The Mandalorian's Mini Knife

[torsoboy]

After seeing Din Djarin's kit layed out in the cargo crate in episode 5 of The Book of Boba Fett, I became enamored with his tiny holdout blaster and little mini knife. I know the holdout blaster is an almost-unmodified FP-45 single shot pistol, but I just like tiny weapons. Regardless, this thread is about the MINI KNIFE! I first saw the detailed image of it on The Parts of Star Wars facebook page, and as of this post they are still speculating on its origin. I don't particularly care to wait around X-number of days/weeks/months for someone to reveal if it's based on a found item or otherwise, so I just started with what I could see.

Reference image from The Parts of Star Wars:

 

[torsoboy]

A bit more progress tonight. I got it scaled, best guess at 105mm based on proximity and comparison to the FP-45 holdout blaster (known length 141mm). It's probably closer to 100mm but I feel it's "in the noise" as it were. I also got the blade attachment method figured out. Just two little tabs, one front and one back. That way it can only be attached in the correct orientation.

I'm gonna try to get a 3D print of it going here tomorrow.

 

[Halliwax]

Very cool! I didn’t even notice this knife!

 

[Halliwax]

Looks like a chisel and that weird highlighters we had as a kid where the caps were on the corners

 

[Halliwax]

They kind of looked like this but a rectangle

 

[Jamesfett]

This was such a good catch. I totally missed it in the case.

Looking awesome!!!!!!!!!!

 

[torsoboy]

Sorry for the long delay between posts! I've actually made quite a lot of progress on the mini knife. Since the last post, I redesigned the blade socket so it's one big tab, got it printed, cleaned up, and molded. And tonight I poured the first set of castings.

Not sure how many castings I'm going to get out of these molds. The molds are fine, but they're made in tin-cure silicone, and in my experience it just doesn't last too long before the castings start to suffer. I could transfer it into platinum-cure silicone, but that will have to depend on the interest in sales. So that's TBD.

(The blade was actually polished before molding.)

 

[Jamesfett]

I will be needing one of those.

 

[torsoboy]

Just a minor update. Been casting these up, and they just cast up so nicely. Haven't encountered any bubbles so far, and the seams are nice a tight with only a minimal amount of flash to clean up with a bit of sanding. I plan on casting up a batch of ten (#6 is currently in the mold), and then assessing the mold's longevity and casting on an as-needed basis after that. I will have these in the Junkyard at some point soon, I want to get one painted up first!

 

[torsoboy]

More casting progress! As I do more castings, they are coming out cleaner and cleaner. I suspect it's because as more and more resin molecules become embedded in the rubber, the rubber ever so slightly swells at the seam, making for a tighter seal when it's all bound up. I could be wrong, but either way the castings look better and better! To be clear, the earlier castings look great, but the flashing was very apparent. The last few barely had any flashing.

Earlier castings, with flashing:

Later castings, barely any flashing:

And here's my run. I've actually cast 12 of them (one for myself, and one for a friend). 8 of them are available in the Junkyard!

 

[shaggy13]

I just received mine and I have to say you did a great job reproducing this knife

 

[Jediguy]

We printed this for a client in aluminum . Pretty sure this was your file design. Great work!

 

[chibobber]

Received mine today. Great job. Should be a quick and easy build. Going to try the the chrome finger nail powder on the blade.

 

[torsoboy]

Received mine today. Great job. Should be a quick and easy build. Going to try the the chrome finger nail powder on the blade.

Scanning over this comment I saw "chrome finger nail blade" and my mind went to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This item is now officially Din Djarin's TOE KNIFE.

 

[torsoboy]

We printed this for a client in aluminum . Pretty sure this was your file design. Great work!

Sheesh that's pretty! I'm not worthy.

 

[E Williams]

I finished building one of these castings recently and am really happy with how it turned out. Such an easy casting to work with and a fun build!