The OTFB: a switchblade-inspired, machined sculpture

Machinist/sculptor Chris Bathgate (previously) has revealed his latest piece: the OTFB (out the front/out the back), a spring-loaded, switchblade-inspired piece that substitutes rotation for a sliding switch, 'creating a small amount of mechanical advantage, lessening the effort on the part of the user needed to load the spring in the assembly.'

The piece is a prototype for a small planned run of 6-12 objects.

Well, I consider this first piece to be just the working prototype. There is still much more refinement ahead of me in terms of tightening up the mechanics and tweaking the looks. I think the best way to facilitate this is to do a series.

I have in mind a very small edition of these, maybe 6-12 total objects. For a project as mechanically complicated as this, I think it is the right way to go. I want to be able to take my time improving and experimenting with each one, but I also want to be able to move on to something new in a reasonable amount of time (you know me, always moving forward).

I made this first one in raw unfinished aluminum to keep it as kind of a blank slate, as I envision doing each consecutive one in a different finish and color scheme in addition to making many compositional modifications and changes along the way.

Incorporated knife tech into the world of Machined Metal Sculpture. [Chris Bathgate]