Because there's a lot wrapping up right now I have pick of the litter for which thing to post about. Today I was feeling like being a good guy to the 405th to offset playing hardball with some other folks. Anyway long story short, post about a knife and free files because I like you all so much.
I love Halo Reach for it being in that weird period of time where reference images for the game are all super low resolution or DEAR GOD ALL THE PIXELS, it's like nobody could agree on some sort of common ground to use for image upload size. The combat knife was no exception and the sheath was even more all over the place.
With a little bit of time spent in
Fusion 360 and a bit of time in
Nifegun I figured out how to make a knife that'd work in the real world and would be strong enough to not instantly snap first time it was pulled. Hooray brittle 3D printed materials! I could have gone with Sintra, Worbla or foam but those would have been either too flimsy or too thick when supported, plus this way I can share things with you and possibly mould and cast copies later for folks without access to 3D printers.
[Halo Reach Combat Knife Files]
For cleanliness and ease of surface prep the blade is split into two slim halves to be laid flat on a printbed and the handle can be printed in an upright position.to further make your life easier I recommend a 0.06mm layer height for the blade to reduce the jagged edges from layers on the honed surface. For my copy I used
eSun PLA+ as usual but this time got to play around with my Tevo Tornado. Assembly is easy, glue the two blade halves together and press fit the blade peg into the handle slot to make sure there's good fit and remove any excess material if your printer is having issues with dimensional accuracy before final glue up.
Check to make sure everything is correct as pictured below after final assembly.
To save a bit of effort on sanding I used my new found favourite material,
XTC-3D, after a quick pass with the mouse sander through 80 and 220 grit. XTC-3D is a self leveling epoxy resin and it's great for getting into layer lines that are difficult to sand. The trick to it is that it loves to flow downhill so you have to babysit it with a brush and remove any drips forming or pooling in recessed detail. There's also the fun fact that it produces a high exothermic reaction as it cures and the larger the volume the quicker the reaction so a mixing cup left unattended may start smoking which is cool.
After the resin cured it was back to sanding and surface prep! The image below is some of the things I've been sanding over the last little bit and has been giving me better results than the gym. Eagle eyed viewers will notice some projects that I've yet to post about but have drafts in the hopper for.
Having a knife is great but I also wanted to have a sheath with a bit of personal flair to it. Because I don't always pre-make my patterns in CAD I used a piece of scrap paper to trace the outline of the finished knife and added an allowance outside the blade to give room for the foam to be contact cemented. Because the sheath is going to be stretched and strained by drawing and sheathing the knife it's important to use contact cement which maintains flexibility. Using 6mm EVA and 2mm EVA for the raised details I started bashing together the sheath, doing this in actual leather at some point would definitely be a fun project. I also prepared a crest to attach to the "leather" portion of the sheath. Four odds and ends bin screws were punched through the edges after drilling pilot holes and then super glued into place permanently.
Painting always is my favourite step and I still have a bit of weathering to go on these pieces but they're at a good point to share right now so why the heck not! Paints used are as follows.
Foam Primer -
Rustoleum FlexiDip Black
Primer Black -
P3 Black Primer
Gunmetal Base -
Rustoleum Dark Steel
Gunmetal Highlight -
P3 Cold Steel
Blade -
Tremclad Gloss Aluminum
White - Whatever GW called it ~10 years ago
Did I mention I'm a fan of
CHAPPiE and I've always
yelled this when pulling off assassinations.
Now I can work as a proper CQB and go diving in with shotgun roaring and when all else fails give them
some tickles.
If folks want a CAD pattern for the sheath I can do one up in a bit, you just need to ask nicely! Also, TacPad or Armour Ability post next?