Show your mods!

[phillipsted]

Here's a new mod I just finished up. This is a Wharncliffe Urban with unstabilized bloodwood scales. I found the wood in a discard pile at my local specialty woods dealer. Bloodwood is very hard and dense, although less oily than rosewood and cocobolo - and gives the unlined Urban enough support to be stable. The final scales are a couple of grams lighter than the original G10. I cut the blanks to size with a coping saw, fitted them to the knife and finished/contoured them with files and sandpaper. For finishing, I used two coats of TruOil topped off by a buffing with Ren Wax.

TedP

[RoBoTech]

I really like Bloodwood.
Here is one I did in 2004 with a section of deep red bloodwood. the tail section is RedHeart, much lighter in color.

[jackknifeh]

Ted and rorotech, both are beautiful. Ted, I've noticed your countersinking is nice. What type bit do you use? I think mine have a 135° angle tip. I use the same bits to countersink as I do to drill the hole, just bigger of course. The accuracy I'll take the blame for. That's another thinv about your work. Accurare. :)

Jack

[Dustindk]

Very nice done!

[Gofannon]

What did you made? Sandblast?

[phillipsted]

Ted and rorotech, both are beautiful. Ted, I've noticed your countersinking is nice. What type bit do you use? I think mine have a 135° angle tip. I use the same bits to countersink as I do to drill the hole, just bigger of course. The accuracy I'll take the blame for. That's another thinv about your work. Accurare. :)

Jack

Thanks, Jack!

Actually, most of the holes in the Urban and UKPK are COUNTERBORES instead of countersinks. This means that they have a flat-bottom to the hole, not a sloped bottom - which allows the bolts to snug up tight against the scales. To do this, you need to get counterbore bits which are sized for your needs. For each hole, there is the "pilot" hole (which goes all the way through), and the larger "counterbore" which creates the concentric hole for the head of the bolt to fit into.

For my workbench, I bought four or five counterbore bits with removeable pilot bits - and then bought a bunch of pilot bits. I can mix and match them to get the right sized holes for the knife I'm working on. The counterbore bits range in price, but most were in the $15 range, and the pilots are less than $5.



Here are the measurements for a few knives I've been working on:

URBAN

Pivot and Clip hole: 5/32"
Pivot and Clip counterbore: 1/4"
Backspring hole: 9/64"
Backspring counterbore: 11/64"
Scale thickness: 1/8"

UKPK G-10

All three holes: 5/23"
All counterbores: 1/4"
Scale thickness: 1/8"

CAT/CHICAGO G-10

Pivot hole: 0.214" (I use a #3 drill bit)
Pivot counterbore: 0.313" (I use 5/16" counterbore)
Thong hole: 0.154" (I use a #23 or 5/32" bit)
Back spacer holes: 0.081" (I use #46 or 3/32" bit) - these holes are countersunk at 82 degrees, not counterbored
Scale thickness: 5/64"

DRAGONFLY 2 G-10

Pivot hole: 9/64"
Pivot counterbore: .204" (#6 bit)
Backspring hole: 9/64"
Backspring counterbore: 11/64"
Clip hole: 5/32"
Clip counterbore: 1/4"
Thong hole: 0.200" (#7 bit)
Scale thickness: 0.08"

[Dustindk]

He all this is the result of my first attempt of modding a spyderco!
im pretty happy with it! :)

- new g10 filed handles.
- all black spacers.

I think im gonne call it he "blackhawk"

[ATTACH]23377[/ATTACH] <----------Picture of it

[Jazz]

Very nice, Dustin!

[hom76]

My Domino modded with grooved scales and deep carry clip

[Dexter]

Spyderco Endura 4 DuoColor (Grey and Orange scales) after:
- Scandi regrind
- double stone wash
- black wash (in FeCl3)

[jackknifeh]

Thanks, Jack!

Actually, most of the holes in the Urban and UKPK are COUNTERBORES instead of countersinks. This means that they have a flat-bottom to the hole, not a sloped bottom - which allows the bolts to snug up tight against the scales. To do this, you need to get counterbore bits which are sized for your needs. For each hole, there is the "pilot" hole (which goes all the way through), and the larger "counterbore" which creates the concentric hole for the head of the bolt to fit into.

For my workbench, I bought four or five counterbore bits with removeable pilot bits - and then bought a bunch of pilot bits. I can mix and match them to get the right sized holes for the knife I'm working on. The counterbore bits range in price, but most were in the $15 range, and the pilots are less than $5.

That's awsome. I'll search inet for counterbore. Do you suggest anywhere in particular to get these things? Lowe's for instance?

Jack

[phillipsted]

That's awsome. I'll search inet for counterbore. Do you suggest anywhere in particular to get these things? Lowe's for instance?

Jack

I get mine from ebay primarily. There is a dealer called "Drills and Cutters" I use - they have a decent selections of parts for a good price. The key is to get replacable pilot counterbores so you can swap them in and out to get the right sizes as you need them...

TedP

[phillipsted]

Finished a new UKPK mod this weekend. This one is made from a piece of unstabilized canarywood that I pulled from a scrap pile at my local wood dealer. I love this wood - it is hard and dense, but not resinous. It has a very uniform grain so it works easily. But the best part from my perspective is the almost rainbow colors in the stripes. It's hard to see the detail in the photo, but there are bands of tan, brown, black, red, yellow, and other colors in the grain. Beautiful stuff - although in my experience, the wood becomes less vibrant over the years with aging and exposure...

I sliced the slabs to thickness, sanded them flat, then drilled, counterbored, and cut them out. I reassembled the knife, and shaped and contoured with files and hand sanding. They are finished with three thin coats of hand-rubbed Tru-Oil topped with a buffing with Ren Wax.

Cheers!
TedP

[LC Kid]

Hi phillipsted!


That UKPK Drop Point is absolutely Gorgeous! :)

[Jazz]

Ted, Ted, Ted... you're becoming a master with the wood. Beautiful wood that is, too. Thanks for sharing.

[ourgon]

[jackknifeh]

Latest handle project for my Dragonfly 2.
Edit: ironwood scales and birchwood backspacer.




Birchwood backspacer


After post pic added: Pic of backspacer that is shaped along the curve of the blade edge. This brings the material closer to the tip when closed, which I think looks a little better. No effect on performance. There appears to be a "V" shape on the inside of the backspacer. This is one of those octipal delusions. :D It's flat. :)




Jack
EDIT PS:
I got the piece of birchwood from a forum member a long while ago. I hate to say I can't remember who it was. But I thank you all the same.

Forgot to add, this handle isn't finished. I noticed a flaw (:eek :) that I can live with for a few days. :rolleyes: I'll correct it soon. Can anyone tell what I'm talking about?

Another post post edit :) : I weighed the knife and it is 1.2 oz. which is the same weight as the specs. state on the FRN original. I was curious because it felt light. But, I've had c-tek/g-10 handle on it for a while which I assume is heavier. Never weighed it.

[xceptnl]

Jack, that Dfly looks very classy. I'd be happy to carry it for a year and write a review for you! :D

[jackknifeh]

Jack, that Dfly looks very classy. I'd be happy to carry it for a year and write a review for you! :D

Very kind offer xceptnl, but dangit! :mad: @&*, I left my stamps in my other pants. :D

[jackknifeh]

Jack, that Dfly looks very classy. I'd be happy to carry it for a year and write a review for you! :D

Very kind offer xceptnl, but dangit! :mad: @&*, I left my stamps in my other pants. :D