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- Jan 31, 2006
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If this post seems wordy given the information conveyed, it's only because I am a lawyer by training. As such, consider yourselves warned!!! 
So a few months ago, I picked up a small Insingo off the exchange after much deliberation about whether I should get a small or a large Insingo, or even just move in a different direction such as picking up a 21 UG. I read a lot of posts and tried a plain jane as well as one with micarta inlays. I felt like the plain jane had greater potential to me if I wanted to customize it and "make it my own" and so I sold the one with inlays. I began to carry the small Insingo and use it all the while still wondering if I should have gotten the large one instead. I have "largish" hands and so naturally thought the large might be a better fit for me. But, the little bugger grew on me very quickly and soon, thoughts of a large were a thing of the past.
In use, one thing that really bugged me was the feel of the lug when opening the knife. It just felt pointy and made opening the knife with my big thumb uncomfortable. I read lots of posts about how to "properly" open a Sebenza, but honestly, at 50 years of age, I just didn't feel like changing my old habits. Mixed in with these posts were suggestions like, "Suck it up and in a week your thumb will be used to it" and "Sell your knife to me since you will never get used to it." Hidden in and among the silliness was a piece of sage advice--gently sand down the top pointy part of the lug. I did that and what an instant amazing difference! That's what I'm talkin' bout!!! :thumb up: And, unless one looks very, VERY closely, you can't easily tell the difference visually.
So, life is getting better and I continue to carry the knife liking it more and more all the time. Then there comes a point when I have to make a decision--should I go forward with customizing this knife with the intent that I will keep it forever or is there a possibility that I will want something different down the road? In my experience, customization will certainly kill the resale value should I choose that route, so I had to be thoughtful. And if I did customize the knife, what specifically would I do? Custom inlays, overlays, anodizing, stone wash the scales, bead blast the scales, scotchbrite the scales, have CRK do a design of my own making, or do something else? Lots of possibilities, only one knife.
Long story short, I decided to hang on to the knife and settled on customizing it, in part, by using Oxi Clean on the scales. I know this idea has been thrown around in the past, but those posts are so old that the photos are long since gone. I was not 100% sure of what to expect, but it was my knife and what the heck--you only live once! While I know there are many different tastes and this may not be for everyone, I am very pleased with the results and wouldn't change a thing. It's my hope that anyone thinking about this will have a better idea having seen and read this post. Just remember, take things slowly and do what you want regardless of what others think. It is YOUR KNIFE.
So, the idea with Oxi Clean is to expose the titanium slabs to the oxidation process that occurs wit Oxi Clean in the presence of very hot water. The titanium acquires an oxidized layer that can help to protect it and hide some marks from use.
The first thing to do is disassemble the knife entirely. The blade and all hardware are separated from the clip and two titanium sides, which are the only pieces you'll be working with. I washed these pieces with soap and water and dried them off. I then grabbed a pair of latex gloves and gave everything a good rubdown with pure acetone to clean off any oils or residues which might still be present. I initially hung the clip and sides by very thin thread suspended above a cup of Oxi Clean to which I added boiling water until the pieces were entirely submerged in the water (about 3/4 of a gallon). I then let them sit for approximately 1 hour, removed them, washed them off with soap and water and then dried them with a paper towel. While they looked somewhat darker, they were not uniformly darker despite being submerged in the solution for the exact same amount of time. Initially disappointed at how they turned out, I thought that perhaps re-trying the process might enhance their look. Worst case scenario I knew I could always go back to the factory sand blast look.
Round 2. I decided that I was simply going to let the sides and clip sit on the bottom of a dish rather than suspend them from thread as that method was a PITA. I also thought that placing the pieces in such a way that the outside (visible) sides of the pieces were facing up. That way, if oxidation wasn't really taking place on the bottom of the pieces, it would be no big deal. I also opted to use water that was not boiling, but rather superheated by a microwave. 1 cup of water heated on high for about a minute (hot as if I were making a cup of instant coffee) was plenty hot enough for what I was doing. Another hour of sitting for all three pieces with some occasional stirring of the solution and "Viola!", the non-lock side piece was very nice.
I'm not sure why, but the lock side piece and the clip still looked like they could improve, so it was off to round 3 for them.
Round 3 was basically a repeat of round 2 in every way. What I found was that the lock side piece and clip needed more time to get to where I wanted them and the third round did the trick.
It's worth mentioning too that throughout this process, I had the lock face and detent ball covered by some Gorilla duct tape so that little area would not be exposed to the Oxi Clean and hot water solution. I don't know if exposure would have made a difference in lockup or how smooth the knife opened and closed, but I didn't feel I needed to find out given how small that area is and how hard it is to see anyway.
Taking the knife apart was a great excuse to clean everything. Putting it back together went smoothly following the instructions in the sticky at the top of this forum. The knife opens and closes beautifully and now sports what I consider to be an awesome look. The pics are below, but the coloration and effect is more or less subtle depending on the light you are in. Combine that with mediocre photography skills and an average camera and the pics just don't do the knife justice. There are shades of blue/purple, gold, and some slight red and green as well. The lock bar side is predominantly gold in color. Looking at the pics, it looks almost rusty looking, but rest assured that in person, it doesn't look like rust at all. It also does not look like a stark, funky rainbow, but is subtle and classy. It feels as grippy after the procedure as it was before. Again, I know it's not the look for everyone, but I love it!!!
So to anyone on the fence about modifying their $300+ CRK, I say go for it!!! There are some here who aren't afraid to do mods to their users and to you folks, my hat is off.
:thumb up: You folks helped inspire me to do this. Next up are a few words engraved above the lock bar on the back and she'll be all done.
So a few months ago, I picked up a small Insingo off the exchange after much deliberation about whether I should get a small or a large Insingo, or even just move in a different direction such as picking up a 21 UG. I read a lot of posts and tried a plain jane as well as one with micarta inlays. I felt like the plain jane had greater potential to me if I wanted to customize it and "make it my own" and so I sold the one with inlays. I began to carry the small Insingo and use it all the while still wondering if I should have gotten the large one instead. I have "largish" hands and so naturally thought the large might be a better fit for me. But, the little bugger grew on me very quickly and soon, thoughts of a large were a thing of the past.
In use, one thing that really bugged me was the feel of the lug when opening the knife. It just felt pointy and made opening the knife with my big thumb uncomfortable. I read lots of posts about how to "properly" open a Sebenza, but honestly, at 50 years of age, I just didn't feel like changing my old habits. Mixed in with these posts were suggestions like, "Suck it up and in a week your thumb will be used to it" and "Sell your knife to me since you will never get used to it." Hidden in and among the silliness was a piece of sage advice--gently sand down the top pointy part of the lug. I did that and what an instant amazing difference! That's what I'm talkin' bout!!! :thumb up: And, unless one looks very, VERY closely, you can't easily tell the difference visually.
So, life is getting better and I continue to carry the knife liking it more and more all the time. Then there comes a point when I have to make a decision--should I go forward with customizing this knife with the intent that I will keep it forever or is there a possibility that I will want something different down the road? In my experience, customization will certainly kill the resale value should I choose that route, so I had to be thoughtful. And if I did customize the knife, what specifically would I do? Custom inlays, overlays, anodizing, stone wash the scales, bead blast the scales, scotchbrite the scales, have CRK do a design of my own making, or do something else? Lots of possibilities, only one knife.
Long story short, I decided to hang on to the knife and settled on customizing it, in part, by using Oxi Clean on the scales. I know this idea has been thrown around in the past, but those posts are so old that the photos are long since gone. I was not 100% sure of what to expect, but it was my knife and what the heck--you only live once! While I know there are many different tastes and this may not be for everyone, I am very pleased with the results and wouldn't change a thing. It's my hope that anyone thinking about this will have a better idea having seen and read this post. Just remember, take things slowly and do what you want regardless of what others think. It is YOUR KNIFE.
So, the idea with Oxi Clean is to expose the titanium slabs to the oxidation process that occurs wit Oxi Clean in the presence of very hot water. The titanium acquires an oxidized layer that can help to protect it and hide some marks from use.
The first thing to do is disassemble the knife entirely. The blade and all hardware are separated from the clip and two titanium sides, which are the only pieces you'll be working with. I washed these pieces with soap and water and dried them off. I then grabbed a pair of latex gloves and gave everything a good rubdown with pure acetone to clean off any oils or residues which might still be present. I initially hung the clip and sides by very thin thread suspended above a cup of Oxi Clean to which I added boiling water until the pieces were entirely submerged in the water (about 3/4 of a gallon). I then let them sit for approximately 1 hour, removed them, washed them off with soap and water and then dried them with a paper towel. While they looked somewhat darker, they were not uniformly darker despite being submerged in the solution for the exact same amount of time. Initially disappointed at how they turned out, I thought that perhaps re-trying the process might enhance their look. Worst case scenario I knew I could always go back to the factory sand blast look.
Round 2. I decided that I was simply going to let the sides and clip sit on the bottom of a dish rather than suspend them from thread as that method was a PITA. I also thought that placing the pieces in such a way that the outside (visible) sides of the pieces were facing up. That way, if oxidation wasn't really taking place on the bottom of the pieces, it would be no big deal. I also opted to use water that was not boiling, but rather superheated by a microwave. 1 cup of water heated on high for about a minute (hot as if I were making a cup of instant coffee) was plenty hot enough for what I was doing. Another hour of sitting for all three pieces with some occasional stirring of the solution and "Viola!", the non-lock side piece was very nice.
I'm not sure why, but the lock side piece and the clip still looked like they could improve, so it was off to round 3 for them.Round 3 was basically a repeat of round 2 in every way. What I found was that the lock side piece and clip needed more time to get to where I wanted them and the third round did the trick.
It's worth mentioning too that throughout this process, I had the lock face and detent ball covered by some Gorilla duct tape so that little area would not be exposed to the Oxi Clean and hot water solution. I don't know if exposure would have made a difference in lockup or how smooth the knife opened and closed, but I didn't feel I needed to find out given how small that area is and how hard it is to see anyway.
Taking the knife apart was a great excuse to clean everything. Putting it back together went smoothly following the instructions in the sticky at the top of this forum. The knife opens and closes beautifully and now sports what I consider to be an awesome look. The pics are below, but the coloration and effect is more or less subtle depending on the light you are in. Combine that with mediocre photography skills and an average camera and the pics just don't do the knife justice. There are shades of blue/purple, gold, and some slight red and green as well. The lock bar side is predominantly gold in color. Looking at the pics, it looks almost rusty looking, but rest assured that in person, it doesn't look like rust at all. It also does not look like a stark, funky rainbow, but is subtle and classy. It feels as grippy after the procedure as it was before. Again, I know it's not the look for everyone, but I love it!!!
So to anyone on the fence about modifying their $300+ CRK, I say go for it!!! There are some here who aren't afraid to do mods to their users and to you folks, my hat is off.
:thumb up: You folks helped inspire me to do this. Next up are a few words engraved above the lock bar on the back and she'll be all done.
