Ouroboros G10 polished and contoured

[Evil D]

I have had this planned since I first saw this knife (in truth, I wanna do the same thing to a Sliverax but since it's laminated CF/G10 I have to get custom scales first). I know I preach a lot about the whole polished and contoured thing, but a knife like this that has strong enough ergonomics to lock your hand into place really doesn't benefit from grippy G10, and it fits in better as a gent's knife than a tactical EDC anyway so it just makes sense. I will admit though, it's far easier to unlock the grippy G10, as this thing is slick. I use the clip as a leverage point to keep the knife from slipping out of my hand.


Aaaanyway ya'll probably didn't even read that and are looking at pics anyway so here ya go.

[Nate]

That looks excellent D, thanks for the pics.

What kind of grit progression did you use? Looks like a finish similar to your Kiwi 4 iirc.

[Enactive]

That looks excellent D, thanks for the pics.

What kind of grit progression did you use? Looks like a finish similar to your Kiwi 4 iirc.

Was thinking the same RE: Kiwi. Also curious about the grit progression. Nice work, D.

[Evil D]

That looks excellent D, thanks for the pics.

What kind of grit progression did you use? Looks like a finish similar to your Kiwi 4 iirc.

That looks excellent D, thanks for the pics.

What kind of grit progression did you use? Looks like a finish similar to your Kiwi 4 iirc.

Was thinking the same RE: Kiwi. Also curious about the grit progression. Nice work, D.

I roughed out the basic shape with a Dremel and a 120 grit sanding barrel. After that it was sandpaper in 220/320/400/600/800/1000/1500/2000/3000 and then red rouge on a bench grinder/buffing wheel and then Flitz on a rag.

I may go back and do a bit more heavy sanding. What bothers me about this is the layers of G10, there are those dull layers that aren't glossy, and the very top layer (which happens to be the largest) is right in that dull layer. I think if I sand the very top/center down a bit more it'll eventually get into the shiny resin layer.

[zhyla]

That turned out really cool. Is the Sliverax nested? If not it would be simple to make you’re own scales just by tracing it.

[Evil D]

That turned out really cool. Is the Sliverax nested? If not it would be simple to make you’re own scales just by tracing it.

Unfortunately yeah. I haven't even looked into it yet but I'm sure someone is making scales for them. I've got another Sliverax mod in the works coming first though if I can get around to it.

[Nate]

Thanks for the info. I've done a fair amount of hand-sanding on various handles, but nothing quite that dramatic.

I'd guess the trick is to to go slow, but how is the Dremel work with the sanding barrel? Is is fairly forgiving to use?

[Evil D]

Thanks for the info. I've done a fair amount of hand-sanding on various handles, but nothing quite that dramatic.

I'd guess the trick is to to go slow, but how is the Dremel work with the sanding barrel? Is is fairly forgiving to use?

It kinda depends on you. I do a lot of artsy fartsy stuff so carving and such sort of relates to that. I just go really slow and gently and watch the grain. As you sand you'll start seeing the grain come out and if you go too deep or not deep enough you'll see it in how the grain starts to curve. The more I do it the more I appreciate some of the fixed blade handles I've seen, there really is an art to getting the shape right and symmetrical. You could do it all by hand with just sandpaper but I just about wore off my thumb print today so the Dremel really makes it easier and faster. If you wanna try it you might wanna get a blank slab if G10 to practice on first.

[Freediver]

Wow looks great. Good job.

[Liquid Cobra]

Looks fantastic. Impressive that you didn’t end up with screws sticking out due to the curves. I need to learn how to do that.

I made some custom scales for my ouroboros but the handles couldn’t be more different from yours. Blocky and pointy and orange. Maybe next time I’ll try contouring and polishing like you did.

[Evil D]

Looks fantastic. Impressive that you didn’t end up with screws sticking out due to the curves. I need to learn how to do that.

I made some custom scales for my ouroboros but the handles couldn’t be more different from yours. Blocky and pointy and orange. Maybe next time I’ll try contouring and polishing like you did.

Saw those on IG. If you can make your own scales, I would start with making them extra thick and then you could really round them off and get a lot of grain showing. On the factory scales you can only go so far before you either grind through to a liner or to the pins that seat into the inside of the scales. I did get into the screw holes a bit, if you look at the back screw on the front side I even sanded the head of the screw down a little because I didn't fully tape apart the handle to do it and I left those two screws in. This was the major risk in doing the Kiwi 4, if you go too far and sand down the scale pins too car they'll pop apart and your knife is ruined unless you have the tools to repin it.

[curlyhairedboy]

This looks very nice!

[ZrowsN1s]

That looks good.

[Cambertree]

That looks outstanding D. Very fine work, and perfectly suited to the graceful design curves of the Ouroboros too.

If the original version had been contoured like that, it probably would have tipped the scales for me to get one.

[Igi964]

Very nice. Native Chief would be great with contoured G10.

[Tims]

I couldn’t agree more about the polished and contoured g10. It would add a whole new level of class and comfort.

Regarding the Ouroboros and ergos. How does she feel in a pinch grip? Do you find yourself pinching the forward part of the scale or the blade on or in front of the spyder hole?

[bearfacedkiller]

Very nice!

[Evil D]

I couldn’t agree more about the polished and contoured g10. It would add a whole new level of class and comfort.

Regarding the Ouroboros and ergos. How does she feel in a pinch grip? Do you find yourself pinching the forward part of the scale or the blade on or in front of the spyder hole?

I haven't used it a lot yet but I like it in saber grip and Filipino.

[Doc Dan]

David, that knife looks great, now. How long did it take to do? G10 can be worrisome because of the dust. How did you keep from breathing it in?

[Evil D]

David, that knife looks great, now. How long did it take to do? G10 can be worrisome because of the dust. How did you keep from breathing it in?

Took about 5 hours total. I wear a dust mask but I was thinking I should probably invest in a better one if I'm going to do this more often. Most of the sanding was done wet but the initial shaping with the Dremel does make a lot of dust.