- A pair of trainers I made #1 & #2

[Spigot]

Thought I'd finally contribute to the forum and post some stuff I've been working on. :)

Just finished these today. These are the first two trainers I've made numbered T001 and T002 (T denotes trainer) both dated 3-12 (march 2012). I've got an actual bali in the works plus the one I made a year or so ago which will be numbers 001 and 002 (no t).

Specs for T001
9 1/2" overall
6.87oz
ATS-34 stainless steel blade
Coated Nylon washers
.075" stainless liners
Hunter orange G10
latchless
6-32 screws


Specs for T002
9 1/2" overall
4.90oz
ATS-34 stainless steel blade
Bronze Phosphor washers
Solid 3/16" G10 handles with stainless spacers
G10 latch
6-32 screws


http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/9972/s1773.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/577/s1773.jpg/)
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/6376/s1776.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/s1776.jpg/)
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/4062/s1777.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/69/s1777.jpg/)
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/7510/s1778.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/651/s1778.jpg/)
I've marked these using both a dremel and a punch set. Unfortunately only the dremeled mark show up well in the pic.
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/1791/s1780.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/196/s1780.jpg/)

Thanks for looking, take care -Dustin

[accurate]

Please go make your intro post in the New Member Introduction area.

[accurate]

After that we can talk about how nice your trainers look.

[Helix]

Now that you made an intro, let me say your trainers look very nice. Be curious to see what you make in the future. :thumbsup:

Do you have any experience doing blade grinds yet?

[EOD13]

Do you have any experience doing blade grinds yet?

Yeah this....

Looks like we might have a new bali maker on the forum if you get your intro done :yuna:

[SpydercoLover]

Nice work. Keep the photos of the ones you make in the future coming.

[Mpsecare]

I like !!! very impressive! especially the one with the scales/liners :manganr:

[DeepSkyyz]

Wow, they look very nice. :devilzeek

[Glenn]

Looks like we might have a new bali maker on the forum


Glad someones been taking their Ginkgo Biloba.

Your swift today ! :devilfinger: :bwah:

To the OP, Now some live blades ? Like to see more of your work. :thumbsup:

[deadpool]

The work looks great, and i am sure they will perform, but i have a question: why use the more expensive ATS-34 when edge holding will not be an issue?

[rio]

The work looks great, and i am sure they will perform, but i have a question: why use the more expensive ATS-34 when edge holding will not be an issue?

so you can deep them in water , what else:bwah::bwah::bwah:


nice work sir

[EOD13]

Glad someones been taking their Ginkgo Biloba.

Your swift today ! :devilfinger: :bwah:

To the OP, Now some live blades ? Like to see more of your work. :thumbsup:

I had to google that :facepalm:

[Spigot]

The work looks great, and i am sure they will perform, but i have a question: why use the more expensive ATS-34 when edge holding will not be an issue?


More expensive than what? :) ATS-34 seemed to be in the lower price range of stainless steels atleast where I bought it from And I really prefered something stainless. I am also sending out my blades to be hardened and they only work with air hardening steels.
I'm pretty sure the heat treating service costs even more than the steel in the blade. I chose to harden these blades also just because I believe thats whats normally done on the higher end production and customs trainers.
But now that I think about it, I'm not sure that heat treating is necessary, I'd really like to hear from some experienced makers if they care to ring in. The steel would scratch more easily, and perhaps there could be some wear in the pivot area but I'm not sure of this.

There are a ton of different things you can make as a bali blade, combs, forks,screw drivers, etc:bwah:. I plan on making some & I'll consider skipping heat treat if its not necessary.

-Dustin

[Nathan Dewey]

It's a good idea to heat treat trainer blades for good measure. If nothing else, It'll be prepared to hold an edge if the user chooses to sharpen it.
BTW, awesome trainers!
Whatever you're doing to make these, keep it up. :thumbsup:

[ash23]

If someone gets his trainer sharpened, I'll find it awkward with the 4 big holes on the blade.

Spigot, your work is nice and clean. Do you have any other experiences in knife making other than the 2 other balis you're making/have made ?

[Uz4u]

are you selling those? You could make a killing selling trainers like that if you start taking orders.

[Palethius]

More expensive than what? :) ATS-34 seemed to be in the lower price range of stainless steels atleast where I bought it from And I really prefered something stainless. I am also sending out my blades to be hardened and they only work with air hardening steels.
I'm pretty sure the heat treating service costs even more than the steel in the blade. I chose to harden these blades also just because I believe thats whats normally done on the higher end production and customs trainers.
But now that I think about it, I'm not sure that heat treating is necessary, I'd really like to hear from some experienced makers if they care to ring in. The steel would scratch more easily, and perhaps there could be some wear in the pivot area but I'm not sure of this.

There are a ton of different things you can make as a bali blade, combs, forks,screw drivers, etc:bwah:. I plan on making some & I'll consider skipping heat treat if its not necessary.

-Dustin

All balisongs need to be heat treated... even trainers.

When flipping a trainer, your sense that the knife you are flipping is delicate goes out the window. Introduce flipping wherever you want... including, but not limited to, concrete, tile, generally hard surfaces and pretty much anywhere. Add in the fact that you now don't care how far the knife drops... cause you aren't going to damage the tip.

Then once the trainer falls and hits blade down... it gets bent. And I don't mean getting mad... although you will probably get mad when the bali no longer closes and rubs all over the liners... screwing up everything.....

YES, all balisong blades whether it be a trainer, comb or live blade need be heat treated..

/story

Postscript: Nice trainers. They look good, but I wonder how they flip and feel in the hand. Basically, I'd like to flip one and see what it's all about.

[Spigot]

If someone gets his trainer sharpened, I'll find it awkward with the 4 big holes on the blade.

Spigot, your work is nice and clean. Do you have any other experiences in knife making other than the 2 other balis you're making/have made ?

Nope, although I have had some failed projects as I was starting out. Mostly due to lack of the right tools but now I'm well on the path to having everything I need. All I'm lacking in now is materials.:ssad:

This was my first bali which I made over a year ago. This is an older pic from when it was about half done. I'll try to get a updated pic.
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/6425/img1236h.jpg
By spigtropy (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/spigtropy) at 2010-05-18
This here is the current bali I am working on. Just a small kiridashi with a sakura pattern drilled into the blade, got this idea form katana tsubas. :manganr:
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1484/s1769.jpg
By spigtropy (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/spigtropy) at 2012-03-04



I've also started a Flickr incase anyone is having trouble viewing the pics. Perhaps I'll upload them to the JD gallery as well. http://www.flickr.com/photos/76091764@N02/

Thanks, -Dustin

[Looseyfur]

mystery guest... are you

Entropy?

[knifezoid]

mystery guest... are you

Entropy?

I'd say yes unless there's another guy named Dustin from
Michigan who made the exact same balisong.

Sweet to have you here Entropy. Man, it's been a long
time since I've seen anything from you. New bali looks
awesome. I never saw the completed ring fighter bali
though unless that is complete in the pic.

Flipping Vid!!!

[silkworm]

Nice work. :thumbsup:

[Linos]

:thumbsup:...i`ll take it!!! ....i`l take it!!!!:thumbsup:
ohps wrong thread :manganr:

[Uz4u]

ok, I REALLY want that kiridashi-song :pissedevil:

fuckin sweet dude !

[Looseyfur]

you dudes are so green you dont know this guy is a fucking flipping legend?

let me assist..

nR9dxHgFkxM

invented scissoring...

kinda a big deal ;) check the dates (Jun 19, 2007)... wayyyyy ahead of his time.


respect bro... mad respect.

Loosey

[Uz4u]

well I was in high school in 2007 so...



Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't this make Spigot the first high level flipper to make his own baliosngs (with his own hands that is) ?

[knifezoid]

Entropy, in regard to your heat treating question I'll say it depends.
To be safe I'd say to go ahead and do it unless it is cost prohibitive.

Items that are not heat treated can lose their tolerances ever so
slightly (like tang pins making contact) and cause things to not
quite swing right.

Most people are thinking of the blade snapping in two. For a trainer
I don't think heat treat really matters as you're not cutting with it.
It could take a fall on the ground, but i don't think that'd snap the
blade. But the tolerances may get loose in areas where it really
matters like the pivots, tang pins. Just my thoughts.

[Palethius]

Entropy, in regard to your heat treating question I'll say it depends.
To be safe I'd say to go ahead and do it unless it is cost prohibitive.

Items that are not heat treated can lose their tolerances ever so
slightly (like tang pins making contact) and cause things to not
quite swing right.

Most people are thinking of the blade snapping in two. For a trainer
I don't think heat treat really matters as you're not cutting with it.
It could take a fall on the ground, but i don't think that'd snap the
blade. But the tolerances may get loose in areas where it really
matters like the pivots, tang pins. Just my thoughts.

I agree that the pivots and tang pin may lose some of it's tolerances, but I don't necessarily think it can take a fall.

I sent my first b&s trainer back because the blade bent when I dropped it from 3 feet in the air to the ground. Didn't get to flip it for 30 minutes before it happened. The blade would stick in the handle so bad that I had to apply direct pressure to get it free. It wasn't like that before.

I don't have any proof that it wasn't heat treated and that that was the cause of the blade warping/bending, but what else could it be? My BM40 has had WAY more abuse and it's still perfectly straight.

I still stick by my statement that I think ALL balisong blades need to be heat treated. Trainer, live blade, comb, spoon or whatever.

[Ryanol]

I agree that the pivots and tang pin may lose some of it's tolerances, but I don't necessarily think it can take a fall.

I sent my first b&s trainer back because the blade bent when I dropped it from 3 feet in the air to the ground. Didn't get to flip it for 30 minutes before it happened. The blade would stick in the handle so bad that I had to apply direct pressure to get it free. It wasn't like that before.

I don't have any proof that it wasn't heat treated and that that was the cause of the blade warping/bending, but what else could it be? My BM40 has had WAY more abuse and it's still perfectly straight.

I still stick by my statement that I think ALL balisong blades need to be heat treated. Trainer, live blade, comb, spoon or whatever.


I agree but my worry would be more that the pivot holes might oval from harder hardware...say that ten times fast.

Nice looking balis though...much better than anything I've ever mustered.

[bali]

i want one of your knifes!!!!! :devilzeek

[Spigot]

you dudes are so green you dont know this guy is a fucking flipping legend?

let me assist..

nR9dxHgFkxM

invented scissoring...

kinda a big deal ;) check the dates (Jun 19, 2007)... wayyyyy ahead of his time.


respect bro... mad respect.

Loosey

Thanks bro, how about a little scissoring demo? :) This ones from 2008.
uzJwy9o-B60

Unfortunately, I'm nowhere nearly as good at flipping as I once was. Theres been periods where I've not picked up a bali to flip in months. I've always jumped back and forth between flipping and collecting, or sometimes both. In the future I guess I plan to BUILD, collect, and flip, probably in that order. :manganr: For the time being I'm just building stuff for myself although eventually I would like to start making some to sell, especially trainers like these. Probably in the $150-$190 range, but that would be months away.

Near future plans are to finish up my kiridashi bali, which I still need to order some different pivots screws for & then I'll probably work on a few more trainers using different handle materials. I've also got plans for a kwaiken or tanto japanese style balisong laid out in my brain. Gonna be pretty unique not only in style but also in construction. Soo look forward to that.:manganr:

-Dustin

[knifezoid]

The work looks very clean. I think you have the potential
to be a great maker and your flipping knowledge doesn't
hurt. :thumbsup:

And to this date how many people can alt scissor? Slash
and...