When you finish the SAS, you are left with a big pile of parts. Some are plainly resellable, others are just scrap. Or are they?

ChrisCo, my partner in crime and "Crew Chief" in these things was joking about blending two of his passions, wrenching and knife making while we were doing the swap. I went along with the joke, but didn't expect this.

He made my new wife and I a matched knife set, but the best part for me is that all the metal in the knives is stuff that used to be my IFS suspension. Yep, that's right, everything but the brass used to be part of my truck. From the tranny crossmember to the shock towers, I cut this off during the swap. He then put in countless hours, reshaping the material into what you see below. It was all cut, hardened, ground and sanded, not recast. I am sure I can talk him into chiming in here if anyone wants specifics. Talk about a unique and VERY special wedding present. The folder is mine and the dagger is my wifes and every time I look at them, I appreciate not just the work that went into the swap, but the efforts of ChrisCo, turning "lead" into "gold".

Thanks for everything ChrisCo!

 

Very nice workmanship. I was thinking about getting into knife making too...just one more hobby to add to the list.

 

That's really cool Rob! He obviously has some talent.

 

damn, that's so cool. i think i'll be pm'ing chris soon. i did some research about knife making about 2 years ago, but after seeing this...so cool!

bob

 

Wow, so now you have a piece of your truck with you wherever you go!

ChrisCo:
That is some excellent work there

 

That is AWESOME!!

Rob, you are a lucky man to have a friend like that.

ChrisCo, you have a gift.

Curious, where was the wood on your truck?

 

From the post... "all the metal in the knives is stuff that used to be my IFS suspension".

Only the blocks in the rear suspension are wood...

heheheh JUST KIDDING! That is someone elses trick.

 

Holy s***!!! Damn Chris, that's some awesome work!

 

Appears to be exceptional work if one were just using pieces of a known and knife making origin. The fact that these are old truck parts is really awesome.

Hats off for an interesting idea with amazing execution!

 

Wow! Thanks for all of the kind words, y'all

I'd played with making knives about a dozen years ago, but nothing too serious... Only a few actually got to the point of having a handle put on 'em, and only one was ever actually got used (a little... it didn't hold up too well, tho). I consider these two my firsts, since I never actually planned, nor finished all the way through, any of the others.

I put about as much time into these knives as I did the SAS. There's probably 10 hours into the filework on the folder alone. With the exception of drilling a starter hole in the guard and handle, and polishing when done, the dagger was made entirely by hand using hammers, propane torch, files, and sand paper.

The dagger's blade was actually forged out of a chunk of the prop rod from the Cruiser's stock hood (before I sold the rig to Chemist ). It still has a link to Rob's rig, tho... He yanked the Cruiser up to the top of the hill out at Tinkham last August And, we made a mini-prop rod for his rig out of it when we were trying to keep his QuickAir2 from overheating...

The folder's blade was made out of the transmission cross member. The metal portion of the handle scales, the spine and butt were made from the strut towers. It took some serious working to get them flat enough to actually use (I was amazed at how much of the IFS parts that *look* straight and flat really weren't!).

The wood is burnished and polished Purple Heart on both, for those of you who are wondering

Robinhood and Bob:
Check out http://www.ckdforums.com and http://www.customknifedirectory.com if you're really interested in learning to make knives. There's tons of info out there (and elsewhere on the net for that matter) about it. Feel free to PM me with any questions you may have, as well.

Rob:
You're quite welcome

ChrisCo

 

Chrisco...let me know if you find a good source for anvils...
(or a similar big chuck o' metal for pounding)

Jim

 

This place has been recommended over on CKD:

http://www.oldworldanvils.com/anvils/index.html

$2-$2.50 per pound seems to be the going rate for a quality anvil.

Harbor Freight also has a few cheapos that are good for beginners, from what I understand. Some are cast iron (I'd be afraid of 'em breaking), some are carbon steel (from India... and, me and India aren't getting along right now ).

A short section of railroad track makes for a great beginner's anvil, if you can find one. Personally, I'd choose railroad or one of the old world anvils before getting one from HF...

Or, you can make your own :
http://www.ckdforums.com/showthread....ighlight=anvil

 

Yeah, it would have to be local...shipping an anvill with far "out-weigh" the cost to purchase it. Heh...heh...

 

Bad Jim Bad, BAD Jim hahahaha

I agree, tho There's a HF down in Olympia, and I think Everett, too...

 

Yup. I think there's one in the Tri-Cities too, so I'll have to check it out next time I visit my fam.

The alternative is a good ol' auction...and I've been keeping tabs on them. (http://www.murphyauction.com)

Jim

 

You been talkin' to my wife or somethin'? She just mentioned going out there and looking for tools this morning! haha

I've been too busy researching other stuff (like how to *NOT* blow myself up when building my propane forge) to go look... I guess I'll have to now hehe

 

It's all good...just cash in on the auctions. A few years back in the big "dot.com" bust...this auctioneer had all the good stuff. I seriously helped out my last employer...plenty of extra servers and workstations for the prices they were looking to pay.

Anywho, I'll let you know when I go to the next one for this kinda stuff and we can go together.

Jim

 

Jim,
There are some track pieces along the old grade near your house. I remember seeing it some years ago while walking from riverbend up to the lake along the tracks. Don't remember the exact place or even know if it is still there. Might have to ride the bike up and look.

 

Chris you are a man of exceptional talent.
Rob showed is his folder on last weeks run. Boy talk about a beauty. The detail on the top of blade sparkled like a diamond in the sun. The knive fits perfect in your palm and had a good feel and balance to it.

Great work as usual Chris and Rob you are a lucky bastage my friend. he he

 

Hey ChrisCo, would you be interested in some D2 steel?