Frankenstein titanium UKPK?

[ArkAngel]

Hi all

Can anyone offer me any sugestions on the feasability of this?

I got one of the last titanium UKPK's in the UK and It's been pretty much a constant pocket companion ever since.
Although there is plenty of life left in the blade, it has been well used and sharpened many times over the years. It's not an issue yet but I'm thinking for the future is it possible to take a normal UKPK and transplant the blade and backspring into the titanium scales? I much prefer the solidity of titanium over G10 or other options.

Many thanks in advance for your knowledge

[sal]

Hi ArkAngel,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[ArkAngel]

Many thanks Sal, I've been a user of your knives for many years and know UK Ken from our knife throwing club.

I look forward to being more active member of the forum :)

[DutchBlades]

Hi Ark and welcome :)

I believe the G10, CF and Ti versions have the same springs, so perhaps those could work; but from what I've gathered, there were more differences between the different versions (especially the FRN ones because of CQI on the springs ).

[TomAiello]

If you do try it, please post a report. I also have a Ti UKPK and have considered trying to swap in an s110v blade.

I know of at least one person who had Ti scales made and fitted them onto the (FRN) UKPK s110v. I'm not sure about the factory Ti UKPK components, though.

[awa54]

The original UKPK has a full backspring and thicker blade stock than the current version, so there's no easy interchangeability with current models of UKPK. That said blades from first gen. UKPKs are likely to be as interchangeable as any blade within the same model... which is to say, there are certainly many chances for issues such as the backspring sitting too low or high (cosmetic), spring tension being too low for safety or too high for easy one-hand operation and possibly the need for different thickness washers in order to correct blade play or binding.

I also love my Ti UKPK, what a great knife!

[Nate]

^Yeah, if I recall correctly the old g10, cf, and ti UKPKs use 3mm stock. The frn ones and the current HH exclusive use 2.5mm stock. Don't know enough about the internals to know if moving the backspring and blade together would work.

My suggestion would be to just buy a g10 one from HH and a couple more frn ones. If you rotate them all you'll probably never wear out the ti's blade. :)

[xceptnl]

There are makers who can custom make you a new blade in just about any blade steel you desire.

[awa54]

^Yeah, if I recall correctly the old g10, cf, and ti UKPKs use 3mm stock. The frn ones and the current HH exclusive use 2.5mm stock. Don't know enough about the internals to know if moving the backspring and blade together would work.

My suggestion would be to just buy a g10 one from HH and a couple more frn ones. If you rotate them all you'll probably never wear out the ti's blade. :)

The backspring configuration in the original vs. Current versions have totally different attachment points, as well as different operating principals: the old version has a classic long thick spring with about half of its length free, where the new version has a 3/4 length (only a short portion near the blade is actually split) split spring that has a very short free length, but is much thinner... what you see next to the blade spine when open is essentially a blade stop, the spring proper is the only part that contacts the lobed portion of the tang.

What I'm not certain of is if the shape of the tang is the same between the two variants, if it is, then you could add washers on either side of the pivot to shim one of the thinner blades in to an original handle... I wouldn't count on good blade stability or action though, even if it does "work".

There are makers who can custom make you a new blade in just about any blade steel you desire.

And scale makers who could make Ti scales for a current UKPK blade and backspring... But either option is likely to approach the price of a used Ti original.

[xceptnl]

There are makers who can custom make you a new blade in just about any blade steel you desire.

And scale makers who could make Ti scales for a current UKPK blade and backspring... But either option is likely to approach the price of a used Ti original.

Oh that is almost guaranteed. I think the Zwear blade for my Caly 3 was over $400

[jcarter23]

Couple years late, but Hennies Hayes has them now.

TITECH HEINNIE® EXCLUSIVE SPYDERCO UKPK TITANIUM SCALES

[ChrisinHove]

Couple years late, but Hennies Hayes has them now.

TITECH HEINNIE® EXCLUSIVE SPYDERCO UKPK TITANIUM SCALES

Not for the full back spring UKPK’s, though, which ironically excludes the HH exclusives!

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Doesn’t exclude using the FRN models as donors though! Here’s what the HH TiTech ones look like, very similar in finish to the original S30V model Ti handles in fact. HH also sends along two phosphor bronze washers since the FRN models don’t use them. Installation was pretty easy, and this setup is lighter than the original setup since the FRN models use the half-length split backsprings and thinner blade stock. Action is very tight and crisp, plus they’re not very expensive, so I for one highly recommend them! Cheers, Radioactive

[ChrisinHove]

Very nice!

[cjk]

Doesn’t exclude using the FRN models as donors though! Here’s what the HH TiTech ones look like, very similar in finish to the original S30V model Ti handles in fact. HH also sends along two phosphor bronze washers since the FRN models don’t use them. Installation was pretty easy, and this setup is lighter than the original setup since the FRN models use the half-length split backsprings and thinner blade stock. Action is very tight and crisp, plus they’re not very expensive, so I for one highly recommend them! Cheers, Radioactive

oh sweet!! I just ordered a set.

[Brock O Lee]

Couple years late, but Hennies Hayes has them now.

TITECH HEINNIE® EXCLUSIVE SPYDERCO UKPK TITANIUM SCALES

Very nice find! Thanks for the heads-up. Incoming...

I wanted a Ti UKPK badly years ago, but I was too late to the party.

[Simonix]

The titech scales look even better after a bit more stone washing in my opinion. Here’s mine.

[Murat_Cyp]

Perhaps it would be easier to transfer the scales to the new knife rather than the new blade to your existing knife.

Also, I do not think the blades are sold seperately. So you will end up buying a new UKPK anyway. So why not just simply switch the scales rather than trying to transfer the blade from the new knife to the old one?

[cjk]

Yesterday I received my HH Ti Titech kit for the FRN UKPK.

Shipping was pretty quick from the UK to the US.

The kit was sealed in a little box with shrink wrap. The bronze washers were in a plastic bag taped to the outside of the box. That was odd.

It wasn't difficult to install.

It seems obvious to me that the kit was designed without the washers in mind and that the bronze washers are an afterthought. If one holds it up to the light, there are gaps around the backspring which weren't there with the FRN scales.

I may end up taking it apart again and reassembling it without the washers to see if that works better. I do hope there will be a version 2 of this kit even though I find it to be kinda disappointing.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Hi, not sure why you found it odd that the washers came in a little baggie outside the scale box. TiTech only makes the scales, and washers are bought in bulk for pennies each. As for why they’re needed, all UKPKs use some form of washers. The stock G10 and Ti ones use the same PB washers as what HH sent, and the FRN handles have raised FRN “washers” built right into the frame. I will check my HH Ti build when I get home this evening but the HH red G10 one in my pocket doesn’t have gaps since washers are an integral part of their design. The HH Ti set didn’t strike me as being any different. Maybe others can chime in with their experience with these aftermarket scales.