Spyderco Forums

Hi all!
This is my first post, hopefully you like it.
I would like to show you a mod i‘ve done to my Para 3.

But first of all... WHY?

I live in Germany (so sorry for my english) and the knive laws here doesn‘t allow to carry knives which can be opened one handed and locked. You must choose between one handed opening or locking. Both is not allowed.

I got a few Spydercos, also some (legal) Slipjoints, but the Para 3 is far my favorite knife.
This is why i wanted to use it as a legal edc in Germany.

I developed a part that converts the compression lock into a slipjoint. The slipjoint is not as solid as the one on a Ukpk but stable enough for daily tasks.

This part is just a prototype out of my 3D Printer but already works very good like you can see and hear in the video.
Next step will be to mill it on a cnc out of metal.
Or maybe spyderco itself could offer such a part? :D
https://youtu.be/m390dajDBpc



Any feedback is welcome :)

Cheers Dirk

Hi DiRk,

Welcome to our forum.

Very interesting conversion. Could I get you to send one to me?

Spyderco
Attn: Sal Glesser
820 Spyderco Way
Golden, CO 80403 USA

sal

That is cool! Nice work, Dirk. Curious to see where this goes. :cool:

That’s awesome, nice work!

Well done dirk. Looks like it’s doing it’s job.
Wonder how you could get a half stop in there. Probably have to notch the blade or something.

Welcome to the forum.

This is really cool, nicely done! :cool:

diRk_262 wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:50 pm

Hi all!
This is my first post, hopefully you like it.
I would like to show you a mod i‘ve done to my Para 3.

But first of all... WHY?

I live in Germany.....

Hi Dirk,

Welcome to the forum!

Living in Austria, I am a neighbour to you.
In fact I am based very close to the German border, so a 15 min drive, or even a trail run or mountainhike let's me cross it sometimes.

For me as a knife-guy that's a crazy situation: While in my home-country I can carry basically whatever I want (even a Tatanka prominently on a golden necklace if I felt like it... ), when crossing the border, sometimes without even noticing it, even a DFly is illegal suddenly... it's a shame, really, and I feel with you and all of the German "knife brothers and sisters".

That being said: Cool mod!! What's great: It obviously leaves the locking mechanism intact, just disables it (There's a vid on youtube where a German guy literally distroys the lock of his Stretch 2, so to make it a legal carry... heartbreaking).

I'd strongly suggest that you indeed send such a part to Sal. Maybe that could become a solution for many in the UK, Germany and other places with crazy knife-laws...

Hoffe, ich werd hier noch mehr von Dir "hoeren", Grüße aus Salzburg!

How hard is it to install and remove?

Would it work as a travel option for someone visiting Germany? Or is it too much trouble to take it on and off?

Really cool solution Dirk! Interested to see what Spyderco will do with it.

Cool work - sauber gearbeitet!

Well done Dirk!

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 01, 2019 4:20 pm

How hard is it to install and remove?

Would it work as a travel option for someone visiting Germany? Or is it too much trouble to take it on and off?

Imagine, if the device was easy to install and to remove indeed, and available for some popular comp.lock knives like PM2, Para 3, Shaman and so on: I could see sales of that knives in the UK and Germany go up just because of that. (and combined almost 150 million people are living there).
People there could than buy knives they like and carry those in their homes, or in "the wild" or when travelling abroad with a fully functional lock, then quickly mod them to a slipjoint for regular EDC in town. I'd want to have that if I had to live in a country with such (crazy...) laws, and locking knives would become a lot more attractive to buy....

Is it possible to travel through Germany with a locking knife in your luggage and not in person?
Would you get in trouble landing in Munich with one when your final goal is Salzburg?

Marulaghost wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 02, 2019 4:21 am

Is it possible to travel through Germany with a locking knife in your luggage and not in person?
Would you get in trouble landing in Munich with one when your final goal is Salzburg?

I´m not sure 100%, but I really can´t imagine that a locking blade is a problem in Germany if you do not actually carry it in person.
But while I cross the border to Germany quite frequently, that´s most times somewhere high up in the mountains or in really small towns where I can´t see a cop searching you for a knife, when just walking around. So I always keep my locking-folders in my pocket when going from my country Austria (where practically any knife is legal) to Germany. SOMETIMES I conceil the knife by not clipping it to my pocket, but just putting it in there deeper in a "traditional" way.

Maybe some German forum members can weigh in here? Archangel?

Thank you all for your positive feedback. I will try to answer some questions and lack of clarity.

@sal I will check how I can send you one of these parts. I never send something to the USA before. Do you have access to a 3d printer? I could also send you the 3d model. So you can print or mill it.

@SF Native There is no half stop. But you could add one with a small hole at the same radius like the other holes.

@Warstein Yes, the mod only disables (changes) the locking. This is no permanent mod and can be easily reversed. But it can only be removed when you open the knife. Removing the mod within seconds or without opening the knife would it make illegal.

@TomAiello It installs very easy. You just press it into the blade. It will be "locked" in place because of its shape. To remove it you just open the knife and pop it out of the blade.

@Marulaghost You can travel with such a knife. These knifes are not complete prohibited, it is just not allowed to carry it so that you can use it quickly. (You can also carry it in person under special circumstances. But it is really(!) complicated.)
If you put your Para3 in the lower part of your closed backpack or another sealed case it is also ok. But to be safe, you should use a knife wich can be opened one handed and doesn't lock OR a knife which locks but can't be opened one handed.

Fantastic mod! I agree with comments suggesting it would be amazing as a removable part for travel. It also seems like it would be not terribly difficult for Spyderco to tweak their design to allow for a “slipjoint” version using the same handles, (or slightly tweaked as the cutout for lock release becomes unnecessary), lock and nearly the same blades.

This is very cool indeed. I hope it becomes an item people can purchase someday.

Nice work! I like it for the obvious reason, but also that any wear to the little plastic part can be remedied by replacing it!

Fantastic idea and execution buddy I am UK based so this appeals to me alot, is the STL file available to purchase anywhere would love to print one for my para 3.

Hi DiRk,

We do have a 3D printer. Can you email the file to me?

Hi Bigrob,

Welcome to our forum.

sal