Folding Knife ideas?

[crockett]

I have usually made fixed blade knives but now have got into folders. First were penny knives and friction folders because I didn't have to mess with a spring. Then a Spanish lock with the dorsal spring top. Now doing spring backs. I have used Smith's 1816 key and did a lock back with thumb button and another with a straight handle. Now I am looking for something new.
A year or two back there was talk on a folder that had brass scales with cut outs, into the open areas tortoise shell was pounded in. The blade had a rounded tip. I think these knives were used in the Mid-west Great Lakes area.
Well any suggestions appreciated.

 

[44-henry]

Take a look at the link below, this type has always intrigued me and I plan on making one like it at some point. It is likely that the handle is cast, but that would be a good skill to add to your repotorie.
www.allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_forum/viewtopic.php?t=19987

 

[crockett]

Yes, I do want to get into sand casting brass. You can then create guards, pommels, scales, etc. plus rifle parts. It would be a really good skill to acquire. I've "cast" some lead objects but pretty low grade so far.

 

[44-henry]

In response to your original question, there are some examples that are similar to what you describe in artifacts recovered at Fort Michilimackinac. The examples are likely early to late 18th century, you can see them on page 268 in the book Fort Michilimackinac 1715-1781: An Archaeological Perspective on the Revolutionary Frontier by Lyle M. Stone 1974

The book is pricey, but you can probably find a copy by interlibrary loan.

There are some other pocket and fixed blade knives that were recovered that are really interesting and would likely suit your tastes. Sadly nothing that I could attribute to the fabled "penny knife", but the search continues on that front.

 

[crockett]

The fabled penny knife indeed. I did quite a bit of looking for an original. There was a British soldier wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He had a small penny knife that is now in a museum in Lexington, MA but it is hard to get information on it (They wanted $100).
In Astoria, OR, the museum has the penny knife that was supposed to be owned by William Clark. The Carl P. Russell book has wrong information, there is no spring. The curator put a dot of paint on the handle and I guess Russell never personally saw the knife and thought it was a pin for a spring. Russell made a lot of errors and misquoted things as well. The Astoria knife is a true penny knife but was found in his Missouri home after his death.
And...that's about it. George Neumann in Swords & Blades of the American Revolution has 2 penny knives but where they came from???? No documentation, just an "estimated" date. Those penny knives have a thin metal wrapping around the front with the ends crimped into the slot about 1/8".
I found a nice penny knife from Spain. Never was in North America. It was unique in the respect the handle cross section is squarish and the metal wrapping is creased- at first glance it looks a lot like a regular spring back folder. No date, no documentation.
I think the French friction folder is the true spring-less folder, many of them around. The most popular handle was horn and finding a nice solid piece of horn for a handle can be a challenge.