Modifications and disassembly a new fad in Spyderco land?

[Jim Malone]

I don't want to sound like an old fart, but is it just me, or is everybody modding their knives?
Looking at the Ulize vid, Sal mentions that the ulize can be disassembled, and wich will be modified by buyers with new scales etc.... "which we/he hates" (sic).
I believe the whole disassembly and modification thing is a "new" hype in knifeland. When i was new in knife collecting (25 years ago) :o , most people didn't disassemble a perfectly normal working knife, or they had a very good reason for it.
They didn't RIL'ed their knives, nor did they swapped blades, and if they wanted their knife to be modded they send it of to a custom maker.
Now everyone seems to grab their torx drivers and dremels when they receive a new knife, because they can't wait to disassemble and mod their new knife.
I like the fact that some people take that risk, but i don't expect :spyder: to fix the knife if it goes wrong.
I wonder how many bags of knifeparts :spyder: receives every week with the request to assemble it again. :D
Is this the reason why spyderco came out with a wooden knife DIY kit?

[chukar8]

People want their knives to be personal to them as in more grip, or more color, or whatever. Does Spyderco offer custom orders on an individual basis?

[Slash]

Weren't all knives pinned 25 years ago?

[purpledc]

As a knife pimper myself I have been doing it for a good 10 years now I can say nothing is quite like getting a knife and making your own. But with that said some people these days have absolutely no tact when modding a knife. They seem to think that ANY change is a good change. The real art of knife customizing is knowing how to put an artistic spin on something or how to personalize something so that it is never less than what i was before. Sadly there are a lot of hacks out there who have no business posting pictures of their ah, hem "work". Dont get me wrong, I have had plenty of "learning experiences" but I was realistic about the mistakes I made. And I never put the responsibility of my errors on the shoulders of the company that originally made the knife. If I screwed it up it was on me. Honestly though there are plenty of "pimpers" (i hate that term) that are really great at what they do. But I think many are premature in gauging their own abilities. They start offering services way before they are ready to. I think the only thing that bothers me more than the recent influx of knife modders has been the recent influx of "knife makers". I have seen more prison shank customs pop up on the forums than any other time I could think of. And the craziest part is these hideous abominations get much praise. I am all for new knifemakers but lets call a spade a spade. I dont think fluffing any ones pillow is productive. Knowing when you made a mistake is just as important as knowing when you knocked it out of the park. Sorry, Rant off.

[Evil D]

People do because it's easy and because they can. Back when everything was pinned construction it took more work. Who wants to pay a custom knife maker when they can order some G10 and make scales themselves?

[Blerv]

Some people like warranties and believe a reassembled knife could easily be less safe or smooth. Ie: me.

[Fred Sanford]

I'm not big into modding either. The only thing I don't mind doing is I like to take ZDP-189 blades on Delicas and Enduras and swap them (along with the lockbar) into a different FRN handle color. I'm not a fan of the BRG handles that come on all the ZDP knives. I'd rather have a black or grey FRN knife with ZDP handles. Beyond that I don't take my knives apart. I may buy a set of handles though for one of my Para 2's or Manix 2's from John Grimsmo. I love his aluminum handles.

I do think that the main reason for more people modding stuff is the fact that lots of folks are doing "ready made" stuff that you can easily use to mod your own knife. I am not as good as many others with sculpting G10 or Micarta so I prefer to have someone else do that kind of stuff for me. I think the best reason is because "we can". :)

And I don't think you come across as an old fart at all.

[Clip]

Weren't all knives pinned 25 years ago?

No.

[Pockets]

It's fun. It's also cheap. I made white G10 scales for my Delica with a green backspacer. It took two days and cost less than $10. It makes using the knife more enjoyable.

[The Deacon]

It's not all THAT new, Jim. Back in the early 90's Spyderco sold customized knives by David Yellowhorse, Gary Blanchard, and the crew at Santa Fe Stoneworks and they still offer custom laser engraving. And, while I know enough to know I don't have the skill to do it myself, I sent the Persian shown below, which became the first of many Spydercos I would have customized over the years by folks who have talent out sometime in 2004.

[CENTER][/CENTER]

[Holland]

It's not all THAT new, Jim. Back in the early 90's Spyderco sold customized knives by David Yellowhorse, Gary Blanchard, and the crew at Santa Fe Stoneworks and they still offer custom laser engraving. And, while I know enough to know I don't have the skill to do it myself, I sent the Persian shown below, which became the first of many Spydercos I would have customized over the years by folks who have talent out sometime in 2004.

beautiful knife!
I mod my knives because i enjoy it, it makes carrying those knives more enjoyable

[zhyla]

If the Manix 2 were easier to reassemble I would have ground off some of the jimping by now. Different people like different things - surprise!

[ChrisR]

I have never really had the skill to mod a knife (nor the time) but I do think that more and more people are being creative and trying it out. As a movement it's probably being fed by the growing use of forums like this and the ease of posting photos of your work or videos of how to do the mods. Years ago it would have been very difficult for a novice to even work out how to sharpen their knives well - but now you just go to YouTube and they'll show you everything you need to do. :)

[Blerv]

Oh, pay to mod knives are great :) . I just don't disassemble for the sake of doing it.

[Quillan]

Warranty issues....every manufacturer's nightmare. If peeps want to mod their knives, go for it. Only accept the fact if something "goes wrong" with the knife, the manufacturer is absolutely correct in refusing to honour the warranty. Dont blame them one bit.

Buyer beware. Modder beware.

[Jazz]

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?!
I thought I was new to modding until I realized I have an old Buck 112 that I fileworked and ground some brass off trying to lighten it. You see, if I can't get something I want exactly, and I have the tools and abilities, why not do it myself (mod)? Or just to decorate an already nice knife... or add a bit of grip... or just personalize it a bit... etc., etc. Why not? It's not an evil thing. I still love Sal's, Eric's, etc. designs and buy them. Sometimes I/we modificationers (cool word, eh?) just have to fiddle around. I don't think it's new. The internet and sharing is newer (to us old guys), so maybe we just hear about it more. Happy modding, my fellows!

- best wishes, Jazz.

[Minibear453]

Unfortunately, I can't really mod any of my spydies. Ladybug and Tasman are both pinned, so I'm not going to mess with that. My Persian is also pinned, and I can't even see the pivot pin. The only one I can, and have opened, is my Endura, but I can't really think of anything I want to do it it, other than new scales, and the liners kind of mess with that plan.