3D Knife

It is well known we can use 3D printing technology for printing figures, cars, toys and other funny things. But how far can we go? In this article, we decided to explore a new field – knife making. In fact, our goal is to see how durable and strong printing plastic is. Idea was to make a stamp with a maker’s logo on it and to use it instead of typical metal stamp. If our plan succeeds, it will open a new door and possibilities in different fields. In that case, you will be able to design, model and print your own stamp for different purposes. Also, you can change it however and whenever you want to, so it will be very practical, fast and cheap way of stamping and customizing your product with your own logo. Visit Shapeways.com!
After a few design ideas and drawings, we came to the final stamp. The knife maker’s initial and a small knife on the logo are our basics to start with. Modelling of the stamp was done in PARTsolutions by CADENAS, as always. Right measurement and dimensions are very important, so make sure everything is done right. Always check twice. Very important: this is a stamp, so you MUST use a “mirror effect”!
 
More info and free download of the stamp is available on PARTcloud:
 
http://b2b.partcommunity.com/community/partcloud/index#!part?name=ZP+knives+stamp&model_id=7371
 

The stamp is printed and we are satisfied with design, modeling and 3D printing. Also, it appears very strong, so hopefully it will not break during the stamping contraction. Still, a small metal plate will be glued to the stamp to make sure it is strong enough. You can see edges of the metal plate around the stamp on this photo. As we already mentioned before, the “mirror effect” is a MUST here, otherwise your logo-stamp will look wrong!
 

The knife is already made, so after measuring, we can design and make a knife sheath. It has to be made of a natural leather which is not processed in any chemicals or painted neither. Otherwise, the stamp will not hold to it. The knife sheath is wetted using a small sponge and water. You have to repeat this process several times to make sure the leather knife sheath is soft enough. You can see here the metal plate glued to the stamp.

After placing the stamp to the right position, use an adhesive tape to keep it fixed. Otherwise, it could move during stamping contraction, so make sure it is done on the proper way. When placing the knife sheath in a clamp, do not to move it too much and tighten it very slowly and carefully. Listen if you are going to hear any strange crack sounds, but it should be OK considering printing plastic is very strong and the stamp is supported by small metal plate, too. We left it like that for next 12 hours and we were wondering: will it work?
 

Day after: PERFECT! It looks better than we expected! All lines are “clean”, every detail is there and the print is deep enough to stay for a long time. So, we got our answer: the printing plastic IS strong enough to be used as a stamp. Now, when our stamp is applied, it is time for the knife maker to finish this knife sheath.

The knife sheath is painted with special leather paint and polished with special polishing leather liquid. Also, front side is decorated to look more interesting. This is how it looks like after final treatment. Not bad at all!

And this is the knife and the knife sheath together. It is a combination of the famous Crocodile Dundee and Bowie style knife. One more goal is achieved and this is one more proof of 3D printing diversity. We hope you can use it for you own projects or ideas.
You can find many other interesting models and parts on PARTcloud and PARTcommunity. Till next time!