A nuclear make-over

Eric_Draven

Eric_Draven

Banned
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Aug 16, 2002
Messages
206
My friend Dave Costin recently gave his Steelheart-E an incredible transformation.

Dave has really big hands and found the handle of the E-handle knives too thin (as do I). Being very good with those big mitts, Dave got some green and black micarta, some sandpaper and got down to the business of making some really nice hand filling scales. While he was at it, he thinned down the edge considerably, gave the entire knife a convex grind, then using an edge pro, applied a perfect V-edge atop the convex grind. Dave uses his Edgepro like a master, and produces a perfect chopping edge, nice and thin with a beautiful polish.

Here are the results, which are pretty awesome, I'm sure you'll agree:

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Enjoy!!!
 
I also have large hands and I've also considerd
paracord wrapping a few of my Busses. Does the
paracord stay on pretty well?
 
Ok now that is very cool:D how much does it cost & how long does it take? Oh by the way very nice sheath:D
 
WOW!! :eek:

Dave told me he was thinking about this. One hell of a job I must say Dave.
 
Eric, thanks for posting these for me.

Bravado, Yes the paracord helps considerably if you have large hands but in not much time while chopping it will create "hot spots" on your hands. No, I have not had a problem with it staying in place. I wrapped it extremely tight and melted the end together with the last strand using a small butane torch.

David, Thank you! I wouldn't have a clue what I might charge if I were to do more. Next is going to be the BM-E but I'm only doing handles. I already made the blade symetrical and layed the edge down a bit. Really helped in performance and have not been able to dull it at all yet. I have really whacked it into some very dry apple branches and all I have noticed is minor wear in the coating. The edge is holding up quite well.

Mike, Thank you too. Yes we did discuss this quite a while back. I found Koval's knife supply in Columbus and made a trip over. I bought the black and green micarta (3/8" slab) and some brass tubing. I later stopped by and met with Daryl Ralph and his son. What super nice people! Daryl gave me instructions on what to do and his son cut the block of micarta in two for me. After getting home I contemplated this project and finally at around 10pm I went to the garage and started working. Before I knew it it was daylight! Worked all night and had the grips very close to finished. This knife now fits my hand like a glove. Even my wife (who couldn't care less about knives) said "WOW, that looks professional". I then stripped the coating and sanded the blade. I took my time so the blade never became more than warm. After convexing the edge I then sharpened it as Eric stated and mounted the slabs. I must say that this SH now easily out performs the BM in chopping. Hard to believe I know but it just has to be tried to be believed. If someone would have tried to make me believe just how much improvement this made I would not have understood. In fact I'm still not beleving it and have used it a couple of times now. Pushing this SH into 2x4 pine is like pushing a hot knife into butter, seriously!

Oh BTW David, this is the reason I have not ordered a sheath yet. I knew it would not fit using these scales. I may end up having to send you the knife to have one made. I really do like the one on the BM but am affraid it won't fit either when new scales are installed.
 
I wish Dave was my freind...

The handles look great, are you ready to try a SHBM?
 
Hi Dave
If you send me the knife & sheath to play wi.....I mean refit the sheath it will just cost you shipping. Or a block of the markita stuff ? And just so everyone knows I will need the custom knives to make the sheaths fit propperly when ever you order them
 
:eek: and :eek:, that is sweet.

What did yoy use to convex the edge?

Also, I am a little confused, can someone explain a V edge atop a convex grind :confused: ?
 
Basicly, a slack belt is used on a belt grinder, and the knife is ground on the slack belt from spine to edge, creating a set of intersecting archs that form the knife blade. This is convex or moran grind. You can see them on blackjack, marbles and many ABS class blades.

They have several advantages, but due to the width of the Busse blade, this leaves an edge that is quite thin (which many prefer, especially outdoorsman), by applying the V grind, it is in effect acting as a secondary edge bevel on the convex grind, this steeper edge increases durability.

Dave has given me some idea of the performance increase he ahs seen and it is substantial.
 
Great job! I agree with you about handle thickness. I like a thickness of about 1.125" or so....fairly thick ;)

That handle looks very ergonomic. I would have left it a much lower grit, for grip. However, looks great.
 
Most excellent! THAT, is a knife to be reckoned with for sure. If you want some real performance, you just gotta have the geometry right. The Micarta looks great as well. Enjoy that bad boy :cool:
 
Dave, an outstanding job! :) Love the look of the micarta!

Koval really is a darn good source for materials like this. I'm placing an order with them within the next couple of week for some G-10 for a Gov't Model custom grip project I've been considering.

I emailed the Busse shop to see about getting some Snakeskin Nukarta, but never heard back from them. I guess it's all going on knives. :(
 
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