BHQ Paramilitary 2 CPM M4 Exclusive.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Mine also arrived today, and well worth the wait! Grind and bevels are even and it's screaming sharp! Quite pointy too! :) The natural G10 scales for me lasted about 5 minutes before the Torx driver was out and I was ready to swap my new Ketchen Micarta scales on. And then it got fun!

Maybe Loctite has teamed up with Krazy Glue because man, the screws were TIGHT!! I'm consider myself a pro now at modding and this one took some time. Between some heavy duty hair dryer heating to soften the cement they used and having to use my vice grips to hold my Torx bits to gain enough torque to ratchet those mothers loose, it was a battle! I did indeed f up one body screw and had to pull a sacrificial one from another PM2, but all finally turned out as well as I could ever have hoped!

Steve Ketchen is a grand master of scale making, and is in the good ol' USA. I have had several scale sets from other famous makers, and he blows them out of the water. He made these scales for me last winter when we heard these PM2s were finally coming to fruition. In maroon linen Micarta with a matching custom stepped backspacer, a knife I've been waiting years for! I hope you like the pics and Steve's handiwork speaks for itself! Cheers, Radioactive :)

[farnorthdan]

Eh...that looks alright I guess RS :p j/k lookin' good buddy, seems like your always about 10 steps ahead of the rest of us

[Spydersense]

Paul, that is a work of art!

[Liquid Cobra]

Handsome looking knife RS! The last few knives I've received from Golden have been pretty difficult to disassemble. They seem to be using red loctite now, which I'm really not a fan of.

[timlara]

That looks amazing, RS!!

Yeah, I've noticed the screws on my Golden knives are pretty much cemented in there as well these days. I guess on one hand I can't blame Spyderco for not wanting people to disassemble in order to reduce the false warranty claims when people who don't know what they're doing mess up a knife then try to get the factory to fix it for free...but on the other hand it's a bummer that it makes it a pain to work on mod-friendly knives like the PM2. No easy answer to both problems, unfortunately.

My BHQ knife came today as well! I really like the natural scales, so at this point, I don't plan on modding mine. The edge and grind are great on mine, centering and lockup is perfect, and the action is very smooth. It's a little too tight to flip closed when unlocking, but I think it will break in just right without any adjustments. Maybe a drop of nano-oil.

Many thanks to both Spyderco and BHQ for a job well done! :D

[SpyderNut]

Paul, that is one awesome M4 PM2! :D Looks fantastic, brother. Micarta rocks!

[Philo Beddoe]

Its a flipping frenzy..17 for sale on e bay.

[41Mag]

Those natural scales in my eyes look great! I will leave mine just as they came from the factory.

[MadmanR1]

Decided to check the mail at 10pm, wish I would've checked earlier. Looks right at home with one of my edc knives in natural g10. I'd really like a texture somewhere between the stock one and the smooth custom scales.

[awa54]

Handsome looking knife RS! The last few knives I've received from Golden have been pretty difficult to disassemble. They seem to be using red loctite now, which I'm really not a fan of.

Interesting... there was no threadlock at all on my TiPingo Sprint, the Italians must not have gotten the memo

[Liquid Cobra]

Handsome looking knife RS! The last few knives I've received from Golden have been pretty difficult to disassemble. They seem to be using red loctite now, which I'm really not a fan of.

Interesting... there was no threadlock at all on my TiPingo Sprint, the Italians must not have gotten the memo

Yeah it doesn't seem like a problem with the other makers.

[jimmyjohnjohn]

I'd really like a texture somewhere between the stock one and the smooth custom scales.

Well, one way to look at it is that the G10 texture will smooth out over time. So you'll get your wish by carrying it a lot.

[DougC-3]

I'd really like a texture somewhere between the stock one and the smooth custom scales.

Well, one way to look at it is that the G10 texture will smooth out over time. So you'll get your wish by carrying it a lot.

Then there's always sandpaper. From the looks of the pic on Liquid Cobra's BBQ cover (for which thanks by the way :D ) it's just as grippy as standard G-10. I was hoping it would be a little slicker, more like Halpern's natural flat grips. 'fraid I haven't been one to rush into customizing but I may take the big step and sand a grippy knife or two somewhere down the road :o

[animportant]

Behold the beauty!!!!!!

[animportant]

Woops double post

[paladin]

Nice scales Radio...I've commissioned a few sets of handles with Steve myself and I agree he's a top drawer craftsman and all-around good guy!

That backspacer is probably, in use, more comfortable than it looks...I hope.

[FK]

Red Loctite and screws,,, very easy to remove with a soldering iron and small tip or wood burning tool,,, apply tip directly to screw socket for a few seconds and the Loctite gives up. Hair dryer or heat gun will only heat up the entire knife G10 and liner,,, not very efficient to transfer heat directly to the Loctite.

Get a set of Wiha torx drivers,,,, 10 pc set for $18,,,,,, well worth the investment.

Regards,
FK

[Liquid Cobra]

Red Locktite and screws,,, very easy to remove with a soldering iron and small tip or wood burning tool,,, apply tip directly to screw socket for a few seconds and the Locktite gives up. Hair dryer or heat gun will only heat up the entire knife G10 and liner,,, not very efficient to transfer heat directly to the Locktite.

Get a set of Wiha torx drivers,,,, 10 pc set for $18,,,,,, well worth the investment.

Regards,
FK

This won't damage the screw? Thanks for the tip!

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Red Locktite and screws,,, very easy to remove with a soldering iron and small tip or wood burning tool,,, apply tip directly to screw socket for a few seconds and the Locktite gives up. Hair dryer or heat gun will only heat up the entire knife G10 and liner,,, not very efficient to transfer heat directly to the Locktite.

Get a set of Wiha torx drivers,,,, 10 pc set for $18,,,,,, well worth the investment.

Regards,
FK

Hi FK, thanks for your comments, I'm sure the others here appreciate hearing these common tips...

As you mention, the hair dyer heats up the entire knife in that area, not just the G10 and liner but also the screws and surrounding Loctite. Since metal has such high thermal conductivity, there is absolutely no issue achieving the same effect with 1 min or so of the hair dryer. Applying a hot soldering iron tip to the screw head directly will of course heat it efficiently as well, but you better make sure your hand doesn't slip or you're going to possibly hit the surrounding G10. Multiply that probability for all 6 screws and then decide for yourself whether the hair dryer or a hot soldering iron is the tool of choice for preserving your valuable investment. Plus, I have no issue of potentially discoloring the screws by hitting them with a high heat source directly.

I have a very nice set of Torx drivers. Again, the torque available at the end of the vice grips handle is far more than one could EVER achieve with any Torx driver, expensive or cheap...

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments about Steve's scale set! Cheers, Radioactive

[swigert]

Just checked tracking. Looks mine will be here tomorrow instead of Tuesday. Can't wait!