- Joined
- Jun 7, 2011
- Messages
- 4,941
I have been waiting for the orange leeks to hit shelve's since we first heard about them. I was able to help a buddy out and pick one up! I have had this idea in my head since earlier in the year so finally here it is! As most of you know there are different thicknesses between framelocks and liner locks handles, which mean different length screws and such. I will try my best to explain along the way!
Here they are already opened, liner and scale on the bottom (OR) and the milled scale and cover plate (CB) on top. You can see where the t-bar resides on both.
Here is a shot under the plate and liner of each revealing the t-bar and milled portions. You can see the difference in the shapes of the cutouts on each.
If you look at the screws on the left you can see the pivot screws (t-8) themselves are the same length, however the handle screws (t-6) are different. The liner lock leeks are the longer of the two shown on the bottom.
The back spacers on both are identical on these. You can see the differences in the lock bars widths and cutouts.
You can also see the bronze phosphur washers are new on the OR and broken in on the CB. The detent is also broken in on the CB and looks new on the OR.
The biggest problem you will run into if you try to swap half and half like I did here is the pivot tube. They are different lengths to accomodate the difference in the thickness of the handles. The longer belonging to the liner lock.
This is what you will see if you simply swap the top scales. Yo can see the pivot tube is protruding from the silver scale and is set nice and deep enough on the orange scale. You can put the orange top scale and liner on the frame lock as shown, but in order to have a good working liner lock with the top silver scale from the frame lock, you will either need a shorter pivot tube or you would have to modify by cutting or grinding down the longer tube.
There is a slight difference in the length of the two blades. The CB being maybe an 1/8th" longer than the OR.
Pic before the final assembly.
I tried to get a pic of the handle screws and the difference. The longer frame lock screws are just protruding out of the back scale. Not enough to make it too noticeable or uncomfortable. The frame lock screws are just long enough to bite into the liner lock back scale. you can see they are setting deeper.
Here they are all done and buttoned up.
I decided to see what a black clip would look like on the orange.
If you decide to play and swap clips keep this in mind. The liner lock has longer clip screws just like it has longer handle screws. Not by much, but enough to make a difference. Liner lock screw on the bottom, both are (t-6) by the way.
A few things to point out for your information. The CB blade would not work in both orange handles as the lock would not engage because a combination of the lock being longer than the frame lock one and the CB blade being a touch longer on the lock face. The Plain blade from the OR would barely work on the frame lock due to the the lock being shorter and the blade lock face being shorter. It locked up but there was a tiny bit of up and down movement, and it was a super late lock up.
I ended up with a sweet looking and good working centered blade on my composite blade orange top scaled framelock piece. The plain blade liner lock after modification is good and centered, just not as smooth, It locks up pretty solid with the tinniest amount of side to side play. Your results can and will vary. Some might work interchangeably and others won't. I am happy with my end product and the other one has been put in my car as a backup should I ever forget a knife! I hope this helps those who have had questions or been wanting to know what the insides look like on these leeks. Enjoy!
Here they are already opened, liner and scale on the bottom (OR) and the milled scale and cover plate (CB) on top. You can see where the t-bar resides on both.
Here is a shot under the plate and liner of each revealing the t-bar and milled portions. You can see the difference in the shapes of the cutouts on each.
If you look at the screws on the left you can see the pivot screws (t-8) themselves are the same length, however the handle screws (t-6) are different. The liner lock leeks are the longer of the two shown on the bottom.
The back spacers on both are identical on these. You can see the differences in the lock bars widths and cutouts.
You can also see the bronze phosphur washers are new on the OR and broken in on the CB. The detent is also broken in on the CB and looks new on the OR.
The biggest problem you will run into if you try to swap half and half like I did here is the pivot tube. They are different lengths to accomodate the difference in the thickness of the handles. The longer belonging to the liner lock.
This is what you will see if you simply swap the top scales. Yo can see the pivot tube is protruding from the silver scale and is set nice and deep enough on the orange scale. You can put the orange top scale and liner on the frame lock as shown, but in order to have a good working liner lock with the top silver scale from the frame lock, you will either need a shorter pivot tube or you would have to modify by cutting or grinding down the longer tube.
There is a slight difference in the length of the two blades. The CB being maybe an 1/8th" longer than the OR.
Pic before the final assembly.
I tried to get a pic of the handle screws and the difference. The longer frame lock screws are just protruding out of the back scale. Not enough to make it too noticeable or uncomfortable. The frame lock screws are just long enough to bite into the liner lock back scale. you can see they are setting deeper.
Here they are all done and buttoned up.
I decided to see what a black clip would look like on the orange.
If you decide to play and swap clips keep this in mind. The liner lock has longer clip screws just like it has longer handle screws. Not by much, but enough to make a difference. Liner lock screw on the bottom, both are (t-6) by the way.
A few things to point out for your information. The CB blade would not work in both orange handles as the lock would not engage because a combination of the lock being longer than the frame lock one and the CB blade being a touch longer on the lock face. The Plain blade from the OR would barely work on the frame lock due to the the lock being shorter and the blade lock face being shorter. It locked up but there was a tiny bit of up and down movement, and it was a super late lock up.
I ended up with a sweet looking and good working centered blade on my composite blade orange top scaled framelock piece. The plain blade liner lock after modification is good and centered, just not as smooth, It locks up pretty solid with the tinniest amount of side to side play. Your results can and will vary. Some might work interchangeably and others won't. I am happy with my end product and the other one has been put in my car as a backup should I ever forget a knife! I hope this helps those who have had questions or been wanting to know what the insides look like on these leeks. Enjoy!
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Nice job Justin, they both look pretty slick. The CB framelock with orange front is of course my favorite. 
