Portable Blade for Emergencies- Made With Stuff You (Probably) Already Have!

Sometimes, you just need a small blade. One of those cases is in the outdoors, and when you go hiking or camping, you need a blade that is always with you for whatever you need (cutting rope or string, etc.). This Instructable aims to show you how I created a small blade (And attachable handle) out of stuff you (most likely) already have. Because I made mine out of a coin, I found that the soft metal as easy to dull, so its really a one time use. Even still, be careful where you bring it- Stay away from airports and schools with this, it could be considered a hidden blade. Please be careful if you choose to use it, as it is sharp and small. Concerns have been raised about whether it could be used for a weapon, and the answer is that it could be used as a knife, just like a knife would. However, using this to hurt someone is rather impractical, as it is so small. Not only should you avoid attacking someone in general, using this would result in you getting your teeth kicked in- there is no range. However, bear in mind that this is intended for educational purposes, and should not be used to hurt someone, either offensively or defensively. On the other hand, if you find you need to cut yourself out of a jam, such as a small rope that needs cutting, these can help.
I got the inspiration for this when i was talking to some friends about the coin necklace pendant I made, and you can see the 'ible for that Here.

Step 1: Supplies

So, here is what you will need...
Supplies:
- A coin or thick scrap metal,
- Hot glue,
- Your basic nuts and bolts (some thin and short ones that go together, we only need 2), and
- String (of some sort) for the necklace piece.
For tools, we will be using...
- Hammer/anvil (Or something else to fold the coin in half)
- Pliers
- Hot glue gun
- Drill and Drill bits
- Knife
- Files
- Whetstone (or more fine files to make a sharp point on the blade)
- Lexan (for a work surface when we are using the hot glue)
- Vice
- Vice grips
-Putty knife

Step 2: Bend Some Metal!

We will begin by bending our quarter. To do this, I hammered the the coin that I was holding with the vice grips until I had it folded into almost a half, and then I hammered it completely flat. However, I noticed that the coin did not fold perfectly in half. To fix this, I filed it down until I had an even, flat surface all the way around. I also filed the sharp points at the ends of the fold so that they were rounded and couldn't hurt me later.

Step 3: Sharpening Time

Now that we have what will become our blade, we need to sharpen it. To do this, I used a succession of files and finally a whetstone to get a blade that was as sharp as I could get it.

Step 4: More to Do...

Well, so far so good. However, as a whole, it has two big flaws:
- Safety (wearing a sharp blade around your neck = not good)
- No handle (although there are times when you can do without a handle, sometimes you really need one)
Both of these will be fixed soon!

Step 5: Protective Covering

In order to protect ourselves, we will be making a protective covering. The protective covering in question will be a case that fits oer the blade, and it will be fashioned from hot glue.

Step 6: The Hot Glue Case Preperation

The case, as I said, will be  made from hot glue. In order to make it, we will be using Lexan as a work surface. Using Lexan as a work surface for hot glue is a trick I figured out a while back, and it works so well because hot glue does not stay on Lexan very well- it can be simply pried off with little effort. I used a scrap piece of Lexan that I had lying around as my work surface.

Step 7: Hot Gluing

The work surface is ready, so now we will begin the gluing. I squirted a bit of hot glue in one point, waited a quick second, and placed the blade onto that. I then squirted some more hot glue on top of that. This led to the blade being completely encapsulated in the hot glue, and I walked away for the time it took to harden all the way through and be completely cooled.

Step 8: Prying and Shaping

Remember how I said the hot glue does not stick to the Lexan? I used this property now, as I pushed a putty knife to pry the hot glue away from our work surface. When it came off, I had a chunk of hot glue with a blade inside. Now, this is hardly the covering we need; the blade cannot come of and it is much too large. As a result, I trimmed it down into about the shape I liked. I then (slowly and gently) pulled the blade out, and because of the tabs that were behind it, I could put it back in and it stayed. (See the photo for clarification.)
With the blade out and the shape about how i wanted it, I found that  I had not cut it quite as smooth as I would have liked. To solve this, I carefully ran it over the hot tip of the hot glue gun. This reshaped it, but I had to be careful not to reshape it so much that I deformed my cover.

Step 9: The Handle

So that is our safety problem solved, now all we need is a handle. I started by making a U bracket out of some sheet metal that would encompass the blade. It will need some support to stay in there, however, and to solve this problem, I chose to drill 2 holes just a bit larger than my bolts. These holes went all the way through both the sheet metal and the blade, and in order to make sure they lined up, I put them the way I wanted them and then drilled through with a drill while they were anchored in a vice. However, be careful not to apply pressure to the blade, as you could damage the edge. Instead, put pressure on the sides.

Step 10: Finishing Touches to the Handle

To finish up the handle, I added some hot glue on the end that does not hold the blade. This will give us a softer handle, and thicken the body. I also drilled a hole all the way through, as I wanted a place for the necklace later. In addition, I rounded all of the corners for safety and comfort, again for when it will be a necklace later.

Step 11: Testing It Out So Far

By putting the bolts all the way through, and anchoring them on the other side (remember, they only have to be finger tight!) we have a blade with a handle. However, in order to turn it into a necklace, we will need to mount the string. The string length should be long enough to slide over and off of you head without any trouble, as this will make it easier to take off when you need it. I mounted the string by creating two loops (One in either end  of the string) and put the bolt through the loop and that then went through the handle. See photo for clarification.

Step 12: TaDa!

So that is the full emergency knife necklace! Now,  I am aware that it is no substitute for a knife when you need a good, long knife, and it should not be relied on as such. However, if you find yourself in a jam, or just want to open a package that has that annoying tape on it that you need a knife for, you just have to put it together. If you are feeling extra lazy, you do not need to attach the handle- just slide it off of your neck and its ready to go. If you need the support of a handle, however, you have one available for you. I would recommend that if you are going to hold onto for use in an emergency, keep it sharp and don't use it for anything non-essential. Also, another bonus for survival is that it comes with some extra string, which you never can have enough of in the outdoors (just like extra blades are a good thing in the outdoors!).

If you are wondering if it gets uncomfortable to wear around (as your intuition might state), the answer is no. I have been wearing it for a while now, and thanks to the rounding and hot glue, I found it to be actually quite hard to notice. I think the fact that it is so light helps.

I hope that you enjoyed this Instructable. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, please let me know. As always, have a nice day!
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Want to see the necklace pendent that gave me the inspiration for this? Check out the Instructable for that Here.