement :) Any in the future are most appreciated from all :)

Been a long working weekend, time to rest

[dbcad]

Doesn't that lockbar look way too long????

[dbcad]

After consideration I've decided the best course of action will be to take the blade sketch, simplify the constraints, tweak, and build the other components from scratch after the blade has been established. I'll borrow concepts from the original Delica, but not dimensions The models will be simpler and the geometric origins and planes better thought out and organized :) Tweaking the existing is becoming a bit clumsy and ungainly :eek:

The learning is what this exercise has been about from the beginning, hopefully some folks have been able to learn a bit as well :) The very act of trying to build a realistic virtual folder really opens your eyes to the interplay of components. A lot to be learned and digested

Something will pop over the next few weeks :)

[Officer Gigglez]

Tip needs to be more "pointy", maybe a wharnie tip like others stated, and *maybe* a tad bit deeper finger choil? Other than that, it looks cool. I like when the Thumb ramps are very pronounced, like on my Pacific Salt.