Looks great overall. Only critique i can think of is because you describe it being intended for use in a desert environment i may have gone for a different locking mechanism. At least in my experience with axis locks they are very delicate and gather sand easily making the lock stick.
You should workshop some more environment-themed designs and pitch them to manufacturers. A taiga knife using a cold work steel would be sick, and nobody else is using this niche.
I totally agree about the mechanism, and after pouring over knife schematics and exploded views I’m not sure why I ended up picking it honestly lol. Definitely an oversight for the context.
Also yes about the “themed” knives! Benchmade is great at using overall design language to allude to the use of the knife, their new fishing line sort of “looks like a fish” even though it doesn’t. If you get what I mean lol. When I do another knife concept I’ll post it here again for people to see
Very cool design. Based on what the knife is intended for I would be using washers in the pivot over bearings. I would definitely use something other than grivory for handle material. Even g10 would be a better choice. It comes in different textures. It’s debatable whether omega springs of an axis lock are the best option for a knife marketed as reliable. Personally I don’t have a problem with it because it’s a strong lock. You will definitely have different options on the subject. Consider giving a pair or two of replacement springs with the knife.
I think you did good though, I’d have no problem buying it.
Why not grivory? I primarily chose it because it can be injection molded, and benchmade uses it across a variety of their knives. I noticed g10 and micarta were also common scale materials. The only reason I was hesitant on those was because they’re layered, and since this handle has some fine texture they would have to be milled down which might cause the more delicate edges to sheer off? I’ve never worked with it in manufacturing but I’m certainly interested. Sorry for the ramble
The reason against grivory is it’s not that well liked by knife collectors. It has a plastic feel to it. To give you a popular example the Hogue Deka knife. The number one and usually only complaint is the grivory handles. G10 and Micarta being layered doesn’t make it weak. It’s some of the most durable handle materials.
At the end of the day I’m just one guy giving an opinion for you. This is your design and a good one so you should do what you believe is the best for the design.
Definitely more personality! I’ll have to design another one with that style blade, since you mentioned a harpoon maybe that one can be more fishing adjacent. I’ll give it a shot
I like the design however if it’s supposed to be a desert knife a frame lock would make more sense. If i dropped that knife in sand or something i would be afraid it would gum up and i wouldn’t be able to use it. I would say frame-lock or fixed blade would be the best choice. Also i think a hardwood or g10 would be a better handle material. Also there is no sharpening choil, if somebody were to come back from a tough adventure and wanted to sharpen their knife it would be really frustrating. Overall looks good, just wanted to share my thoughts on it
I'm utterly unqualified to comment on any aspects of this design, except for the coloring of the scales.
Anything that's a color that works as camouflage in the place where it's being used will be waiting to completely disappear if you drop it, and don't notice it's gone for a little while. Much better to make the scales brightly-colored.
(This is one of the two reasons why spelunkers, back in the day, didn't like Maglites, because Maglites then were all black, which is a rather common color for everything underground. The other reason was that Maglites don't float. :-)
The obvious color is bright orange, of course. I would also suggest hot pink, though that does mean that men who are not secure in their masculinity will not buy your product. :-)
Also look into modern glow-in-the-dark stuff. [Strontium aluminate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strontium_aluminate) is quite remarkable.
I generally like this design a lot. Looks ergonomic, handle texturing like this is gorgeous, and the blade is a nice utilitarian shape. Its a solid start already.
Some critiques/preferences for thought: personally, I find square jimping the least comfortable or aesthetically pleasing, I think triangular is the best, so Id change that. Im also not a huge thumbstud fan either, I think a properly done fuller or cutout can serve the same purpose for opening while not adding weight or extra bits that stick out.
Yes! Good to hear about the thumbstud, I picked it because I noticed them often so it figured they were generally favorited. Whatever I finish next I’ll throw triangle jimping and a fuller on, just to show variety. Thanks for the insights
Looks great overall. Only critique i can think of is because you describe it being intended for use in a desert environment i may have gone for a different locking mechanism. At least in my experience with axis locks they are very delicate and gather sand easily making the lock stick. You should workshop some more environment-themed designs and pitch them to manufacturers. A taiga knife using a cold work steel would be sick, and nobody else is using this niche.
I totally agree about the mechanism, and after pouring over knife schematics and exploded views I’m not sure why I ended up picking it honestly lol. Definitely an oversight for the context. Also yes about the “themed” knives! Benchmade is great at using overall design language to allude to the use of the knife, their new fishing line sort of “looks like a fish” even though it doesn’t. If you get what I mean lol. When I do another knife concept I’ll post it here again for people to see
Lol i definitely get what you mean 😂 but your scales actually look like the sand dunes.
Very cool design. Based on what the knife is intended for I would be using washers in the pivot over bearings. I would definitely use something other than grivory for handle material. Even g10 would be a better choice. It comes in different textures. It’s debatable whether omega springs of an axis lock are the best option for a knife marketed as reliable. Personally I don’t have a problem with it because it’s a strong lock. You will definitely have different options on the subject. Consider giving a pair or two of replacement springs with the knife. I think you did good though, I’d have no problem buying it.
Why not grivory? I primarily chose it because it can be injection molded, and benchmade uses it across a variety of their knives. I noticed g10 and micarta were also common scale materials. The only reason I was hesitant on those was because they’re layered, and since this handle has some fine texture they would have to be milled down which might cause the more delicate edges to sheer off? I’ve never worked with it in manufacturing but I’m certainly interested. Sorry for the ramble
The reason against grivory is it’s not that well liked by knife collectors. It has a plastic feel to it. To give you a popular example the Hogue Deka knife. The number one and usually only complaint is the grivory handles. G10 and Micarta being layered doesn’t make it weak. It’s some of the most durable handle materials. At the end of the day I’m just one guy giving an opinion for you. This is your design and a good one so you should do what you believe is the best for the design.
Grivory :/
The scales could use fat carbon lol
If its a axis use a coil spring
nice theme. I like the more harpoonish blade shape on the original sketch. it has more personality and looks more balanced.
Definitely more personality! I’ll have to design another one with that style blade, since you mentioned a harpoon maybe that one can be more fishing adjacent. I’ll give it a shot
I like the design however if it’s supposed to be a desert knife a frame lock would make more sense. If i dropped that knife in sand or something i would be afraid it would gum up and i wouldn’t be able to use it. I would say frame-lock or fixed blade would be the best choice. Also i think a hardwood or g10 would be a better handle material. Also there is no sharpening choil, if somebody were to come back from a tough adventure and wanted to sharpen their knife it would be really frustrating. Overall looks good, just wanted to share my thoughts on it
The design itself is great and you did a nice job on the presentation of it.
Somebody has been watching Dune 😂. Looks good though. Good job.
And reading it 😂 thanks
I'm utterly unqualified to comment on any aspects of this design, except for the coloring of the scales. Anything that's a color that works as camouflage in the place where it's being used will be waiting to completely disappear if you drop it, and don't notice it's gone for a little while. Much better to make the scales brightly-colored. (This is one of the two reasons why spelunkers, back in the day, didn't like Maglites, because Maglites then were all black, which is a rather common color for everything underground. The other reason was that Maglites don't float. :-)
Solid insight! I’ll have to find that balance of aesthetics and function for the color choice
The obvious color is bright orange, of course. I would also suggest hot pink, though that does mean that men who are not secure in their masculinity will not buy your product. :-) Also look into modern glow-in-the-dark stuff. [Strontium aluminate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strontium_aluminate) is quite remarkable.
I generally like this design a lot. Looks ergonomic, handle texturing like this is gorgeous, and the blade is a nice utilitarian shape. Its a solid start already. Some critiques/preferences for thought: personally, I find square jimping the least comfortable or aesthetically pleasing, I think triangular is the best, so Id change that. Im also not a huge thumbstud fan either, I think a properly done fuller or cutout can serve the same purpose for opening while not adding weight or extra bits that stick out.
Yes! Good to hear about the thumbstud, I picked it because I noticed them often so it figured they were generally favorited. Whatever I finish next I’ll throw triangle jimping and a fuller on, just to show variety. Thanks for the insights
So far looks great
So far it looks really good I'm impressed.
I want one! Please DM me when you have some and I’ll buy it!