Should I grind down a live blade to make a trainer???

[CTfam]

Greetings from Thailand,

Wow it's been about five years since I logged in here but I have been lurking... Lot's of exciting stuff in the Spyderco line up.

I've been living in Asia for about a year now and I don't have any knives... Well, there is a lady bug on my key chain. :D

I want to pick up a Delica with a trainer but unfortunately they don't have the trainer for sale anywhere in Bangkok... I will check one last place tomorrow. If I don't have any luck I am considering doing the unthinkable... Lord forgive me, I will grind down a live blade to make a trainer. It appears Amazon doesn't ship this item to Thailand and I'm concerned it will take too long and might not even make it past customs anyways...

So should I do it? I am concerned it will still be somewhat sharper then the drone version. I am also making a trainer out of some cardboard and duct tape but obviously that is nothing like my real blade.

I will fly to Cebu City, Philippines in a few weeks and look for an Eskrima Course.:cool: FWIW I have practiced a lot with Enduras and Delicas back when I was in America. Maybe I can pass on the exact clone for a trainer. What would you do?

[Donut]

I like using an Endura trainer.

I think it's "close enough" to any of the other blades in my rotation. If anything, it's more difficult to open, so it should be better for practicing.

[Studey]

You CAN, but the (now blunt) edge is still thinner than a proper trainer. It'll work for deployment drills, but should not be used for any kind of hard contact. A much safer option is something like this:

[Blerv]

I doubt you will get a consensus on it but I sure wouldn't. A trainer can break small bones in the hand or even draw blood depending on your definition of "training". That and often live blades can be confused with trainers hence why the Spyderco official ones are red.

Cutting something out of a polymer or even wood and wrapping it with electrical tape would be safer; Studey's is a great example. Heck, even a Dry-Erase marker would be better if you are doing anything but slow demos and drills.

[Studey]

Thanks, Blerv.

Another issue is that in order to get the "edge" back to where the thickness is safe, you often have to change the blade shape, sometimes dramatically.

I've done this before, but if you don't have a lot of experience in training, and especially CONTACT training with blades, you may not have a understanding of how thick that edge needs to be to be safe. With the live blades I've done, I only use them for deployment drills or VERY light contact.

[The Mastiff]

I recommend NOT, NEVER grinding down a knife in an attempt to make a trainer. Instead, find a US knife shop that will ship overseas. Places like knifeworks do overseas shipping. It will have the proper red color and won't be able to be resharpened possibly causing big trouble.

[Studey]

Resharpening it shouldn't be an issue. Once it's dulled, paint the handle red.

[Milkman]

Look into Nok's Hard Contact Training Knives. Randy and Nok make fantastic trainers and they make an Endura model.
http://noktrainingknives.webs.com/apps/ ... ow/2669559

I'm sure they'd make you a Delica if you just asked. They're also based in Thailand (Udon Thani if I remember correctly) and offer blade training. Both the training knives and the instruction are top notch.

[CTfam]

Interesting... I will look into the Nok training program. However, I can probably make that Endura "trainer" out of the sole of an old slipper and some tape. Really anything soft the size of your carry knife would work for sparring. I would not use a steel trainer for hard contact. Just to practice deployment under stress.

OK so if I don't get an exact clone then I have more knife options. They have all popular Spyderco Knives here. I like the Delica and Endura for many reasons but if I don't have a drone version I may go with a Para 2 or Manix... Just a thought.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

[CTfam]

You CAN, but the (now blunt) edge is still thinner than a proper trainer. It'll work for deployment drills, but should not be used for any kind of hard contact. A much safer option is something like this:

That trainer looks great! I am currently making something here but I'm scared to post it after your work of art... It's an old pizza box wrapped in duct tape. :D

Quick update if anyone cares... No trainer model found and I decided not to grind a live blade. Too expensive and I won't get the same results... Oh well.

On a side note, **** knives are expensive here! I'm kind of bummed out I spent $90 on an old black FRN saber grind Delica. :confused: I saw a purple FFG one last time but now it's gone... The Endura was the same black/saber grind and over $100. I almost went with that.

The Manix 2 light weight is one sweet knife! WOW I was impressed but they wanted 5,900 baht = $190! :eek: I would have bought it but not for the price of two Delicas.

If anyone needs a knife in Bangkok the best selection I found was at Outdoors Unlimited at the Amarin Mall. Chit Lom BTS. I wanted to check out more of the new Spydercos but the lady called security on me while I was looking at knives... :rolleyes: