Mechanical Insight, Anyone?

[ArmasTermin]

I've gotten a few fun little projects in mind, one of them being a scaled down version of the classic science fiction weapon, the "vibro-blade". The idea is to vibrate the blade at a high frequency so that the vibrations do most of the work, allowing the blade to effortlessly cut through soft materials and still manage to slice even materials harder than the blade. I don't see any of that happening, but here's my idea.

I connect some sort of small vibration motor to a cheap folding knife blade, and power it with maybe a 9v battery and a switch, and mount it all in a water pipe for housing. The main thing, however, is I don't think I can get a powerful enough vibration at a small scale like that. The other option is to make some sort of up-and-down motion with the blade--possibly 1mm of movement up and down at a high rate of speed. Well-sharpened, it could easily make super-clean cuts.

But that sounds more complicated to do. I may have to put some spring pressure to hold the blade inward and then the motor to sequentially push the blade up against the spring tension until it releases and the process starts over again. This sounds like it would put a lot of wear onto the moving parts if it works, not to mention be pretty noisy, and I might not be able to get it to a small-enough scale.

Thoughts?  

[Requiem ex Inferni]

I think that's pretty much what a Sawzall does, but I don't know if that technology can fit in a knife-sized weapon.  

[ArmasTermin]

Requiem in Mortis

I think that's pretty much what a Sawzall does, but I don't know if that technology can fit in a knife-sized weapon.

It can if I try hard enough to make it, and don't expect it to do more than it's able to.  

[Requiem ex Inferni]

Well have at it then. But I demand a Youtube video of the finished product.  

[Maddness91]

are you talking vibration or reciprocation? a sawzall is just a reciprocating saw... idea = done xp

if you want to make a "vibrating" blade, get a decent sized knife, 6"+, attach a small speaker (1" Diameter) to it, power it with ur 9v battery through an adjustable resistor switch, and adjust the Hz coming out of the speaker until u find a output that works...
i have my doubts whether it will work or not, but have at it hoss...  

[ArmasTermin]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I'll make a YouTube video when it works.  

[Das Rabble Rouser]

I'm surprised nobody has done this yet.




mad

[Fresnel]

You can buy a reciprocating knife at Wal-Mart. I have one that's far older than I am (I think it was my grandfather's, and he died the year before I was born). They're commonly used for carving turkeys. For the vibrating one... the tough part is to not make the handle vibrate, 'cos that'll just hurt like an epic b***h. I like the speaker idea though.  

[Floyd]

I love the idea of taking a knife with a broken handle and grinding the handle and bolster away, leaving enough steel to make a Sawzall knife. A long and straight blade would be the most likely candidate.

Considering you can buy an 18v battery Sawzall today, that would make a wicked wound.

 

[Fresnel]

http://www.amazon.com/Rapala-Rechargeable-Cordless-Electric-Fillet/dp/B001NXC7TA/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_in



Effective enough in cutting turkey, I can see it doing a job on people.  

[Floyd]

The only two issues I would have using a two blade reciprocating knife are the design is solely for carving soft flesh rather than impaling, and the gap of the twin blades could, under some circumstances, cause a jamming of the mechanism.

Unlike a chainsaw, which wouldn't be phased by bone and cartilage, the carving knife isn't meant for either tissue. Many is the holiday I recall watching one relative or another make the mistake of hitting the bone in a ham with one of those devices.

Never impressed me as a potential melee weapon.  

[Fresnel]

Floyd

The only two issues I would have using a two blade reciprocating knife are the design is solely for carving soft flesh rather than impaling, and the gap of the twin blades could, under some circumstances, cause a jamming of the mechanism.

Unlike a chainsaw, which wouldn't be phased by bone and cartilage, the carving knife isn't meant for either tissue. Many is the holiday I recall watching one relative or another make the mistake of hitting the bone in a ham with one of those devices.

Never impressed me as a potential melee weapon.

I think I've seen single-blade versions. If you could sharpen one of those up...