How I make pocket clips.

Calvin Robinson

Calvin Robinson

Moderator Christian Forum
I made these dies today so that I can form my own pocket clips. I borrowed my friends,Steve Jernigan's,dies that he made years ago and copied them so I could have my own set. The first two photos show the dies with dowel pins for alignment.
The third photo shows cutting the .038" titanium close to the lines I scribed from my pattern. The fourth photo shows 4 rough cut pocket clips and the 5th photo shows me grinding to my scribed lines.
 

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Next I put the titanium pieces between the dies,you can see the 1/16" dowels that keep the piece in proper position,then I place them in my machinist vice( the same one I quench my blades in) and start squeezing things together. I crank the vice down until it won't go any more.
 

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That's all there is to make a pocket clip. I made five in less than 30 min., once I got the dies made. Of course I don't shape the tang and drill the holes and put the finishing touches on them until I put them on the knife.
 

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Nice Calvin, too bad there isn't a place to buy a set of dies like that. I don't think I could machine something like those.
 
Great idea Calvin. Something so simple can really help the day along with less stress. Calvin, you didn't say if you hardened them?

Steve, looking at your knives, you could easily make a gig like this. It would just take a. Up of coffee and a little time to lay out the pieces. Drill some holes in the right place and then cut out the wast steel. Spend some time with a grinder and file and your set!

erik
 
That looks pretty darn slick thanks for sharing. Do you have to HT them? Also how do you finish them just sand or tumbler?
 
bladegrinder said:
Nice Calvin, too bad there isn't a place to buy a set of dies like that. I don't think I could machine something like those.
Click to expand...

I could make you a set if you like but I'll tell you, I didn't machine anything except the sides of the blocks that I cut with my bandsaw and I only did that because I didn't want to grind them. I did all the cutting and shaping on my band saw,Bader 3, and horizontal belt grinder. It took me about four hours to make the dies.
 
cnccutter said:
Great idea Calvin. Something so simple can really help the day along with less stress. Calvin, you didn't say if you hardened them?

Steve, looking at your knives, you could easily make a gig like this. It would just take a. Up of coffee and a little time to lay out the pieces. Drill some holes in the right place and then cut out the wast steel. Spend some time with a grinder and file and your set!

erik
Click to expand...

I didn't harden them,I used mild steel. If I were going to be cranking out a thousand clips a day I would use tool steel and harden them.
 
Calvin - it looks in the photo like there are 3 dimples in each end. Looking close, is that a pin on one side, with a small hole in other side to hold metal clip in place so it doesn't move during pressing?

A VERY good job - but I wouldn't expect anything less from your shop :)

Ken H>
 
KenH said:
Calvin - it looks in the photo like there are 3 dimples in each end. Looking close, is that a pin on one side, with a small hole in other side to hold metal clip in place so it doesn't move during pressing?

A VERY good job - but I wouldn't expect anything less from your shop :)

Ken H>
Click to expand...

Ken,
On the end where the tang of the clip goes there are dowels to position the clip properly,there are also two dowels on the small end of the clip to position that end. I intended 3 dowels on the tang end but my 1/6" reamer broke off in one of the holes so I have two dowels and one hole. These dowels are left proud about .015",the titanium is .038" thick so the dowels do not interfere with forming the clip.
Since you are from Alabama I will explain it this way,those dowels keep the clip from getting catiwhompus in the dies while forming.:biggrin:
 
Shucks Calvin - you make it seem so easy. Of course there is no reason to have matching holes in other side of die. I had figured the "pins" where to hold clip in place while forming, but was thinking about them being longer and needed a hole in other die. So elegant a solution.

Ken H>
 
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