Wow so cool! My knife in the Candlepower forum!
OK, here are some photos that I’ve not posted yet anywhere.
I like taking photos of my knives with my SureFire E1E and E2E because they go so well together and are the same form factor.
This photo is what S30V stainless steel knives look like when they come back from Heat Treat. All my heat treating is done by Paul Bos in California, because Jerry Hossom says he’s the best at getting the S30V hardness exactly right. I think the heat treat blooms are bad-***.
RE: the earlier comparison to other knives
When I first started this project, I just wanted to be able to GET (i.e., buy) what I wanted. I didn’t enter it looking to become a knife designer and part-maker. Having a CNC already in my garage made the final design possible, and making some great contacts for the parts that I could not figure out how to do myself (the custom-grinding) made bringing it to market for other people possible.
So I looked hard at these excellent knives and more that a lot of people recommended. They are very popular knives, but unacceptable for what I need, because the form factor is just too big. This would make it spend more time in the drawer than on me. Looking at smaller knives, the retention that I know is necessary was not there, or the edge was really tiny. So I made the design goal to be an edge as big as some much bigger knives, but in a much smaller form factor.
And this one I’ve posted on my website. With the HideAway you can hold to a light or grab on to something to balance without having to drop the knife. This is with the SureFire Z2.
How to reduce cost is on my mind a lot. I was on the phone with someone at 2am last night talking about it.
The custom-sized, custom-ground, S30V stainless prices will not go down (unless S30V stainless becomes cheaper, which doesn’t seem to be happening) . On per-knife costs, I’m averaging $21 / knife profit, but with fixed costs I have not broken even yet. That should happen when the titanium models ship. Am really glad I’m not relying on this project to pay the rent!
But I’m fine with that because I just don’t want to compromise on *anything* for the custom version. I made the Autocad algorithm to size each one big enough to get on quickly and small enough to be retained if your hand were to drop. (Hey – it’s cheaper than a tailored shirt!) S30V stainless has an awesome reputation for both edge retention amongst the much wiser knifemakers out there, so I went with that. But it costs a lot more to buy and is more costly to work with at every step (wears out grinding belts faster, requires very precise heat-treat, etc.) Maybe this is like only wanting the best and brightest LEDs.
And I’m working with some of the best of the best knifemakers in the world. You can’t find a custom-ground knife by Rob Simonich or Mick Strider for under ?$300. They are more difficult to grind than a larger hunting knife, because there’s nothing to hold on to. The knife grips you, you don’t grip the knife. And they are also difficult to sheath properly, based on the challenges I see the most experienced sheathmakers having. It takes more time to do it really well , and so of course they charge me more.
*However*, there is definitely enough demand for a lower-cost good steel version. I realize that not everyone can afford it, and I want more people to be able to. (I think the ideal # to have is 7 of them in various places if you want to be really prepared. Ex: On me, on my bicycle, my car, etc.) I was talking on the phone last night at 2am with a buddy about how to reduce cost in the knife, and the only answer would be to go with a different metal, to offer it in a limited # of sizes instead of it being personally-sized, and to have it machine ground. I think most people would be perfectly fine with those parameters. And based on others’ similar projects, if I chose to continue doing the custom model and the production model, the demand for the custom-ground and custom-sized version would not shift much.
Also, I’m very motivated to do this because most of my friends’ custom HideAways are almost done now, and the custom versions just take up a ton of my time at any price. If I could figure out how to do a less expensive one both in terms of time and cost, that’d be a great thing.
FrontSight
