Combining a Tusk and an Atlantic

[Hawg]

Hello my first post here -- I am looking for a new sailing knife for a long offshore voyage I have planed this summer. My ideal knife would be the Tusk (would get a lot of use from the marlin spike and shackle key) but with the non-pointy and serrated blade of the Atlantic. So my question is, would it be possible to switch the blade in a Tusk with a blade from an Atlantic or other similar knife that Spyderco sells? How hard would that be to do myself (obviously it would void the warranty, but Ive never needed to warranty any of my Spydercos in the past so I'm not too woried about that)?

If another serrated blade would fit in the Tusk body better/easier then what knife would I canabalize from?

In terms of blade priority for me it would be: Fits in Tusk > Serrated > Blunt Tip > Corrosion resistance -- although Idealy it would have all.

I'd prefer not to need to carry two knives for a job that should be doable by one. I wish Syperco would let you custom order some knives like Benchmade is now doing.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[The Deacon]

Interchanging blades between models in the same "family" is problematic, at best. Modifying a blade used with one type of lock to fit a knife with a different lock would have even less chance of success. In this case, you'd be trying to fit a nearly 3.7" blade with a tang cut for use with a midlock into a frame designed to hold a blade slightly over 2" long with a tang cut for a Reeve's style framelock.

The most feasible ways to meet your requirements would be to either buy and carry both and use whichever made most sense for a particular task, or to buy a Tusk and have it's blade modified. You could have someone "bob" the Tusk's tip by about 1/4" to make it more of a sheepsfoot blade and there's a place, Veff Sharpening that others here have used in the past to add serrations to a plain edged Spyderco.

The first gives you the advantage of the Atlantic's longer blade (3.69" vs 2.14") for some tasks, the second gives you the advantage of carrying only one knife.

[Nate]

Welcome Hawg,

+1 to everything Deacon said, but if you decide to look into modifying the existing blade, iirc Willey Knives may also be able to add serrations very similar to the Spyderco pattern. Wouldn't hurt to call and ask.

Another option may be to have a custom maker produce and fit a new blade, but I imagine it would be pretty expensive and you may have to substitute a "very stainless" steel for the rustproof one (although I have seen Z-FiNit for sale at some supply shops).

[Hawg]

Thanks guys, I figured it was probably harder than I hoped and The Deacon seems to confirm that. I'll look into one of the aftermarket serration options, hadnt thought about that.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Welcome to the forum Hawg. I like your post and ideas. I have also wanted a knife that combines the best features of the Tusk with the best of the Atlantic and Pacific Salts.

I want a Spyderco Salt that has multiple blades.

[The Deacon]

Welcome Hawg,

+1 to everything Deacon said, but if you decide to look into modifying the existing blade, iirc Willey Knives may also be able to add serrations very similar to the Spyderco pattern. Wouldn't hurt to call and ask.

Another option may be to have a custom maker produce and fit a new blade, but I imagine it would be pretty expensive and you may have to substitute a "very stainless" steel for the rustproof one (although I have seen Z-FiNit for sale at some supply shops).

Thanks Nate, I stand corrected. Willey Knives is the better choice for aftermarket serrations.

[phillipsted]

Would that make it the "Atlantusk"?

(sorry... couldn't resist...)

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Good name idea, phillip :)

Well, if we want to go there, I would like to see this: A multi bladed Salt that has features of the Tusk blade, but, larger, in the 3.5-4 inch length, a serrated Sheepsfoot blade, a marlin spike, a can/bottle opener, and possibly a saw, but the saw can be omitted if the other blades are there. All of the blades except perhaps the can/bottle opener should lock, and the entire package should fit neatly within Volcano grip style FRN handle, in the black and yellow handle color versions that the Atlantic and Pacific Salts are available in. I know if Spyderco were to produce this "Multi Sea Salt", let's call it, myself, JDSpydo, Hawg, SurfGringo, and many others would definitely be on the list to get one or more.

What do you all say to that design idea?

Oh, another option, in place of the saw, would be to ALSO have a fully serrated Hawkbill blade, and the steel of the blades can either be LC200N, or, H1, or, you could combine them: Some of the blades can be H1, and the others LC200N.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Here is a VERY crude version of what I refer to:

[Hawg]

No luck getting ahold of either of those guys by email... Im in Saudi Arabia atm for work so calling is difficult. Ill get a hold of them eventually and let you know what I find. In the mean time I bought a Boye knife to tide me over.

As for the new design ideas, I like them, but I think if you add extra blades you run the risk of making it too fat to comfortably keep in your pocket. Also the locking mechanisim will need to be very strong for the marlin spike, so if you have that many blades it may be hard to do.