Frankenstein titanium UKPK?

[cjk]

Hi, not sure why you found it odd that the washers came in a little baggie outside the scale box. TiTech only makes the scales, and washers are bought in bulk for pennies each. As for why they’re needed, all UKPKs use some form of washers. The stock G10 and Ti ones use the same PB washers as what HH sent, and the FRN handles have raised FRN “washers” built right into the frame. I will check my HH Ti build when I get home this evening but the HH red G10 one in my pocket doesn’t have gaps since washers are an integral part of their design. The HH Ti set didn’t strike me as being any different. Maybe others can chime in with their experience with these aftermarket scales.

None of my other UKPKs have such a gap. The FRN Ukpk scales have a molded in washer of about .18mm on each side. Just eyeballing it the HH washers look quite thick to me, but it might be an optical illusion. When I have some time, I think that I may take it apart again and do some measuring.

Just to sanity check my reassembly method, I disassembled a different FRN UK to a pile of parts and reassembled it to excellent working order with no gaps in about 5 minutes. It was easy. It’s far from my first rodeo.

And just to be clear, the kit works, but I see gaps of light next to the back spring. If I attempt to tighten the middle screw to minimize the gap as much as possible and completely loosen the pivot and clip, there’s too much tension in the system for the self close to work.

I have no doubt that I can fix it and make it work to my satisfaction, but kinda wish I didn’t have to. It loses the high end appeal of titanium if I have to fix it myself.

[Brock O Lee]

My ti scales also arrived, and I installed it on a 6 year old S110V UKPK today. I like it! The action is crisp with no blade play, and the blade is centered. I like the additional bit of weight and smooth ti finish.

I also noticed the tiny gaps at the back spring CJK. I agree it could be an area of improvement. To me it is not a deal-breaker, given that it hits all the other targets, and is such a big improvement over FRN. I am willing to forgive that minor (IMO) tolerance deviation.

[JFR1]

I have found that fitting aftermarket scales can be a little hit and miss. I wanted to like the TiTech scales... they're absolutely beautiful! I have two S110v UKPKs and tried fitting the scales to both. The washers were too just thick and I wasn't okay with the fit. By comparison, I have a set of AWT scales for my Magnacut Native 5 and they turn that knife into a Sebenza. The washers ended up being a perfect thickness -- without oil there's a tiny bit of side to side play but if you put a little oil in during assembly the pivot has no play whatsoever. That said, my S110v Native must have a slightly thicker blade or a slightly thinner stepped bushing and it doesn't play as well with the AWT scales.
If anyone knows of some good alternative washers to use with the TiTech scales, I'd love to give them another try with a Magnacut UKPK.

[Brock O Lee]

I have found that fitting aftermarket scales can be a little hit and miss. I wanted to like the TiTech scales... they're absolutely beautiful! I have two S110v UKPKs and tried fitting the scales to both. The washers were too just thick and I wasn't okay with the fit.

...

If anyone knows of some good alternative washers to use with the TiTech scales, I'd love to give them another try with a Magnacut UKPK.

If it was me I'd just sand the washers down a bit... Using fine wet and dry sandpaper on a flat surface like a glass sheet.

[awa54]

If it was me I'd just sand the washers down a bit... Using fine wet and dry sandpaper on a flat surface like a glass sheet.

^^ this

I've adjusted bronze washer thickness this way when converting a Cat to solid bushings from the polymer ones it came with and it worked out very nicely. In my case the washers were substantially too thick, so using a caliper to ensure that they remained flat was essential, but just taking a few thousandths off shouldn't require that, if done carefully.
A fine or XF diamond hone works too.

...also, you lot are a terrible influence! as a person who in no way needs another knife, I just placed an order for a MagnaCut UKPK and a set of the HH Ti scales

[Brock O Lee]

ManaCut UKPK and a set of the HH Ti scales

This thought has crossed my mind a few times… I’m curious if you would see improved tolerances.

Post a picture of this mod when you can David!

[awa54]

ManaCut UKPK and a set of the HH Ti scales

This thought has crossed my mind a few times… I’m curious if you would see improved tolerances.

Post a picture of this mod when you can David!

Well, with no reference to go by, I'll only be able to say if the washers are in spec or not, but if they aren't I'll certainly swap them out (I have a stash of several size/thickness PB washers), or thin them if required.
Either way I'll try to remember to post a pic here once it's assembled!

...I'm a bit worried though, while I love my Ti Dragonfly mod (despite the little #*%! going through the top of my foot when it fell off my tool roller), I found the Ti delica scales I bought add too much weight and really mess with it's balance.

[awa54]

Well first off, don't bother with the basic "upgraded" shipment from HH (DHL), it claimed 7 day delivery but wound up being 14... regular old UK Post would have been faster to the northeastern USA for sure.

That said, the scales themselves are exceptional and really upgrade the UKPK from "already excellent" to "wow!".
I opted to use .010" phosphor bronze bushings rather than the supplied .012-.014"-ish brass washers, the result is a slight gap on either side of the backspring/blade stop, which was there with the FRN handle scales as well. The blade has no play at all (new washers aren't broken in and pivot is set a smidge tight) and it one-hand opens/closes with about the same effort as before. The sound is amazing, not quite the action of an OG Ti UKPK, but very satisfying and crisp none the less!

I assembled with Molykote DX paste grease on washers and pivot, Loctite blue stick on all screws.
Personally I think this combo (MagnaCut/Ti) is in contention for one of the nicest $160-ish folders you can buy.

[JFR1]

Very cool, David!

May I ask where you got the 0.010 phosphor bronze bushings from? Hopefully somewhere that will ship to Canada

[awa54]

OK, swapped out the 0.010" PB washers for 0.005"
now the action is lighter, smoother, with complete blade stability and still no meaningful interference between the scales and the backspring.

I grabbed the scales from my mailbox and some tools on my way out the door to work, where I swapped them on at "lunch" ...so I hadn't inspected all the gaps with a bright light source behind the knife, when I did the widening gap out to the blade pivot end was very obvious.

The washers came from a knife making supply seller, but I'm not certain who, most likely USAKnifemaker.com though.
the ones I used are .005" thick, .125" ID, .375" OD, but the pivot hole needs to be opened up to fit the Spyderco pivot pin (I used a tapered diamond file and a chamfer bit to enlarge, then deburr them by hand).

https://usaknifemaker.com/washer-phosph ... meter.html

[Brock O Lee]

OK, swapped out the 0.010" PB washers for 0.005"
now the action is lighter, smoother, with complete blade stability and still no meaningful interference between the scales and the backspring.

Excellent! Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to give that a go.

[jmj3esq]

I recently picked up a set of the Titech scales from HH. I paired them with an CPM SPY27 blade. The scales went on easy and fit perfectly and the provided washers work great. Absolutely no modifications needed. I can easily open and close the knife with one hand. I’d say these HH scales were one of my better investments lately. This knife is so sexy I don’t want to use it. lol. Anyway I’d recommend the TITECH HH scales any day. I’m thinking about another set paired with magnacut.

[awa54]

I just measured the washers I had to choose from, with a fairly accurate vernier caliper (0.05mm scale resolution), to see what the actual differences are (in metric, not freedom units ..the inch measures shown are just stated thickness from the supplier):

.005" PB = 0.15mm
TT Brass = 0.25mm
.010" PB = 0.30mm
MagnaCut UKPK ricasso/tang area = 2.5mm exact

Unsurprisingly the TT/HH washers are closer to the "too thick" 0.010" PB washers.
With my MagnaCut blade the thin PB washers were definitely the ones to yield the best action. They're still thick enough to allow a light gap on either side of the backspring, probably on the order of 0.05-0.1mm.