Slipjoint Folder Pin Placement

This is how I lay out my pin placement on a slipjoint. The goal is to have your pin holes perfectly aligned through both liners as well as the blade and spring. The pin hole locations determine the geometry of your knife and how the knife will function, since the distance from the pivot pin to the spring pin will determine the angle of your blade in the open position.

[@Devon.Martin]

Great info. Thanks for sharing

[@Squirrelnuts3]

Your videos are perfect, no fancy editing needed. Thank you!😊

[@alanchappell414]

Brilliant!! Thank you so much for all your videos !! So helpful and really well explained👍👍

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

Thanks Alan!

[@alanchappell414]

If you ever get time to make a video of the pitfalls in designing a slip joint folder template, I’d love to see it👍👍

[@LesBricoleursDuDimanche]

Valuable tips ! Thank a lot (A guy from France)

[@alanmills655]

Thanks so much. Super helpful. Really appreciate your videos!

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

Thanks Alan! i know the videos are kind of piecemeal. I get busy finishing orders and don’t always have time to slow down and record what I’m doing. If you have any recommendations for video topics I’d love to hear them.

[@alanmills655]

J Wilson Handmade Knives thanks. I’d been keen to see the difference between heat treating the spring vs the blade. The time & process. Thanks again for the great videos!

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

Alan Mills that’s a good idea for a video. Just as an fyi- i’m using AEBL stainless. The heat treat is the same. 1725°F for a twenty minute soak and a quick plate quench. then 1950° for a ten minute soak and plate quench. -> Cryo treatment. -> Then the blade is tempered at 350°F for two hours and the spring is tempered at 1000°F for two hours.

[@alanmills655]

J Wilson Handmade Knives Brlliant. Thanks for that-very helpful👍🏻😀

[@fioenz]

Dommage que cette vidéo n'est pas en Français, elle a l'air si intéressante... le gars s'en donne à coeur joue pour expliquer dans les moindres détails bravoooooo

[@ovidiocalvet]

nice work mate

[@emesser7087]

Thank you very mich for sharing! Very interesting. 🙂👌

[@mattsimmons3259]

Excellent content

[@TheBeStLifehomestead]

sweet video I will watch it a few more times. Its neat to see how everybody does it a little different. I drill my pivot and spring holes before I even start my liners. Your way might work better I will try it on my next one. I tend to mess up that last hole on the spring often setting the tension to soft then making another set of liners it drives me nuts.

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

TheBeStLife i feel your pain! I’ve done it your way, too. Each way works, and each way has its own set of pitfalls. I think the key is to settle on a single method that is at least repeatable so that we know which potential hazards to look out for.

[@michaelmccollum7130]

Just read you answer to this question previously asked…

[@ralfkessler]

Funny every maker seem to have there own individual way just a little different from each other. Thats not bad you just have to absorb what works for you. I wonder are there ANY ROCK SOLID WAYS to make your own.?????

[@lizardhollow]

Love your videos! Im just a gal who wants to make better knives. Thank you!,

[@andybrock100]

Interesting, helpful videos especially as I’m just getting into making slip joints. One thing I didn’t catch is how did you determine the measurement between the pivot pin and the first spring hole?

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

Andy Brocklehurst that measurement can be completely arbitrary. About the middle of the spring’s length looks good for the sake of balance, but it’s totally up to you. Obviously the farther away from then pivot, the less spring tension you will end up with.

[@DTKcustomknives]

What material is your liners buddy,great videos thanks for sharing

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

i generally use 410, 416 stainless. I use the same for my bolsters.

[@DTKcustomknives]

@@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760 thanks buddy

[@alanchappell414]

How do you calculate the distance between the pivot pin and the central spring pin? Thanks

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

You don't really need to calculate the distance from a spring design perspective. There is no "correct" place to put it. The central spring pin is usually going to end up somewhere around the middle of the knife, or at the apex of a curve. You want enough length between the central pin and the pivot to allow the spring to flex without undue strain. You also want enough spring length between the central pin and the place where the blade kick will rest to allow room to relieve the spring some if the spring tension is too strong. Mark where the blade's kick contacts the spring before you start grinding any relief. It's very easy to grind too high so that the kick falls into the hole and ruins everything. In case I misunderstood the question: If you are asking how to calculate the distance so that you can lay out the holes in the spring and the liners- you don't lay out those holes by measurement at all. It all starts with the pivot pin hole. You will already have drilled the pivot pin hole in the blade. This hole is the zero point for all other measurements / hole locations. Take both pieces of your liner material and stack them. Lay the blade on top and drill your pivot pin hole in the liners through pivot pin hole in the blade. Now you have a pin going down through the blade and both liners. Keep the pin in the hole. Then you lay out the spring (with no holes in it anywhere) engaged with the blade. Clamp everything down to the liners so that the blade and spring stay engaged as thought the knife were assembled. Drill the hole for the central pin through your spring and liners all at once. The final hole in the bottom of the knife is what sets the tension, which is why it's the last hole you drill.

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

refer to my video on "setting the spring tension" for a much better explanation. Thank you for watching!

[@alanchappell414]

Many thanks cleared that up nicely 👍👍thanks for sharing , most appreciated

[@d.j.roberts187]

Youre the best at explaining this stuff! Thanks!!

[@stefanodalleluche]

hello, thanks for the very useful video, I would like to ask you if it is possible to have the template of this knife, it is very interesting. Thank you.

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

The template for this knife is found in a great book called "Slipjoints - My Way" by Don Robinson. It is a wonderful book and available on Amazon.

[@stefanodalleluche]

@@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760 wow thank you ;-)

[@lastknives]

hello, im just want to make some slipjoint folder my question is pin diameter important? what diameter of pin that perfect for slipjoint? thank you

[@АлексейКудисов-е1ы]

Thank you for your video ! But it just hardly to understand for me ! Because I'm from Russia. But thanks again anyway ! Excuse me for my terrible English.

[@michaelmccollum7130]

How do you calculate the distance from the pivot hole to the center hole in the spring? Thx-

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

there is no need to. You’re going to clamp the spring down and drill the hole through the spring and liners at the same time. That hole can be anywhere you want it. The blade and liners will already have the pivot hole drilled, so that is already fixed. Put your pivot pin in. All you have to do then is engage the spring to the blade, clamp it in place and drill it. The last hole at the bottom comes much later when you set the spring tension.