Coye Knives

[Bill Coye]

Meth Lab Decon, Wagoner County '09. Don't ask where.

We didn't use any other cutting tools on this job. This was the first hard-use field test for the 154CM steel.

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When a mattress doesn't have a handle, we make one.
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It got used like any other tool. We cut, pried and generally beat the crap out of this knife. At some point it got dropped and stepped on. I found it ground in to the dirt in the front of the property. So far, so good.

Overall, I was happy with the edge retention. As I do all of my own heat treating and cryogenic treatment, this was an important test.

BC

 

[Bill Coye]

Amen brother! Knife Makers are a different breed thats for sure.

Kick arse down at Blade in Atlanta for us. Make sure and get Matt Ryans auto for me....lol Falcons baby!!

Guys, if you want a hard use Tac- Blade, Bill is your guy. His knives are currently being used by our troops overseas as well as LEO!!! His Blades and design have proven themselves.

Kick butt down there Bill!!! I hope to see you at one of the Blades a few years from now...maybe even go half on a booth....hehe

Chris

Thanks Chris,

I'll let you know how it goes - gotta get through Wanenmacher's first!

BC

 

[sumoj275]

Some great looking blades.

 

[warrior45]

I hear ya pardner. Man that has got to be awesome hanging out BSing and selling knives with the best of them. Big time Congrats to you Bill.

Keep on rockin buddy!

Chris

Thanks Chris,

I'll let you know how it goes - gotta get through Wanenmacher's first!

BC

 

[Wormydog1724]

As a Flight Nurse/Paramedic for Tulsa Life Flight for 10 years, I wore a necker under my nomex flight suit daily. There is a design for a necker on the drawing board but I won't be able to put any real R&D into it until after Blade in Atlanta.


BC

Well let me know when you get one made, I am in for sure. These knives are awesome and I would love to have, wear, and use a true piece of craftsmanship and art.

 

[Bill Coye]

Well let me know when you get one made, I am in for sure. These knives are awesome and I would love to have, wear, and use a true piece of craftsmanship and art.

I will let you know for sure sir - you'll see it first on this thread.

Thank you for the kind words,

BC

 

[Bill Coye]

I'm going to re-post these first pics of a knife build I've got going on now.

Randy Milligan from OPS took this Oscar Mike prototype out for a spin after we beat it on a job in Arkansas. Now it's time to put that knife away and make him a new one. You can see I didn't sink the corby bolt deep enough on the butt of the knife.....oops. Hey, it's a prototype

Specs:

3/16 CPM 154 CM Stainless.
9 3/4" OAL.
Black micarta handle material.
Stainless corby bolts.
In-house heat treat, cryogenic treatment, triple tempered.
Two kydex sheaths: one to mount inside the mag pouch on the duty belt and one with a tek-lok for belt carry.
Did I really agree to this?!?


Here's the beater
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Like anything else, a design will go through an evolution as time goes on. Here are three different variants of the same knife. Although slight, each one fits differently in the hand. Finished balance and weight also are a concern. The design goals here are for a general utility knife that's light and quick in the hand yet has backbone to get the job done. The utility-type blade style lends itself better for general use versus a tanto, or other shaped blade.

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Use your kydex pattern and draw your outline
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Over to the bi-metal bandsaw for a little rough cutting
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Then to the grinder to profile the blank
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Drilling holes in the tang. Using 1/4" bit on a very slow speed on the drill press. If you don't go slow with the larger (> 1/8") bits you'll burn them up. Trust me.

Make sure to clamp that blank down if you value your fingers

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Hollow out the tand with a 2" wheel and a 40 grit belt
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Now to taper the tang - this will lighten the knife and give it better balance.
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Crappy picture but you can see the tang is tapered.
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[Bill Coye]

Got all of the mill scale ground off which is a bear

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Scribe some lines along the edge so you know where your going!

Fail to plan, plan to fail
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Hollow ground on an 8" wheel with 60 grit then 120 grit. We'll leave it there for heat treat
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Thumb serrations now before heat treating - other wise it'll be VERY difficult to cut those afterwards.
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That sucker is HOT. The blade gets "plate quenched' - two 1" pieces of aluminum draw the heat out in a rapid fashion to harden the steel properly.
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Into the oven at 1940'F for soak time of 20 minutes (takes an hour for the oven to ramp up that high), then temper the blade at 700'F for two hours. Now for the -300F liquid nitrogen cryogenic treatment
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The Oscar Mike and an Alpha Echo out of cryo
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After a second temper cycle, time to clean it up
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[warrior45]

Yeah buddy! I love your WIP's Bill. Now more folks can see what really goes into knife making.

I love your designs Bill...second, I love hollow grinds! For some reason I tried hollow grinding several weeks ago. Not an easy thing to do. They say its easier than flat grinding...well I guess thats why I need to get down to your shop brother....lol

Just so everyone knows. Bill is the first maker to send me steel to practice on. Its an honor to share a forum with a maker such as Bill. Keep on rockin on.

Looking great, looking forward to the finish work.

Stay tuned fellas, it gets better....Trust me.

Much love BC!!!!

Chris

 

[warrior45]

Ok, now we are talking! We need pics of the oven Bill. I still need to buy me one ASAP! This enables you to HT and temper your own blades accurately. I envy you Bill.....LOL