Lerch Knives LR-1

Lerch

Lerch

Well-Known Member
Well i finally got this one most of the way done today (i still have to bead blast the handle just a bit) This is for a SWAT team friend of mine, he wanted a large tactical style knife he could wear on his molle gear for vertical extraction. After talking with him for a while about when he may ever need to use the thing i came up with name LR-1 (Last Resort 1) for the design. this is my first large tactical style knife, my first time using CPMS30V and my first time using screws and standoffs for handle installation. It was a learning experince to say the least :)

Specs are:
CPMS30V stainless, 10.75" long--1.5" wide at start of cutting edge, Convex ground 5/32"
Heat treated 1950deg for 30min and plate quenched
Ln cryo treated
double tempered
Green linen micarta handles with red G10 liners
8-32 allen head screws
stonewashed finish

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let me know what ya think

thanks
steve
 
Looks good Steve.
The only thing I may have done is to thin the handle down a bit,
just a personal thing I guess.

God bless,Keith
 
Thanks guys,

The handle is pretty comfortable to grip, even being a bit larger. Im 6'4" and the guy im making it for is just a shorter than me with equally pretty big hands so it should fit him pretty well. I dont know that i will use S30V again though, the metal was amazingly hard to put much of a finish on, and i thought i had it done several times only to sit back with the blade and constantly find blemishes i couldnt live with. I finally had to get it way past where i would normally take stainless for a bead blast and then tumble it in the stonewash for half a day

Im thinking 440c for the rest of them unless this steel just amazes me some how after i sharpen it. I may try some M4 down the road as well.

thanks
steve
 
thank you sir!!

im pretty happy with this one, there are plenty of things that i will do different next time. i am finishing out this knifes brother tonight and it is already a pretty decent improvement mostly in the screws. the whole screws and standoffs bring a whole set of issues i was not used too but im learning as i go :)

This was also my first time using my dremel tool to make thumb serrations, i know these are a little out of spaced but i have already improved on the second knife, i made a big mistake on my pattern on this one and had to fix it as best i could

Again im not real happy with the S30V steel, its left me wanting in alot of ways so it better really impress me once i sharpen it, guess well see :)

thanks
steve
 
The handle texture looks cool and should provide a good grip even with gloves on. overall knife looks good.
 
Thanks guys

Ya i was thinking a heavy textured grip would be good for the SWAT guys with there light gloves on.
 
Thanks Art

Well i got it sharpened up last night, after the last 20 knives i have sharpened having been 1095 carbon steel i have to say this was more than a little different. It was a very noticeably harder steel, it took quite a while longer to put a edge on it than any of my carbon blades, or even 440c if i remember correctly. The blade even seemed to produce a very noticeable "gritty" sound as i ground the edge on it (i use my bader grinder and a worn 120grit belt to start the edge and move from there progressively to 900grit).

Once i had the edge ground through the progressive grits i hit it with the high speed buffer and some green rouge and produced a extremely sharp hair trimming edge. I still dont think it produced the edge i am able to get with my 1095 blades but it does feel like this edge would last a LONG time, though i cant really tell ya why i "feel" that lol

im happy with the steel but again after having the difficulty putting a good finish on it i think i will stick to 440C and 154CM, they were less of a pain.

I got this knifes brother finished up today, pics of it later tonight!

thanks
steve
 
Well I got my second LR-1 done tonight, this one actually has a 1/2" or just a little more longer handle, i wanted to see which one fit better. I think both have there advantages but i would say the slightly shorter OAL knife is my favorite thought i cant give you a good reason why :)

any way specs are mostly the same, same steel and blade length.
Convex grind again
1/2" longer handle
two tone bone G10 and BossDogs orange G10 liners
no lanyard hole on this one

here are some pics
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let me know what ya think

thanks
steve
 
I think they look great. Sometimes I'v found that a edge don't feal as sharp as it should will last a lot longer than a blade that will has a hair popping edge. My boys do a lot of hunting and their knives are 440C and they say they don't know why people don't like the 440C blades any more . and say that they will put their knifes up againest any other steel. But think I'm going to start using the cpm steels when I run out of ATS34.
 
Thanks Art

I have no doubt about the sharpness of this S30V steel, it will shave almost as good as my 1095 or 154CM blades. My only complaint if i have one is with the ability to apply any kind of finish to the surface. When i researched this metal I saw where most people had stated the same thing, that the knife is difficult to sharpen but holds a amazing edge but will also be very difficult to apply anything more than a matte finish to the surface

For the price of 440c i will probably make more knives in that, it was a little easier to finish

this thing does have one amazingly sharp edge though, very sharp and it just feels like it will last forever lol

thanks
steve
 
I like them both Steve, they turned out looking very nice. I have not used S30v before so I cant speak to that. I do like 440c and CPM540 for their finish and edge ability.
If you get a chance, let us know what kind of sheath and how it attaches to the molle gear. I've been wanting to do a verticle extraction knife and would really like some insight.
 
Thanks Eric

I made a simple kydex sheath as i usually do and used a small Tek Lok as the attachment. Being a SWAT sniper he decided he wanted to mount the knife either on this pack or on his belt, we set it up for a left side attachment for a right handed cross draw on his belt. For one of the entry guys i think a vertical mount blade facing upward on the chest would be awesome, all it would take is a quick down ward pull to have it in action. But i aint the guy wearing it so however they want them :)

thanks
steve
 
Here are a couple of pics the deputy who got the knife sent to me. He is a sniper on his SWAT team and a fun guy to have come out shooting with us.

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thanks
steve
 
Lerch said:
Thanks Art

Well i got it sharpened up last night, after the last 20 knives i have sharpened having been 1095 carbon steel i have to say this was more than a little different. It was a very noticeably harder steel, it took quite a while longer to put a edge on it than any of my carbon blades, or even 440c if i remember correctly. The blade even seemed to produce a very noticeable "gritty" sound as i ground the edge on it (i use my bader grinder and a worn 120grit belt to start the edge and move from there progressively to 900grit).

Once i had the edge ground through the progressive grits i hit it with the high speed buffer and some green rouge and produced a extremely sharp hair trimming edge. I still dont think it produced the edge i am able to get with my 1095 blades but it does feel like this edge would last a LONG time, though i cant really tell ya why i "feel" that lol

im happy with the steel but again after having the difficulty putting a good finish on it i think i will stick to 440C and 154CM, they were less of a pain.

I got this knifes brother finished up today, pics of it later tonight!

thanks
steve
Click to expand...

Steve,
You are making bust butt working knives! I wouldn't worry so much about that matte finish.
The swat officers don't want a mirror finish on the working blades anyway!
I have use a lot of S30V and you are right about hearing it complaint when you grind the edge on it!:biggrin:

The stuff holds a edge very long and won't roll!! I have moved to the slightly newer CPM-S35VN it's sister steel. Has about the same properties and is appox, 30% easier to grind! Still has a slightly rough matte finish. And still Bi$ch's & Moans when you grind it:biggrin:

I am also a big fan of 440C and use it alot on my culinary knives. i think 440C has the cleanest finishing properties of the steels I've use. If you want a clean Matte or mirror finish it is one of the best!
Still holds a edge very well, But the CPM S30V & S35VN will out hold 440C.
Nice work!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com/
 
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