Another modified Gayle Bradley

[phaust]

The Ti/G10 Military has me addicted to M4, so I planned to get one eventually. The deal thread last week pushed me over the edge.

The strength of the lock bar combined with the lack of a cut out makes it harder to unlock than I'd like, so I cut a bit off. I took GoMeZ's approach, cutting down where the peak of the lock bar is.

I was worried the lanyard tube is press fitted in, but the scales slide right off of it. It is designed like the new CRK lanyard pin, where the middle is thicker than each end. (Unlike CRK's, though, Spyderco's doesn't rattle around when a lanyard isn't attached.)

A dremel took metal and carbon fiber down to shape fast. A fine file worked well for putting the slant on the edge of the carbon fiber. 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper was all it needed to get the factory shine back on the liners and have the carbon fiber look like it was from the factory.

Just for aesthetics, I may cut a bit more off to have the liner flush with the bottom of the spyderhole. I will eventually sand the side of the lock bar to make it shiny like the parts of the liners that show, as the factory finish leaves something to be desired.

The mod makes it much nicer to unlock. Also, with more of the hole showing, it is a bit easier to open. I've used it hard to see if there is much risk of my hand pushing over the lock bar, and so far it hasn't budged. All in all, for anyone unsatisfied with the ease of its unlocking and doesn't mind voiding the warranty, I recommend it.


Off topic a bit, F&F is perfect. The edge is 30* inclusive along the entire length and came hair whittling sharp. Centering is perfect. Like the rest of the Spyderco knives I bought this year, it came with the bump on the inside edge of the hole polished out (it never bothered me, but it's cool to see Spyderco reacting to feedback from the forum). This one certainly lives up to the hype surrounding it.

[RDA]

Very nice, you did a great job and I agree it is difficult to unlock in stock form.

Regards,

Rich

[korbiaka]

I does make things much easier with small amount liner and scale removed. It doesn't take much. You can barley see the difference in this pic of my old GB's

[gull wing]

Good work!

[ABX2011]

I prefer it the way it comes and find the lock easy to disengage with my bare hand. I imagine if I were using gloves it would be more difficult.

[harrydog]

I prefer it the way it comes and find the lock easy to disengage with my bare hand. I imagine if I were using gloves it would be more difficult.

I also like the way it comes from the factory. For my purposes, I don't care that it might take a bit of effort to get it closed. I actually like the extra security that it offers.
But I really admire you guys who have the ingenuity and ability to modify things to fit your needs.

[Javascript]

Having the skill and wherewithal to make such modifications is admirable. If the change meets the user's needs(functionality, week fingers, arthritis, etc.), then the mod is successful.
For me, too much material was removed. The lock sticks out like a sore thumb; it clashes with the contour.

On the GB, it is not meant for you to stick the entire fingertip in and push. Clearly it was never deep and wide enough for that. It is enough(if strength will allow) to slide the thumb or index finger across the lock with a push of the thumb or pull or the index finger, depending on how you're holding the knife when you close it.

If one notes the jimping on the blade and then the lock, the lock jimping is not meant to prevent longitudinal slipping like the blade. It is meant to dig into the flesh with lateral pressure.

The GB could tolerate a less invasive mod that would be noticable only on closer inspection. At the top of the relieved area on the liner, bring the liner down flush with the scale and no more, then recontour the relief. This gives an additional ~1/16th inch to let more "meat" into the relief area to put lateral pressure on the lock.

For me, that's as far as I would go unless I had a physical condition that required more.

[phaust]

On the GB, it is not meant for you to stick the entire fingertip in and push. Clearly it was never deep and wide enough for that. It is enough(if strength will allow) to slide the thumb or index finger across the lock with a push of the thumb or pull or the index finger, depending on how you're holding the knife when you close it.

I am not the type of person who lets a designer's intent stand in the way of having something work better for me

The problem for me is the strength of the lock bar makes moving it over that way quite difficult. I knew the first time I tried it that if I was to use the GB with any regularity, I'd have to push the lock bar from the side and not across the top as intended. I searched through this and some other forums for threads on it, and the difficulty in closing it as designed seems to be the common reason for modding it, not mistaking the closing procedure. Also, the gimping on the lock bar doesn't really help. If it was rotated 90* or changed to something like a cross hatch, it might add grip, but I did not find it to grip my thumb as it is.

As for the depth of the cut, I started at the peak of the lock bar and cut straight down, testing it maybe five or six times as I cut away to see if it was low enough; not being able to add metal back on, I was careful. Where it is now is where it finally felt comfortable. Its final height lets the bone of my thumb contact the side of the lock bar. With a lesser amount, I might as well have left it as it comes, as I'd still be unlocking it the same way as before. Once I found the depth, I cut away the rest to make it curve into the liners as they came.

One worry was the lack of symmetry between sides, but as I was testing it, I noticed that naturally my index finger curls back towards the other fingers, so though it lacks its former symmetry, it is more ergonomic without it, as the choil on the cut-away side is larger.

Of course, not everyone will like the mod, just like not everyone likes how it is designed. As I posted originally, I only suggest it for people unhappy with it as it comes.

[jzmtl]

I recall the first person to modify his GB (that we know anyway) did it like yours, expose the entire lock bar. I was concerned with it going unlock when handle is twisted, so I went a slightly different route. I kept the proud liner and bevel on CF scale so it looks as much factory as I can.