My EDC friction folder has been the biggest project that GondekEDC has ever taken. There have been multiple designs for manufacturing iterations since the first design as well as countless 3D printed assemblies.
After all the work between myself, the manufacture (USA of course!), and component suppliers I have finally got to a design I am comfortable enough to produce a metal prototype. I went back and forth between the materials of the prototype which ultimately will dictate what I use for the first production run. I feel strongly that you need to prototype how you are going to manufacture. I ended up with two options. First is a more economically friendly option of aluminum scales and lower/mid-grade steel. This option will be more affordable both to manufacture and for the end customer, but not a dramatic decrease from higher-end materials. Being a small maker, my production runs are a drop in the bucket compared to the big guys, so labor and machine time are the biggest cost. Because of this, there wasn’t that big of an increase going to a higher-end option of titanium scales and a mid/high-end steel.
This first metal prototype has been kicked off and I hope to have it in my hands in about a month. I can’t wait to share the progress as it continues as well as get this product in your hands.