Ever wonder what we are doing over here at Gear Scout when we aren't writing, shooting pictures, fondling gear or working as a city cop? We play with knives, of course. In this case, we are playing around with a knife we slapped together for under $20. I know some of you will be disgusted at this point, and while you vomit, you will curse me and anyone associated with a $20 blade. I can understand your concern, but before you regurgitate your latest meal, take a read and check out the whats and whys. ... I'll mention it's an AUS8 steel for $20, just to keep you interested.
Click the image below for more info and pictures; you know you want to.
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Going back in time, I've owned some nice knives; I've broken, lost, or broken and then lost most of them. As a city cop, I cut dope for testing, start stolen cars, chop branches and bushes for perimeter positions, open boxes, punch beer cans and bunch of other stuff that in general isn't on the recommended list for blades. It's part of life for guys who wear a uniform that a decent knife is a must. It's also known that we don't make loads of money, and usually have to buy gear ourselves.
Moving forward, a few years back I got to talking with Trace Rinaldi. Trace is a all around nice guy who makes upper-end custom knives, and he extended an offer for me to come out and make some knives with him. It's a great idea, but I got to thinking that my knowledge base of how to make a knife showed me to be slightly on the dim side. I started researching blade steel and materials, then decided I would look at trying to build something basic on my own, starting with a finished blade.
In looking around online, I ran across knifekits.com and discovered I could get into a decent blade and build a handle and sheath myself. More importantly, it wasn't going to cost me a big chunk of money to do it. I ordered the following "drop point tactical" blade after seeing it was an AUS8 (heat treated/cryo treated) steel blade, and the $19 price tag consoled me with the idea that even if I butchered it, it was still dirt cheap. After the box arrived, along with some other blades, kydex, and handle material, I got to thinking that I really had no idea how to attach a blade to a handle. With that in mind, I got to thinking that there were plenty of knives using 550 cord as a handle. I put tape around the blade so I wouldn't slice my fingers, and then clamped it down. It took two tries, with the first ending ugly after I slipped and lost tension, then it was easy. If you decide to go this route, check out Youtube for videos on wrapping knife handles with paracord.
The next step was using some kydex; however, I'll state the kydex and attachment ran more than the above mentioned $20. Using the kydex, I heated it with a heatgun and placed the blade inside. The kydex and knife were then placed into hard foam which I pressed down to form correctly, and then let cool. The next step was getting a belt piece from the nice ladies over at Bladetech.com. This piece installed nice and quick with just a few holes and screws.
Do I consider this to be the end all be all of blades? No, I really don't. What I do consider is that it is a great blade for $20 which I can use like the tool that it is without fear of failure or breaking. In a quick note about www.knifekits.com, they processed my order quickly, had everything in stock, and sent it out fast. I'll be ordering more from them in the future so I can continue to build knives, with the next series being a little nicer, and with me actually cutting handles. As far as building knives with Trace Rinaldi, I'll certainly be taking Trace up on his offer, especially since his new larger shop is now up and running.
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