Props Project Cqc, Odst Combat Knife

[HeavyGunner]

Well guys, I might be jumping the gun on this one, cause I've still got two weeks of school left, but I just can't seem to control my urge to jump on a million projects at once! I'm goin beast mode as soon as that last bell rings.

What I have here is a plan to start a Close Quarters Combat Weapon System. Or, in a nutshell, the combat knife.

It has been featured in Halo CE, H2 and also H3 on the Difficulty Shields in all the campaign menus for every game. I've got a general plan for the construction, which will be described in the following paragraphs. Unfortunantly, I was only able to secure one incredibly tiny reference shot of the knife off the Halo Wiki, in addition to the screens of my computer and xbox in all three games. I began drawing the blueprints last night. I ran into a roadblock, however, because of my extreme desire to make the Knife 100% accurate, and my equally pertinent desire to sketch the whole thing by hand, rather than using rulers, compasses, and other objects for drafting, that frankly, I don't like. :concerned: I took a drafting class last year in high school, trying to gain some AutoCad experience, but all it gave me was a headache, and a desire to severely maim my instructor. :rolleyes Luckily what I got out of the experience, was that I like to freehand sketch things more than using rulers and every tool that emphasizes presicion. What I started on last night started out as a bunch of Algebraic proportions, and a heck of a lot more math than I ever wanted to do of my own accord! Good god, I thought I was gonna drown in all the dimensions, estimates, and supposed percentages that I was coming up with! I finally decided that after drawing the handle of the knife with an estimated scale, I was going to draw the blade entirley free hand. I realize that the scale, and proportion of blade to handle, is supposed to be correct, but I got fed up, and decided to roll with it.


Ok, here we go. After Sketching the entire knife blade, I got a total length for the entire knife of 40.3 cm. I have to admit, it turned out a lot bigger than what I expected, but I think that the game to real world functionality will remain relatively intact. It does look somewhat big for a knife, but if I had shrunk the blade anymore, I would have had to shrink the grip as well, and then it would have been too small to hold well. Here are some pics from my phone of the draft in progress.

I believe that the overall look of the knife is good, but I really truly would like some feedback. I want you! To tell me what you think!

The overall planned construction will proceed as follows,

Supplies:

(1) 48"x48" sheet of 1/8" thickness Pvc sheeting Link For Supplier Here
(1) Bottle of Super Glue (Gorrilla Glue Impact Tough Formula)
(1) Saw ( I'm not entirely sure what kind I need yet, so I'm gonna ask Lee about it later)
(5) Packages of Sandpaper (various grits)
And a hell of a lot of elbow grease!

The overall method for construction will consist of cutting out the "Tang" of the blade out of the 1/8" pvc board. I will then proceed to layer the grip, and make the hilt (pretty sure that's what you call the plate seperating the blade and handle) out of the same pvc, except it will be made of two pieces of the 1/8" board glued together to get a thicker piece. I will cut the tang accordingly, so that I will be able to slide the hilt onto the the tang will relative ease, and then be able to sand the two so that they fit together without any gaps. Basically I want the knife to look as if it was all made of one piece. I will then sand the layered grip so that is has a very rounded appearance. This is the part that will take a long while. I'll have my work cut out for me if I decide to do the sanding by hand instead of with a mouse sander. After getting the knife to a point where I have good overall appearence, I'll paint it.

So.... That's it! Any feedback or criticisms about this method are much appreciated! I would really like to hear from some of our veteran builders about their opinions on this. With any luck, I'll actually be able to make progress on this project, and not let it fall through! Please comment on the length, look of the sketch, or any concerns about the construction method! I really need your opinions.

 

[Spawn Camp3r]

here is an example of the proper scale.

GameTrailers

skip to about 1:30

 

[juliet76]

Looks very good for free hand HeavyGunner.

But you're not the first one to be working on this. I started the topic a few weeks ago here-
http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showtopi...mp;#entry285716

Lord Devious has started on one just recently here-
http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18212

Way back in 2007 (meaning don't post in this thread now) Unique Name made some very nice ones here-
http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3377

And Link4044 made some for his cool legendary shield at one point too (see picture in the first link's thread).

There seems to be a lot of variation on the sizing. Halopedia states that the blade is 20cm long, but that sheathed the whole thing is 43.3cm long(how when the handle is considerably shorter than the blade?). The ones used for the difficulty settings must be bigger than that due to thier size in relation to the Elite skull on the legendary symbol. Which matches up to the video that Spawn Camper posted, which if I recall correctly was the origin of the knife (it was included in Halo development when it was a third person game but was later dropped and was then used for the difficulty settings along with the Marathon symbol on the shield. If I remember correctly that is).

Link made his about 2 foot, Unique Name's were 15'', and I'm concentrating on the 20cm blade length for knife blueprints (which I'm quietly working on) but longer for my heroic emblem.

Back to comments on yours, like I said they're really good for free hand. I notice we've both gone the same route by making the top of the blade and top of the handle level. I think you need to bulk up the front guard some more and also angle it, as well as add a little bit more meat (length) to the butt (pommel).

I'd also learn to get my head around those pesky numbers and dimensions if I were you for when it comes to doing blueprints. But that is just my opinnion. There are many talented artists out there that play big roles in things like game development that never pick up a ruler, but me I can't draw a thing without one, or three!

Good luck with this Gunner, I'm keen to see how you go especially using the PVC instead of timber.

P.S. Use a scroll saw for cutting out the blade if you can get access to one. If not paitence and a coping saw will do to.

 

[HeavyGunner]

Ahhh yes! Feedback is good. Thanks so much juliet.

Wow! I had no idea that there were so many wips, including yours! How I missed all of those is beyond me :rolleyes Ok, so let's see here.

There seems to be a lot of variation on the sizing. Halopedia states that the blade is 20cm long, but that sheathed the whole thing is 43.3cm long(how when the handle is considerably shorter than the blade?). The ones used for the difficulty settings must be bigger than that due to thier size in relation to the Elite skull on the legendary symbol.

Yeah I agree 100%. I noticed the distinct differences of the sheathed and unsheathed lengths on the wiki too. Honestly that's kind of what drove me to do it freehand. I wanted it to be game accurate, but bungie's dimensions soemtimes aren't 100% spot on with what humans are made for. (As I'm sure you've found with your bulldog project)

I think you need to bulk up the front guard some more and also angle it, as well as add a little bit more meat (length) to the butt (pommel).

Ok, so I'm thinking another 1/4" for thickness of the handguard? I think I'll double it to make sure it looks good. And yeah, I'm thinking a little extra handle length would make it more comfortable. Maybe another 1 - 1 1/2 inches?

I'd also learn to get my head around those pesky numbers and dimensions if I were you for when it comes to doing blueprints. But that is just my opinnion. There are many talented artists out there that play big roles in things like game development that never pick up a ruler, but me I can't draw a thing without one, or three!

Haha my dad wants me to go to college for civil engineering, and I always tell him, "Dad! Computers are more my thing! I'm way better with absract concepts than I am with dimensions and numbers!" I'm pretty good at math, but I'm a lot stronger with more abstract things. I'd rather sit at a desk all day and ponder new ideas than crunch numbers to build a bridge. Lol

Good luck with this Gunner, I'm keen to see how you go especially using the PVC instead of timber.

P.S. Use a scroll saw for cutting out the blade if you can get access to one. If not paitence and a coping saw will do to.

Thank you! I was wondering what kind of saw to use. I know my dad has a coping saw, probably not a scrolling saw though. I think I've seen one in yours and lee's threads, and it looks dangerous and expensive! I think I'll cut the template out, trace it onto the board when I order it, and be really careful with the coping saw. Gotta make sure to get it perfect!

Thanks for all your help Juliet! I've gotta order that board now!