Shane explained it well. The Tormach itself is relatively easy to learn, it's the whole CNC process (CAD/CAM/Tools/Workholding/etc/etc/etc/etc) that's tricky and time consuming to learn. But so much fun!
For 450 bucks, that's an insane deal considering how much work you put into these things. I can tell in your face that you treat each knife like it's your baby, I can see how proud you are of them, your passion for knifemaking is really admirable. Once I can fork out 450 bucks, I'd absolutely LOVE to get one of these bad boys. You can count on me being a future customer.
Great Vid ! Your enthusiasm and passion towards making the Norseman is awesome. When I watch the updates I know without a doubt that your making an excellent knife and that adds to the pride of ownership that folks have when they purchase. Btw, they look bad ass too! Glad to be on the list for one !!
That's the only one we anodized before tumbling, along with 4 clips. The diamond ones get pretty well tumbled, so I'm not sure how much color would remain. Of course we'll be carbidizing the lockface on every knife. That one was too, it just hadn't broken in yet. Now it's butter smooth, no sticking at all.
It's a skill, just like anything. The flipper tab hits your thumb before the blade falls and cuts your thumb off, so it's usually A-Okay. There are other blade locks out there, but this style, called the frame lock or integral lock, is one of the strongest and most common among this style of knife. After a while it's second nature and not dangerous at all, you get used to it.
Btw, the way I see it is you're right,, "Get it now while you can" lol also if you think about it, your second batch of knives were much better than the first, and that will continue as this next batch will be better as well. Can't wait my brother. Thanks for emailing me so much. I appreciate your advice and help with my first custom knife. Thanks again John, you guys Rock !!!! Lol Mark in Ky. U.S.A.
It is pretty sharp right off the mill, but of course we do have to sharpen each and every one to get the angles perfect and the edges nice and razor sharp.
No, but I will for a few special knives. They're considerably more expensive, but they're also 5x more accurately round, so it'll be interesting to see if I can feel a difference for the pivot ball bearings.
When something like this happens and you actually get almost more than you could envision back after all those hours, weeks, and months of trying, and for this to work so well without hardly being worked on has to be some great kind of wealth of all that worrying? Take care, mrbluenun
You're thinking aluminum, titanium is a whole different animal. It doesn't rust, so protecting it isn't an issue. The anodized layer is the oxide layer, but with titanium the oxide layer is ridiculously thin. The colors produced vary by how thick the oxide layer is.
As a lefty, i close all my right handed frame locks with my left hand. Iv noticed that this is quicker than closing with the right hand. I just keep my index finger on the spine and close in one smooth movement. When doing it right handed (correct me if im wrong) you start closing with you index finger and then close with the thumb. Whilst i dont think Spunkkks point is a problem and certainly not a design flaw, closing left handed also avoids this issue coz your thumb moves out of the way
The toroid cutter is producing great results for you. It's one of my favorite tools. Have you ever considered using a belt grinder to remove the "steps" left by the cutter? Tried it? Or are those tooling marks a characteristic that you want to be part of your blades as a stylistic?
Damn. there for a mineut i thought i was going to break down and spend a weeks wages on one :( however by watching your progress i am getting an appreciation for your cost, who knows maybe ill justify the expense some day, just not today, i cant. keep up the great work and vids!!!
If you have no milling or CNC experience at all then the class will likely be a benefit to you if for no other reason then you'll get the conceptual framework of how the work flow from CAD, to CAM to machining works. Not to mention familiarity with the machine, work holding and tooling. That was my experience.
Search on ebay for 440c bearing ball, search around till you find ToolSupply as the vendor. I can send you a little baggie with 500 balls for $10 shipped. Or just 100 ish if you want. And yes, you can press out the stock balls and put in ceramics really easily.
I get them from him on ebay, never actually ordered from his website. Want some 1/16" 440c balls? I just ordered 5000 and got them today, way more than I need.
I think Im going to try to get some ceramic ones and then put them into the AKS caged thing. I just gotta call them and see if it can be like opened.. Not even sure really how they work.
Sure lol how much are they? I was only going to get like 100 or so ahha. And do you know if its possible to take the balls out of caged ones like the AKS ones and put in ceramic ones? Thatd be cool! lol. And also what do I search on ebay to get his store? And .com Im assuming?
Looks abit risky, that in order to close this knife you have to push on the lockbar and fold the blade down towards the finger holding the lockbar (if that made any sense?). Wouldnt another form of bladelock be more safe?
John man, these look awesome. I've watched all your videos from the start. I find myself looking on UA-cam every day just in case you up load a new one. I've started doing a few parts on my machine I built, check them out. Again awesome job And Canadian made :-)
I must have dreamt that or something lol I feel like a dumbass. I really want one so bad now. Im saving up! Keep it that price for a while and I might make it! :P I would love to have your knife as my first custom and my first knife over $100 ahahah
Thanks! I'm super pumped with how these pre-anodized ones worked, can't wait to try other colors before tumbling.
Shane explained it well. The Tormach itself is relatively easy to learn, it's the whole CNC process (CAD/CAM/Tools/Workholding/etc/etc/etc/etc) that's tricky and time consuming to learn. But so much fun!
For 450 bucks, that's an insane deal considering how much work you put into these things. I can tell in your face that you treat each knife like it's your baby, I can see how proud you are of them, your passion for knifemaking is really admirable. Once I can fork out 450 bucks, I'd absolutely LOVE to get one of these bad boys. You can count on me being a future customer.
Great Vid !
Your enthusiasm and passion towards making the Norseman is awesome. When I watch the updates I know without a doubt that your making an excellent knife and that adds to the pride of ownership that folks have when they purchase. Btw, they look bad ass too! Glad to be on the list for one !!
I'm building a grinder that I'll use for many things, but like you said, the steps are sort of my trademark now.
That's the only one we anodized before tumbling, along with 4 clips. The diamond ones get pretty well tumbled, so I'm not sure how much color would remain. Of course we'll be carbidizing the lockface on every knife. That one was too, it just hadn't broken in yet. Now it's butter smooth, no sticking at all.
Can't wait to get a blue tumbled one. That is one beautiful knife.
Thanks for showing us more on your toroidal cutter John.
Great vid john, nice to see u grinning about the results:). Love ur ingenuity and passion for the norseman! Respect from fl.
AKS's new stainless bearing cages look pretty awesome, you'll be able to press them in just fine.
It's a skill, just like anything. The flipper tab hits your thumb before the blade falls and cuts your thumb off, so it's usually A-Okay. There are other blade locks out there, but this style, called the frame lock or integral lock, is one of the strongest and most common among this style of knife. After a while it's second nature and not dangerous at all, you get used to it.
Coming together great John, thanks for the update.
The finish work on the handles looks fantastic!
wicked norseman logo ! ! !
stonewashing looks TIGHT
and overall i cannot wait for another grimsmo !
take care guys
Glad you're still watching! I saw that chainring you made, that thing is awesome.
Btw, the way I see it is you're right,, "Get it now while you can" lol also if you think about it, your second batch of knives were much better than the first, and that will continue as this next batch will be better as well. Can't wait my brother. Thanks for emailing me so much. I appreciate your advice and help with my first custom knife. Thanks again John, you guys Rock !!!! Lol Mark in Ky. U.S.A.
It is pretty sharp right off the mill, but of course we do have to sharpen each and every one to get the angles perfect and the edges nice and razor sharp.
No, but I will for a few special knives. They're considerably more expensive, but they're also 5x more accurately round, so it'll be interesting to see if I can feel a difference for the pivot ball bearings.
Yay! We've made even more progress since we filmed this vid, tons of cool stuff. You're gonna flip when you see the pivots.
Awesome! I can't wait until mine is done.
When something like this happens and you actually get almost more than you could envision back after all those hours, weeks, and months of trying, and for this to work so well without hardly being worked on has to be some great kind of wealth of all that worrying?
Take care,
mrbluenun
AWESOME!!! I'm soooo excited!!! You guys are freakin rock stars!!!
Erik did that for the blades, works awesome. Doesn't work for titanium because it's not magnetic.
Yeah, we definitely should. "I think I got the black lung Pa" Zoolander.
You're thinking aluminum, titanium is a whole different animal. It doesn't rust, so protecting it isn't an issue. The anodized layer is the oxide layer, but with titanium the oxide layer is ridiculously thin. The colors produced vary by how thick the oxide layer is.
awesome work man! Keep up the good work.
Really enjoying these vids John, thanks!
Damn you, John. With each video, I regret not getting in on this batch more and more. :P
As a lefty, i close all my right handed frame locks with my left hand. Iv noticed that this is quicker than closing with the right hand. I just keep my index finger on the spine and close in one smooth movement. When doing it right handed (correct me if im wrong) you start closing with you index finger and then close with the thumb. Whilst i dont think Spunkkks point is a problem and certainly not a design flaw, closing left handed also avoids this issue coz your thumb moves out of the way
Great job guys. Your knives look awesome, maybe one day I'll own one.
Things are looking really good man!
0-2 weeks. We're batching as much as we can, but each knife will be finished by hand, one by one.
Grinds are looking good.
This makes me want to find a super early Norseman.
Great update.
Thanks Arjun!
The toroid cutter is producing great results for you. It's one of my favorite tools. Have you ever considered using a belt grinder to remove the "steps" left by the cutter? Tried it? Or are those tooling marks a characteristic that you want to be part of your blades as a stylistic?
Ugh, I can't wait to hold one of those things!
you should build some sort of fan system that sucks out all the dust from the disc sander.
sucks to get all that fine dust all over the shop.
Friggin awesome John. Congrats. :)) Mark in Ky.
Yea I see it on the website now. I swear there where $550 last year. Damn I wish I known that I probably could have got that together for this run!
Damn. there for a mineut i thought i was going to break down and spend a weeks wages on one :( however by watching your progress i am getting an appreciation for your cost, who knows maybe ill justify the expense some day, just not today, i cant. keep up the great work and vids!!!
I was thinking of making the integral prototype for Blade, but it just won't happen, way too much work involved. Sometime this year I hope.
Hummm, ceramic inserts for the button cutter eh? I like it, might have to try it some time. Got a suggestion for a source to get them from?
That is one HELL of a sexy knife. My birthday is tomorrow, I want one!
If you have no milling or CNC experience at all then the class will likely be a benefit to you if for no other reason then you'll get the conceptual framework of how the work flow from CAD, to CAM to machining works. Not to mention familiarity with the machine, work holding and tooling. That was my experience.
Search on ebay for 440c bearing ball, search around till you find ToolSupply as the vendor. I can send you a little baggie with 500 balls for $10 shipped. Or just 100 ish if you want.
And yes, you can press out the stock balls and put in ceramics really easily.
Not finished yet, today hopefully!
also you should probably get eric some dust collection on that sander before he gets the black lung.
You should make a jig for disk sanding with a powerful magnet the back
haha great. I will definitely check it out!!
I get them from him on ebay, never actually ordered from his website. Want some 1/16" 440c balls? I just ordered 5000 and got them today, way more than I need.
I think Im going to try to get some ceramic ones and then put them into the AKS caged thing. I just gotta call them and see if it can be like opened.. Not even sure really how they work.
Coming to Blade Show? Or Vegas in September?
I like what I see on your videos, but I wonder if you can make the groove of the lock bar on the other side so the back of the handle will be flat?
AwesomeNESS... Knife lOOks amazing...
if you will take it above 1000 to 1500 or 2000 grit (wet sand) you will get a damn near mirror finish. it what we use on our dice.
WOW, I HOPE I GET THE MUSTARD TO SPREAD ON THAT, DOG. VERY COOL.
Can you guys do a blue knife with orange flats?
did u use the ceramic ball bearings in the pivot as well? that would be awesome
Because there's a section of it that's really thin.
And did you try the pre anodizing before tumbling with the diamond pattern? And also are you carbidizing the lockface on this batch?
Can't wait!!!! #079...
Sure lol how much are they? I was only going to get like 100 or so ahha. And do you know if its possible to take the balls out of caged ones like the AKS ones and put in ceramic ones? Thatd be cool! lol. And also what do I search on ebay to get his store? And .com Im assuming?
Is the final cutt edge given by the CNC or you sharp each with sand paper or stone ?
sorry, maybe some of the therms I use are wrong,
No prob bud!
I wouldn't worry about that little guy...what did I just say and how come I am out of maple syrup again?
:D
Get the black ones.
do you have a website or something?? great knives by the way you came a long way since prototype 001.
Looks abit risky, that in order to close this knife you have to push on the lockbar and fold the blade down towards the finger holding the lockbar (if that made any sense?).
Wouldnt another form of bladelock be more safe?
Wait, you're machining hardened steel, why?
Is a tormach easy to learn? Or should I take a cnc class.
love u vids, i want to be an CNC frezer to.
If you ever start hand grind finishing those mill lines out of the blades. Then I'd consider buying one. Not my thing. Hey its your trademark I guess
And Damn I feel like I comment alot now. aahhaah Just wondering what ceramic balls to get white or black?
Amazing
John man, these look awesome. I've watched all your videos from the start. I find myself looking on UA-cam every day just in case you up load a new one. I've started doing a few parts on my machine I built, check them out. Again awesome job And Canadian made :-)
I must have dreamt that or something lol I feel like a dumbass. I really want one so bad now. Im saving up! Keep it that price for a while and I might make it! :P I would love to have your knife as my first custom and my first knife over $100 ahahah
How do you order one of these?
They've always been $450 ;-), but might not always stay that way.
Want...damn you guys and your torture tactics! :D
why is your titanium so easy to bend?
What's the ETA on this batch?
Nice
did you say 250.00 ?
He said in an earlier comment 450.
I thought they where 550?
Nope I didn't. They're $450 ;-).
do you have any bad f*cked up guinea pig knives I can have for a low price?
dubya dubya dubya GrimsmoKnives doot c o m
Send me an e-mail, my name at gmail.com. Current wait is about 2-3 months.
Lol thats what you get for shopping at CrappyTire ahhaha :P
It shows to go ya lol
Not completely effective with his beard, but yeah, he should be wearing it.
Sweet, subliminal advertising works! I guess it's not that subliminal, maybe superliminal...
You should buy Eric a real mask.