Cardoso Halloween Build Off V 2.0 Balisong WIP Project

**cardoso5fr** · 08-23-2009, 12:37 PM

After to have finished the fixed blade project yesterday. I begin the Balisong Project.

Balisong Project Day 1

The original Design. I don't know if the final result will be in that spirit

I cut a "blade" in a carton Box piece. The steel is 110WCrV5 (more or less the european version of the Aogami steel).

I measured the thickness of the Ta6V4 i will use. Here 2 mm

I draw with a black pen the center of the plate (here 1,5 cm)

With a stainless Steel Cutting disk of 1mm thick i cut the steel

The blade after the first cut

I cut the titanium now

A blade and four piece of titanium

I clean the titanium burr with a 240 grit belt

The piece are clean

I marked a line at 7 mm of the top

I punched right in the middle (7mm of the side)

Before to drill i check my drill plate is OK

I drilled with my 4,5 mm drill bit (it the size of the pilot of my counterbore)

I cleaned the burr of the drill

With my counterbore M4 (8 mm round) i machined the bearing raceway

I use the deepness gauge that i sat up on 1,01mm. I will mesure the deepness of the 4,5mm hole. (that is easier to visualised) When i am to the gauge level, i machined 0,99mm deep and it's perfect for my 1/16" 100C6 bearing ball.

The four piece are machined

I drill another time the 4,5mm hole to 4,8 mm hole (i will use some imperial pivot i have in stock. More or less 4,78mm thick)

The pivot with 12 ball around

I cleaned the burr

I put two piece of handle on the blade in order to check where i will have to drill the pivot hole.

I drawn the line and punched the two pre hole.

I drilled the hole with 4,8mm drill bit.

I cleaned the burr

First try

I punched and drilled the hole for the zen pins. 1,7mm in order to use my M2 taps (normaly the size of the hole need to be 1,6mm, but with 1,7 mm i have less problem. Thank you to Roland From the Perceval Workshop for the tips).

I put together the two piece of titanium with the pivot tube and i drill between the first hole

the four piece are drilled

I put in place the future handle on the blade and punch between the 1,7 mm hole in orther to visualise the spot of the future zen pins position. (same thing for the blade heel)

I drilled the hole with a 3mm drill bit. the zen pins will have a 4mm diameter, i will be able to adjust with a file

I countersinked with a 6 mm drill bit... my countersink aren't good enough to work correctly on titanium

I tapered M2 the zen pin hole

I checked the deepness of the countersinking

I put a M2 screw in place and decreased his size with a 240 belt on the contact wheel.

I grinded the blade with a 40 grit belt in order to obtain more or less the right shape

It begin to have some form

I make the adjustment with file

It become to life

I cut a nice bloody red micarta for the scale (i use my angle grinder for that operation, i work always with surgical delicacy.)

4 pieces of micarta

I draw a line at 7mm as for the titanium scale

I punched in the middle of the plate

3mm hole (i don't have 2,8 mm hole for the size of the imperial screw, but i will make the adjustment differently)

I counterbored with my M3 counterbore the top of the plate (to receive the head screw)

I drilled under the plate with the 4,8mm drill bit to received perfectly the head of the pivot tube. With that method i'm sure the tube is perfectly centered with the screw hole)

I put the piece of the handle together. Drilled the hole for the heel spacer, and will drill the hole in the micarta between the titanium plate hole.

**cardoso5fr** · 08-23-2009, 12:56 PM

I screwed the piece together

I grinded the micarta with the titanium as template

I counterbored the spacer hole

Some piece of balisong

Toxification time

It's toxified

Pivot and ball around

Some shoes grease (i haven't got mechanic grease) to make stay in place the small ball for the second titanium scale

Ball in grease

I adjusted the size of the pivot barrel with a strong file

First handle is almost done

More or less 4,96 mm thick to the pivot between the two scale, i have to make a zen pin and a spacer of that size

The tube is too long

4,93mm that will be OK for the spacer

Second handle, always grease and ball

Two file to adjust the size of pivot barrel (a strong and a soft), and i make the same process for the various piece than before.

I shorten a little the blade which was too long for the handle

I grind with a 40 belt grit

After grind to 120 grit

Some filework on the spin in order to stay in the spirit of my work.

The filework

I shaped the heel

Heel shaped

I have no more propane of butane in stock. I'm not able to heat treat the blade today. I will go to buy some gas tomorrow to be able to continue

.

I think i will decreased the thickness of the scale with a deepest toxification and make something less width to the pivot level in order to decrease the idea of ..... weight

I hope you enjoy the journey. It's long to take picture during the work. I worked hard today and I'm quite satisfied of all what i succeed to have done in only one day.

**SPLITSHOT** · 08-23-2009, 01:03 PM

Sweet. that was a very cool build...thank's for the pictures

**RoadFish** · 08-23-2009, 02:18 PM

Another great WIP thread. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to see the finished knife!

**M.Olexey** · 08-23-2009, 02:29 PM

Great pics and step by step!

Cool knife too.

**50calmike** · 08-23-2009, 02:50 PM

That is wicked looking. You have outdone yourself today sir.

**cardoso5fr** · 08-24-2009, 08:06 AM

Thank you very much

I have now my propane

. I will be able to heat treat that

**cardoso5fr** · 08-24-2009, 12:37 PM

Day 2

I decreased the handle width

I decreased the thickness of the micarta, i toxified deeply the material

After to have been grind totaly assemblied, to have steel dust, micarta dust shake with oil and water... the bearing flip always not so bad.

http://dremeltingpotes.free.fr/Build...D/MOV07332.MPG

It's HOT

After Oil Quench , i cleaned it with a 120 belt in order to see the exact color during the futur flash tempering.

My torch for the tempering

After the tempering, a nice gold color

I finished the grind with 120 and 240 belt, and make the second edge grind

Second edge ready for some polishing

Ferric Chloride bath

A lot of piece on that project
1 blade, 4 titanium liner, 4 micarta scale, 2 zen pins, 4 M2 screw for zen pins, 2 pivot tube, 4 screw for the pivot, 2 spacer, 4 screw for the spacer, 48 100C6 1/16" hardened ball....

Sharpening

Micarta polishing

**cardoso5fr** · 08-24-2009, 12:43 PM

Final result (i will may be counterbored more one or two screw but nothing amazing...)

110 WCrV5 blade 7,3 cm sharp (2,87") and 4,5 cm sharp for the second real edge (1,77"). 3,5 mm thick. Oil hardening.
Open 19,5 cm (7,67")
Closed (12 cm) (4,72")
Thick 1,6 cm ( 0,62")
Width 2,9 - 3,2 cm (1,2")

I admit it's far to be the best ratio Handle / Blade but that i'm happy with that.

It's the second time i make zen pins balisong, and finaly that is not really much more difficult than a tang pinned balisong.