LH millie arrived!

vampyrewolf · #1

Slowly warming up to body temp, with our -4 and snow today, but I'm sitting here with dual millies in my pockets :D :D

Primary carry on my left has been an FRN endura since '03, rotated through 5-6 other options (pretty much always either the endura or lava). See if I can't carry this one for the month of december without rotating it out.

Love the new jimping, but the g-10 is rougher than on my s30v (has been in my right/front now for a couple weeks, about time to rotate out with my police) and I can see it making a mess of my pocket.

As always, review up in a week of use. Have a feeling that once I get my paws on a ti millie I'll be just about good for production folders, and then it's on to gentleman's folders and customs.

noddy · #2

vampyrewolf wrote: Have a feeling that once I get my paws on a ti millie I'll be just about good for production folders.

Classic delusion/denial syndrome. Seek help now :D :D

MCM · #3

Its a nice thought though.......... :D :p

:rolleyes: :confused: :p :D

vampyrewolf · #4

considering that all I've bought this year for knives was a custom tanto (Gardener), mule, spyderench, and now the left handed millie (provided the ti doesn't come out in the next month)....

I've got a desk job. Opening boxes and cutting my food is 90% of my daily use. Throw in IT work (cutting cables, making holes, using screwdrivers) and I only need a multitool for everything but my food.

Spyderench and dyad jr did most of my work for a while. Have the LM core and a spin on me right now during work and toss my main carry knives on as soon as the clock clicks over to 4pm.

So I'm down now to needing a small gentleman's folder for my day job (like finding a cf kopa for cheap). Doesn't mean I'm not saving for my grail as soon as my credit card is paid off in a couple months, but that's not a daily carry.

MCM · #5

PM sent

224477 · #6

Pat, you wanna share pics with us? I would be happy to see it :)

vampyrewolf · #7

See if I can't get something workable. My 5meg digi isn't exactly great for anything inside of about 5 feet (great out to about 50-60 feet).

Income tax this next year buys me a new digi (maybe find a dslr on sale).

torx on the clip, small/tight jimping, and rougher g-10... but when I'm still carrying an s30v millie I'm 6-7 years of changes behind on the model.

The Deacon · #8

Don't have many Military Models, but the G-10 on the digi camo one has the same texture as that on the LH one, so I'd guess all the newer ones do. Thought your older one might just have smoothed a bit from wear, but the ones I mentioned are definitely rougher than my mint Forum Military.

anti-torsion · #9

Oddly, I enjoy the "left hand" military in my right pocket as the blade doesn't rough up my hand when I remove keys or something.

tradja · #10

My first Millie (LH) is on the way right now. This will be my first textured G-10 knife in a while due to pocket-wrecking roughness. Is there any recommended way to manually smooth down the G-10? Ideally, without a respirator. :rolleyes:

Blerv · #11

tradja wrote: Is there any recommended way to manually smooth down the G-10? Ideally, without a respirator. :rolleyes:

Are you strongly against wearing burlap pants? :D

One of the custom guys might do the grinding for you: Tricod, STR, Krein, etc. Another option is to check a local place that works with fiberglass (machine shops, bodyshops, etc). I bet they would grind it for a pizza lunch or a few Coronas.

tradja · #12

Blerv wrote:Are you strongly against wearing burlap pants? :D

One of the custom guys might do the grinding for you: Tricod, STR, Krein, etc. Another option is to check a local place that works with fiberglass (machine shops, bodyshops, etc). I bet they would grind it for a pizza lunch or a few Coronas.

:D

I'm not envisioning polished G-10 like the Kershaw Random Task or my Bark River kitchen knife, just how to simulate a year or so of pocket carry -- just to knock the roughness down a notch, not necessarily lay it down on a grinder. I might look into 1500 grit wet sandpaper, outside, with a respirator.

G-10 that is too rough has killed otherwise excellent knives for me. Honestly, it has kept me away from the G-10 Dragonfly and G-10 Caly III, both of which I am very interested in. It's just not worth the ragged pocket lips.

I really want to like the Millie after all this wait for the LH, and I want to be able to mitigate the rough G-10 if it is an issue.

vampyrewolf, I am really looking forward to your review!

Blerv · #13

Completely understandable.

If it's pocket wear or ease of draw (as G10 can really bind on your pocket), you can prob get away with very selective sanding specifically where the clip contacts the handle. This would keep the shavings and time to a minimum while keeping the rest of the handle in grippy shape.

For $10-20 I would think a local shop would have no problem with a little sanding. If you have the respirator handy or would like to take your time and perfect the grip I would think you are the best person for that job.

Personally, I'm a chicken or maybe just lazy (quite possibly both) hence the recommendation. :)

The Deacon · #14

tradja wrote:My first Millie (LH) is on the way right now. This will be my first textured G-10 knife in a while due to pocket-wrecking roughness. Is there any recommended way to manually smooth down the G-10? Ideally, without a respirator. :rolleyes:

Get some wet or dry sandpaper, put it on a sanding block. Disassemble the knife. Sand the scale under running water. If it's warm enough where you are, work outdoors. If not, use the laundry room or kitchen sink.

vampyrewolf · #15

I see no reason why wet silicon carbide sandpaper wouldn't work to simulate extended wear. The main concern with synthetics is dust and particulate matter. Keeping it all wet would limit both.

I'll know within a week if I need to smooth mine up a bit... my cell is dropped in that pocket.

JNewell · #16

I'm with the two posts above. I'd try some 400 grit paper. If that doesn't work, go down to 320 or 200. I'd back it with a piece of glass to keep things flat. I agree on the running water, which will eliminate fiber dust problems.

NoFair · #17

I just wet sand them a bit to save my pockets. I also prefer the worn in feel of G-10 over the bread rasp

It is still plenty grippy.

Looks like this:

tradja · #18

Is the (relatively) rougher G-10 characteristic of the LH Millies, or just a few individual samples?

OK, vampyrewolf, it is Day 3 -- is the LH Millie still holding down the coveted LF pocket slot or has it been bumped already? :D

vampyrewolf · #19

It's holding the spot still, used last night to open the box of oatmeal so I'd have more breakfast at work. It'll get a real workout this winter as we reno 1/2 the basement.

Already ran my hand over the rougher jimping a couple times grabbing my cell. Dunno what's worse... the jimping or the g-10... but I might just be spoiled on both with my well worn millie with the old style jimping.

I've got a feeling that the rougher G-10 may very well be the new stuff. I don't remember my 440v being this rough, or the s30v I got to replace that 440v. But considering that those were a few years ago... well...

tradja · #20

FWIW, I spent some time running the scales of my LH Millie over some 1500 wet/dry in the sink tonight. It got very smooth, very fast. It still felt grippy when wet, but when I dried it off it was remarkably smooth. Instead of a surface with a raised grid, it is now more like a flat surface with dimples, if that makes any sense. It's a little shinier and glossier now. I think I stopped just in time -- smooth when dry, grippy when wet. I love it.

Polished the PB washers and flats of the tang a bit and reassembled. It's a real pleasure to carry now.