Project KOPA

[tonydahose]

well since the model was cancelled i have decied to carry it on by myself :p . i bought a few extrasNIB and this one which was a second, what better to pratice on :) . Part one, take off the old scales. it was a lil tedious but not too bad. total time about an hour. The knife before i touched it.






I started will a small stone on the dremel tool. i was trying to get the pin ground down so that the rest of the scale would fall off. no such luck, every single piece of this was epoxied down.




i went to take the clip off and i had forgotten that it wasn't a torx screw. i only had a bigger standard screwdriver, no philips so i ground the standard down until it would fit in the slot. i was at work and tools were limited



Here is what i used after figuring out that the scales were not going to come off easily. it got away from me once or twice but i was working without a vice, so i blame that instead of me :p :p

[tonydahose]

Here it is almost done, i finished it up with the small stone that i started with.


Done, for better or worse.





Here is the knife next to its future scales.


this is my first time trying something like this so wish me luck and stay tuned for the second installment :)

[Tank]

Looks like fun. Can't wait to see the finished product. Good luck.

[The Deacon]

Thanks for sharing Tony, know someone who'll be a bit disappointed the pinned scales are that difficult to remove. FWIW, so far your project is going at least as well as my first attempt and hand jigging a red bone Kiwi. :D

[anti-torsion]

Looking good. I would suggest putting tape over the SS to help protect it, granted this is a 2nd and your trial run

[supermatch38sa]

Thanks for sharing Tony, know someone who'll be a bit disappointed the pinned scales are that difficult to remove. FWIW, so far your project is going at least as well as my first attempt and hand jigging a red bone Kiwi. :D

Hi Paul,
I guess I was wrong, but I own a milling machine and a couple more specialized tools, more difficult yes but let the fun start. I hope I get it tomorrow, because Tony´s persian needs some milling time also and I want to do both at the same time this weekend.
Yours,
Jose
Ps. Tony first thing on next project is to protect the bolsters/rest of the knife. Duct tape works fine in case a tool slips close by.

[tonydahose]

Thanks for sharing Tony, know someone who'll be a bit disappointed the pinned scales are that difficult to remove. FWIW, so far your project is going at least as well as my first attempt and hand jigging a red bone Kiwi. :D

so how did it end? happily everafter?

Looking good. I would suggest putting tape over the SS to help protect it, granted this is a 2nd and your trial run

Ps. Tony first thing on next project is to protect the bolsters/rest of the knife. Duct tape works fine in case a tool slips close by.

yeah i guess i should have thought of that first, oh well live and learn. ok, now here are some questions for you knife mechanics out there. i was told to have a straight sanding block so that there wouldn't be a depression between the bolster and the scales. what kind of grit do i need to go down to to get the scratches off the bolsters? what grit should i start with and what number do i finish at? thanks

[supermatch38sa]

so how did it end? happily everafter?







yeah i guess i should have thought of that first, oh well live and learn. ok, now here are some questions for you knife mechanics out there. i was told to have a straight sanding block so that there wouldn't be a depression between the bolster and the scales. what kind of grit do i need to go down to to get the scratches off the bolsters? what grit should i start with and what number do i finish at? thanks

Tony, it doesn´t seem that deep, start with 180, then 320, end with 600-800 and then use your polishing felt with the dremel issued polish (red-burgundy), and you should have them with a mirror finish, if you want them in a brushed satin finish just use green scotchbrite and polish the bolsters lengthwise. Too bad you are that far, I could fill the clip space by welding it with 303-304 mig solder wire and polish it to look that it was born clipless. When I receive my own Kopa or Paul´s I´ll make a couple pouches to use in clipless guise for you and him.
Yours,
Jose

[bh49]

Very interesting project Tony. Please, keep us updated.
Looking forward to see your Persian as well.

[araneae]

Probably the most important thing I learned with the Dremel is to protect everything you don't want to scratch. Even with a steady hand that little stone will jump around. A variable speed tool with a flex-shaft is also nice as you have more control over things. Tinkering is fun. Is that wood Purpleheart?

[tonydahose]

Looking forward to see your Persian as well.

me too! :)

. Is that wood Purpleheart?

yep, i have that and some special wood i bought for kopa project #2.

Thanks for the Tips Jose.

[Nifty_Nives]

Hey tony.

I dont know much about this knife, but as for the bit of bone on the scale there, is it fully riveted down or could you have possibly used a tiny pry to get it off much cleaner?

I would have tried to grind (very carefully) at the pins and then just peel the bone up if thats how it works, but i dont know exactly how well that would work... try that on the other side?

[tonydahose]

i did that first...it is in one of the pics above. i ground all the pins off. the scale is epoxied down. i tiny piece of bone near one of the bolsters popped out when i got 1/8" from it. that was the only piece that came out easily. if you read the commentary with the pics that was my plan of attack at first until i realized it was all glued down tight.

[Nifty_Nives]

is there some way to squeeze some "Goof-off" into the epoxy? that would be a simple way to rid of it, but it might be too much effort for what its worth.

[gull wing]

Good luck with it. It's going intresting to see how it turns out.

[Sequimite]

I heard it reported that the scales were splitting, bulging and coming off some of the stacked wood Kopas at the SFO sale. If anyone has these, they might contact Tony. I imagine the wood scales would be easier to remove.

[TD22057]

Good luck. I was thinking about doing this as well (I'd really like to see one w/ amboyna burl or ironwood) so I'd love to see pictures as you progress.

[tonydahose]

I heard it reported that the scales were splitting, bulging and coming off some of the stacked wood Kopas at the SFO sale. If anyone has these, they might contact Tony. I imagine the wood scales would be easier to remove.

i actually have one of them, it looked fine to me, i dont know why it was marked a 2nd, they have better quailty control than my eyes could see. :)


ok, part 2

so i was thinking of how i could get the shape of the scales so i could transfer them to the wood...playdoh of course :p :p



here is the impression




I got the first side to fit in pretty good next to the bolster, i knew the other side was going to be alot harder.




getting another measurement with my high tech tool

[tonydahose]

close but no cigar




well after about 50 times of going back and forth with these 3 steps: try to fit the scale into the knife, mark with a pencil & sand it down with sandpaper..REPEAT :mad: i finally got the other side in. it was so tight at first that when i pulled the wood out it broke off a small piece.




finally both sides in nice and tight



now i am working on the top and bottom, the cutout for the lock release was a litttle tricky.




and done for the day. i need to sand the top of the scales flat and then round the edges but i couldn't find my router this morning. i think it looks pretty good. :)

[ozspyder]

Tony !

This project looks fantastic ! :D I can't wait to see your finished project. I haven't had the brass monkeys enough to try this on myself.... yet

You gotta love the high-tech solutions to hurdles. Sometimes they are the best.

Also can't wait to see your Persian project as well. I'm working on getting a couple finished off by someone else but then I think I might try it on to see if I can attempt at even getting close to what any of you guys on the forum get up to :p