Ya know DEEP. I would be extremely proud of this knife. With age wear on the wood and the rounding out of the handles with use, this it's probably going to take on a newer, prettier look in a while.
What I'm getting to is, you, or have someone else do it, design a little logo for yourself. Have someone laser etch, acid etch - whatever, into the blade(s) of this and your other conversions. You live in the South West it says, Near Taos, NM? A million jewelers there, right? see what they would do for you. You might look for a new artist to help you, willing to give you a break with a chance to show their work. You already have the Spyderco name on the tang so there's no misunderstanding of who made the base knife.
Just a few ideas is all.
You've heard of Salt and Pepper? Well,this is Salt and Rice
Greencobra, you are correct. One of the characteristics of lignum vitae that I really like is the fact that it is like wine in that it just gets better with age. I wanted to take the Salt up a notch. Not a Rolls Royce or anything just a nice SUV. This lignum is already quite old. I'm going to be sad when I use it all up. I tried to buy more recently and can't find it at a decent price. Apparently the good quality stuff is in limited supply since it is now a 'protected species'. I found some at one store in Tenn. but at over $65 a board foot I passed.
I put my signiture STR in runic letters on the inside non clip side handle scale. Being that I'm from a dental background I always just sign my intials with a high speed dental handpiece and a small round diamond burr.
Sometimes if I scratch the blade all up or if I have to significantly modify it to fix it or make it work I'll sign my initials on the blade but on this one I took extra effort to not scrape up the blade or the lock bar. I wanted it to be sweet and still have the factory finish. It only makes sense to sign the part I made really which is the case for this project.
I put my signiture STR in runic letters on the inside non clip side handle scale. Being that I'm from a dental background I always just sign my intials with a high speed dental handpiece and a small round diamond burr.
Sometimes if I scratch the blade all up or if I have to significantly modify it to fix it or make it work I'll sign my initials on the blade but on this one I took extra effort to not scrape up the blade or the lock bar. I wanted it to be sweet and still have the factory finish. It only makes sense to sign the part I made really which is the case for this project.
Thanks again for the compliments everyone.
I understand Nicky. It isn't everyone's cup of tea.
One thing I forgot to mention is that I put a lanyard hole in the knife body but have not drilled it out into the handle scales. I may not drill it out because I have never used them when the knives I owned had them, but it is there if I want to bring it out later. It is just a matter of drilling out the wood when and if I want to.
Also, with the removable blade I can buy another Salt in plain edge and swap blades. Maybe, even a Delica or Calypso Jr. also. Not sure on that as I haven't tried or looked at them closely to see if they are the same across the board.
Anyone know?
I understand Nicky. It isn't everyone's cup of tea.
One thing I forgot to mention is that I put a lanyard hole in the knife body but have not drilled it out into the handle scales. I may not drill it out because I have never used them when the knives I owned had them, but it is there if I want to bring it out later. It is just a matter of drilling out the wood when and if I want to.
Also, with the removable blade I can buy another Salt in plain edge and swap blades. Maybe, even a Delica or Calypso Jr. also. Not sure on that as I haven't tried or looked at them closely to see if they are the same across the board.
Anyone know?
Last pic after some further shoe shining. By that I mean I clamped the blade flat to my work table and used a longer strip of sand paper to in effect, 'shoe shine' the wood on one side and then the other and then I clamped it in a vise and did the same action on the spine and top portion.
What I did this morning rounded out the sharper looking edges nicely I think. I could have gone farther with it but the original knife was somewhat squareish so, I think it works out. I also have a shot here of the old body sitting over the new one that shows the areas I changed pretty well.
What I did this morning rounded out the sharper looking edges nicely I think. I could have gone farther with it but the original knife was somewhat squareish so, I think it works out. I also have a shot here of the old body sitting over the new one that shows the areas I changed pretty well.
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greencobra
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- Location: Boston
You must mean the grip serrations on the blade not the handle. Those are factory on the Salt 1. It is one of the features I really like about the blade over the Delica or the CJ. That and the bigger Spyderhole. And no those serrations stop before going up over the hole. They do go up far enough to aid the thumb though.
And btw, thanks for noticing the 'sailor knife' looks. That is what I wanted. Many old hand made sailors knives, both utility and kitchen blades were made with lignum vitae handles.
And btw, thanks for noticing the 'sailor knife' looks. That is what I wanted. Many old hand made sailors knives, both utility and kitchen blades were made with lignum vitae handles.
Ok, well I thought I was done but I had one more thing I needed to do before I was going to be 100% satisfied.
You see the things is I recently sold my Calypso Jr. I really liked the Calypso Jr because of the index finger rest that was built into the handle. However, I didn't like the smaller Spyderhole in the blade or tip down carry. Of course I fixed the clip carry problem right away but the Spyderhole diameter still didn't sit well with me.
I do like the Salt 1 14mm hole a lot though but it had the "Delica point" instead of a nice rest for the index finger. So I fixed that too on my 'upgraded handle'. Now my creation feels as good to me as the CJ did in the hand, it has the larger 14mm hole in the blade, the H1 steel and tip up carry. Perfect! At least for me.
You see the things is I recently sold my Calypso Jr. I really liked the Calypso Jr because of the index finger rest that was built into the handle. However, I didn't like the smaller Spyderhole in the blade or tip down carry. Of course I fixed the clip carry problem right away but the Spyderhole diameter still didn't sit well with me.
I do like the Salt 1 14mm hole a lot though but it had the "Delica point" instead of a nice rest for the index finger. So I fixed that too on my 'upgraded handle'. Now my creation feels as good to me as the CJ did in the hand, it has the larger 14mm hole in the blade, the H1 steel and tip up carry. Perfect! At least for me.
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ghostrider
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- Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 1:12 pm
- Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
That's real nice DEEB. I especially like that index finger rest ala CJ.
First they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not stand up, because I was not a Trade Unionist.
[INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT]Attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller [/INDENT] [/INDENT][/INDENT]
Thread for tying tips:
http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18317
Avatar provided by DAYWALKER
Hawkbills- Sink in the tip, and let it rip!!! :D - Axlis
[INDENT]
[INDENT][INDENT]Attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller [/INDENT] [/INDENT][/INDENT]
Thread for tying tips:
http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18317
Avatar provided by DAYWALKER
Hawkbills- Sink in the tip, and let it rip!!! :D - Axlis
Thanks. The question has come as to why I would use wood on a knife made to handle salt water marine environments. So again for those that missed it here is the history in a nut shell of the wood I chose on this project. You can see why it was the wood of choice as it matched up to the knife quite well.
I used Lignum Vitae wood. Not just any wood but a wood used for marine vessels going way back in history. This wood has been used for sail boat floors, beams in the construction of boats, drive shafts for boats in modern times, bushings, block and tackle pulley wheels called 'sheaves' on sail boats, and more. Most always it was the preferred wood for any underwater application because of it's natural lubrication ability and the fact that it was impervious to rotting or decaying. When mahoghany was used it was usually because the lignum vitae just wasn't big enough of a tree to make the larger parts in boat making/building. Typical specimens of Lignum vitae are at max 30' high and in the early years some speicimens reached 50' but that is rarely seen today.
Lignum wood is said to be virtually impervious to water because of it's natural oils and resins inherent in the wood, which prevent it from ever drying out when it isn't used underwater. Unfortunately these same resins make it very hard to use when glue or epoxy is needed.
Lignum has a long history of being used in sea faring cutlery handles as well as other tools for sailing and marine uses also because it did one thing other woods didn't do in those environments: It held up and lasted around salt water.
Lignum vitae resists rotting, chipping, splitting and splintering better than most any wood you can use. Chances are if I dropped the knife on a beach and lost it that the wood would still be there along with the titanium and the blade when found regardless of how long it sat there. The only parts that would suffer would be the stainless parts. Lignum posts have been found in archaeological sites from settlements where they were used in the building of supports for primitive huts. These posts allowed the site to be dated by carbon dating to identify when the site was built. Many of these posts were still intact even though they were completely submerged under earth and water and in excess of 800 years old.
I believe I read somewhere that lignum is still used to make the gavel for judges to this day from the traditions brought with the sailing explorers. Among other things it is a traditional 'spirit wood' believed to have healing properties for several ailments, including but not limited to arthritis.
Lignum is also the heaviest densest, strongest wood on the planet. Lignum weighs over 80 pounds per cubic foot. It is triple the hardness of oak and more than two and a half times the weight of hickory.
It is known by several names also but lignum vitae is the one I'm most familiar with. The name "lignum vitae" means 'long life'. Gayaiacum officinale is another name for this tree which is Latin for "tree of life", or 'wood of life' and I think in some countries it is referred to as "Iron wood". And in others as "Palo Santo". All names for this wood/tree mean something to do with how long it lasts and how durable it is though.
I used Lignum Vitae wood. Not just any wood but a wood used for marine vessels going way back in history. This wood has been used for sail boat floors, beams in the construction of boats, drive shafts for boats in modern times, bushings, block and tackle pulley wheels called 'sheaves' on sail boats, and more. Most always it was the preferred wood for any underwater application because of it's natural lubrication ability and the fact that it was impervious to rotting or decaying. When mahoghany was used it was usually because the lignum vitae just wasn't big enough of a tree to make the larger parts in boat making/building. Typical specimens of Lignum vitae are at max 30' high and in the early years some speicimens reached 50' but that is rarely seen today.
Lignum wood is said to be virtually impervious to water because of it's natural oils and resins inherent in the wood, which prevent it from ever drying out when it isn't used underwater. Unfortunately these same resins make it very hard to use when glue or epoxy is needed.
Lignum has a long history of being used in sea faring cutlery handles as well as other tools for sailing and marine uses also because it did one thing other woods didn't do in those environments: It held up and lasted around salt water.
Lignum vitae resists rotting, chipping, splitting and splintering better than most any wood you can use. Chances are if I dropped the knife on a beach and lost it that the wood would still be there along with the titanium and the blade when found regardless of how long it sat there. The only parts that would suffer would be the stainless parts. Lignum posts have been found in archaeological sites from settlements where they were used in the building of supports for primitive huts. These posts allowed the site to be dated by carbon dating to identify when the site was built. Many of these posts were still intact even though they were completely submerged under earth and water and in excess of 800 years old.
I believe I read somewhere that lignum is still used to make the gavel for judges to this day from the traditions brought with the sailing explorers. Among other things it is a traditional 'spirit wood' believed to have healing properties for several ailments, including but not limited to arthritis.
Lignum is also the heaviest densest, strongest wood on the planet. Lignum weighs over 80 pounds per cubic foot. It is triple the hardness of oak and more than two and a half times the weight of hickory.
It is known by several names also but lignum vitae is the one I'm most familiar with. The name "lignum vitae" means 'long life'. Gayaiacum officinale is another name for this tree which is Latin for "tree of life", or 'wood of life' and I think in some countries it is referred to as "Iron wood". And in others as "Palo Santo". All names for this wood/tree mean something to do with how long it lasts and how durable it is though.
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greencobra
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- Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 1:26 pm
- Location: Boston
Hey DEEB, I missed those last photos, in particular the one where the knife is opened. It came out very nice.
I had a friend who ran a commercial fishing boat out of New Bedford, MA. That's where I saw the Portugese guys working and they all had old, wooden handled tools. Knives, and a tool I call a net mender. The tools were very old and had been passed down 3 - 4 generations. The wood handles didn't wear as fast as the metal implements so I'd guess the handles were 75-85 years old. Pete77 would know more about that stuff than me, but interesting I thought.
I had a friend who ran a commercial fishing boat out of New Bedford, MA. That's where I saw the Portugese guys working and they all had old, wooden handled tools. Knives, and a tool I call a net mender. The tools were very old and had been passed down 3 - 4 generations. The wood handles didn't wear as fast as the metal implements so I'd guess the handles were 75-85 years old. Pete77 would know more about that stuff than me, but interesting I thought.
Yes it is interesting. I would not be surprised if they were lignum handled tools and knives those guys had but there were other woods that were quite popular also so it could be any number of different ones. I just picked lignum because of the other physical properties inherent in the wood. It seemed to really go with the durability of the Salt 1 theme and the H1 steel.
I have, since making this knife found a source for titanium socket head screws and round bar stock of heat treated titanium. The screws I found are just like the stainless ones I used in the knife for the clip and the scales and in the same 2-56 size only they are 6AL-4V heat treated titanium. Soon all the stainless screws and other stainless hardware I used in this knife including the pivot and lock pin will all be replaced with titanium ones making this knife truly as durable as it can possibly be. Sticking with the original theme in the building of this project knife that started around the very durable H1 steel I think the titanium liners and pins, and lignum wood combined with this H1 steel make for a very long lasting hand me down knife for many lifetimes.
I had a little bit of a question mark in my mind regarding using titanium in the pivot and lock bar but I know some guys that still use brass bar and/or nickel silver in the pivot areas and have never had one returned for failure so I think a 3/16 pivot in ti will be more than strong enough and a 1/8 in diameter in the lock should do fine there. I will have to cut the solid 3/16 bar of titanium and drill out and then thread the inside for 2-56 threads to make a custom one of a kind pivot pin but once done it should be fine. Next up is finding another Salt1 with a plain edge so I can swap blades as I like once I re drill a new pivot hole in that blade in the 3/16 size.
I have, since making this knife found a source for titanium socket head screws and round bar stock of heat treated titanium. The screws I found are just like the stainless ones I used in the knife for the clip and the scales and in the same 2-56 size only they are 6AL-4V heat treated titanium. Soon all the stainless screws and other stainless hardware I used in this knife including the pivot and lock pin will all be replaced with titanium ones making this knife truly as durable as it can possibly be. Sticking with the original theme in the building of this project knife that started around the very durable H1 steel I think the titanium liners and pins, and lignum wood combined with this H1 steel make for a very long lasting hand me down knife for many lifetimes.
I had a little bit of a question mark in my mind regarding using titanium in the pivot and lock bar but I know some guys that still use brass bar and/or nickel silver in the pivot areas and have never had one returned for failure so I think a 3/16 pivot in ti will be more than strong enough and a 1/8 in diameter in the lock should do fine there. I will have to cut the solid 3/16 bar of titanium and drill out and then thread the inside for 2-56 threads to make a custom one of a kind pivot pin but once done it should be fine. Next up is finding another Salt1 with a plain edge so I can swap blades as I like once I re drill a new pivot hole in that blade in the 3/16 size.
Thanks to Anthony Cheeseboro I was able to acquire a used Salt 1 PE.
I took the blade on that one out and tapped the pivot to a 3/16th size and swapped it out for my new upgrade just recently to give the plain edge a try since I've gotten to know the serrated version. I found the serrated to be a bit too aggresive for my tastes though as it didn't seem to cut soft materials that great but just grabbed and pulled so I made it a PE in the middle and back and left some 'softer' serrattions on the tip. I may or may not go back to that one later. It depends on how well the PE performs for me with edge keeping. So far I like it. I have been carrying it now as a plain edge for about 2 weeks or more I guess. I must say I'm very impressed with this steel Sal.
I really like this H1 stuff. It seems to me to be up there with the other premium steels and the fact that I can totally not worry about it at all is such a plus. I just love this knife.
On my Salt 1. I found a source for titanium screws. So I ordered some to replace all the stainless ones in the knife originally, but just the minimum because they were almost $6 each. I also made a titanium pivot pin and threaded it to make the pivot 100% immune to the elements also. And of course the lock bar pin is ti also. So, basically the knife is either H1 steel, titanium, aluminum for some inner pins, and/or lignum vitae.
Once again thanks for the interest and compliments from all you guys both here on this thread and in private. Much appreciated. I'll let you know when I do another upgrade to a Spydie of mine.
Steve
I took the blade on that one out and tapped the pivot to a 3/16th size and swapped it out for my new upgrade just recently to give the plain edge a try since I've gotten to know the serrated version. I found the serrated to be a bit too aggresive for my tastes though as it didn't seem to cut soft materials that great but just grabbed and pulled so I made it a PE in the middle and back and left some 'softer' serrattions on the tip. I may or may not go back to that one later. It depends on how well the PE performs for me with edge keeping. So far I like it. I have been carrying it now as a plain edge for about 2 weeks or more I guess. I must say I'm very impressed with this steel Sal.
I really like this H1 stuff. It seems to me to be up there with the other premium steels and the fact that I can totally not worry about it at all is such a plus. I just love this knife.
On my Salt 1. I found a source for titanium screws. So I ordered some to replace all the stainless ones in the knife originally, but just the minimum because they were almost $6 each. I also made a titanium pivot pin and threaded it to make the pivot 100% immune to the elements also. And of course the lock bar pin is ti also. So, basically the knife is either H1 steel, titanium, aluminum for some inner pins, and/or lignum vitae.
Once again thanks for the interest and compliments from all you guys both here on this thread and in private. Much appreciated. I'll let you know when I do another upgrade to a Spydie of mine.
Steve