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gull wing

gull wing

Joined
May 4, 2002
Messages
2,536
tip up carry




I brought my old Para out again and had a little fun with it.
1. I didn't like the pivot screw heads sticking out. So, I replaced the screw on the one side and cut down the fixed head on the other side (see black screw)
2. I convereted to tip up carry. Fabed a new clip of .040" Ti. Fastened it with imbeded Ti plate milled into the G10. Two screws are fine for me I am not hard on clips. I also don't like large clips.
3. Polished the darkened areas where lasers cut blade.
4. Rounded and polished the G10 scales' edges at the belly, for ease on the fingers.

This may be "messing it up" for some, but it is "making it my own" to me.
 
That's a real nice job you did. Tip up/down doesn't bother me, but I really like what you did with the pivot. The stock part looks like crap and out of place on such a great knife.
 
I converted mine to tip up carry also. Made it a lot better IMO.
 
I wish I had the creativity and skill to convert mine.

Tip down is the sole reason why I don't carry the Para all that much.
 
Wonderful modifications!

I am thinking of getting a Para in a few months, and defintiely woudl want it tip-up. I am a hobby maker, but have yet to mess with knives that fold and screw together :)

I have done mortise tang stuff, and have threaded/tapped other projects a long time ago. Would such a conversion be somewhat easy to do? I asume you had to tap the ti plate for the clip screws. How easy was it to inlay the plate on the inside of the g-10? Is there room enough for a 3 screw clip set-up?
 
The Para Mil is one of those knives where there is plenty of space between the blade and the G10 scales when you close the blade. I've done the clip flip two ways on them. On my own I simply drilled a 1/16 hole for the new clip I made for it and then used a 2-56 threader to thread the G10 liners. The screws went in so tight because of the undersized holes and the nature of the G10 that the hex heads on the button head screws stripped about half way in. I cut slots with a thin cut off disc and made them flat head type and they screwed down nice and tight.

On a fellow forum members knife I made a plate of .032 titanium and marked and drilled all the holes for clip and mounted it first to the plate. Once I knew the plate was right I placed it behind the holes I already drilled into the scale and screwd down the screws through the G10 and used the backing plate for the threads. This one had both the G10 and the backing plate threaded with a 2-56 threader but the holes were drilled with a number 51 drill bit instead of the undersized 1/16 drill. Either way works fine I think.

I never should have sold this knife. These are really great knives I think.

ModifiedPara-Military-copy-copy-copy.jpg
 
crayola,

Pretty easy if you have a micro mill. Not bad if you have a Dremel tool.
1. locate area you want clip, deternine size of metal plate.
2. cut out plate and round corners.
3. scribe around plate unto G10, mill out pocket.
4. note- you don't have to be exact with milling, just correct plate to fit.
5. epoxy plate unto recess.
6. fab clip or a prefabed one will do and then drill thru pre-drilled clip holes into handle.
7. tap threads, done!

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks. You do pretty darn good yourself. I don't think I have a single knife that I carry that I haven't tweaked one way or another.
 
Gents,

Thank-you very very very much for your advice! I won't let tip down stop me then. I have no micro mill, but I do have a rotary tool and of course a drill press (ruined 2 sets of scales for a knife trying to hand drill and went to the store that day to get a small drill press!) I have some ti as well.

I really appreciate the help. I feel that when I get help from others and use that help in my creations, a bit of them and the community here gets incorporated into the project. Very special that way!

One thing I love about modifying knives in genral, and specific to this project, is the ability to get it just the way you really want it. I'd like to set a Paramilitary up for tip up with not too much knife sticking out of my pocket. Looks like I can do just that :)

As I wouldn't have a Para for a few motnhs, that gives me time to scrounge up a tap and some screws. So I need:

2-56 screws and tap, and a #51 drill then. I have some titanium I can use as a plate and probably make a clip out of as well.

STR, that curved clip looks good!
 
I get my small screws from the local hardware. True Value for me. In the nut and bolt section. Hope this helps.

BTW, all of the small ones are stainless.
 
wwells20,

all advice is welcome!

I am in a funny conundrum at the moment though: I moved from Lethbridge Alberta (75 000 peole) to Calgary Alberta (1 million people) a couple of months ago to start Law School. There wasn't much in the way of lots of choice for knife making goodies in lethbridge, but I knew pretty much where everything was. I know there are goodies aplenty in Calgary, I just don't know where they are! :)

At the moment I am really busy, but maybe next week when things slow down a bit I can hit a Bolt Supply house here in town and get a tap and screws needed. In the mean time maybe I can draw up some clips! I've never designed pocket clips before! Could be fun.
 
I you want, go on line and see the knife parts you may want on Sheffield Supply or Koval Supply. They have a wealth of materials
 
You may have to look around. You can buy the 2-56 screws in many configurations. Knifekits, Jantz supply, Texas knifemaker supply, Koval, and others all stock them. Some have it set up to sell each and some start at 50pks so you obviously won't need a large bulk of them. They come in 1/4" and 1/2" lengths. Usually the shorter ones are more expensive as I recall. You want button head type screws for T-6 Torx. The allen heads work but strip out much too easy for most. I was glad when I used up the last of mine in hex head.

To cut the screws to length I use thin cut off discs you can buy at Sears or Lowes in the dremmel isle. Usually I mark where I need to cut them off and then screw them into a thin piece of metal like brass or a scrap piece of ti to hold it while I cut it to length.

You will need just a 2-56 threader tap. I like the taper ones but a bot. will work. They are just a bit harder to start. You can use your drill press to hold the threader and manually turn the threader with your hand to screw it into the #51 hole you drill in the titanium and the handle. Mark and drill out your holes and thread them in the titanium before cutting out the plate as it is much easier to hold on to a larger piece than a small one.

I should make note that some people like the #48 drill instead of the #51 but 48 is slightly larger in diameter and I like my threads to be as deep as possible. I always use the 51 but know many that say they never have problems with stripping threads with the 48 size.

In the event that you break off the tap in the titanium you can use hydrochloric acid to eat away the broken tapper should it be impossible to get out with tools. The acid will not hurt the titanium.

Post some pics when you are done.

Oh and thanks for the compliment on the clip. I make my own because I have found it to be very hard to find anyone selling them that have a curve to them. Feel free to copy it if you want to give it a try. A pair of duck bill vice grips and a vice with some hard wood sides to keep from scratching up the metal is all you need. Well, a band saw helps also to cut out the rough shape.
 
STR, you have some of the best advice and just some good old little tid-bits about knives and working on them. Thank you. (not trying to hi-jack)
 
Crayola - Post some pics when you get it done. I'd love to see the results.

(Off topic) BTW I believe I met your brother-in-law a little over a year ago here in Vancouver at a knife store I used to work at.

You made a knife for his wedding I believe?

In fact, I think I remember seeing you post it somewhere on these forums.
 
STR,

It's quite clear you have made folding knives before. Most of us don't go to school to learn these things. It's been a really fun hobby. Yes!
 
Thanks for the informationgentlemen, I appreciate it! If I acquire a Para I'll post my modifications for sure. I just got to handle a Para this week-end and I liked it. I was hoping the store would have a Para and a Manix, but they didn't have a Manix.

BOK, Sounds like you met Darryl! I did make some kitchen knives for him and my sister for their wedding. A 3 knife set, the largest being an 8" chefs knife, mirror polished with a fancy stabilized wood handle. My wife even helped out doign some of the handle shaping! That was a fun project.

He also has the first knife I ever made completely to my own design, a 4" long spear point knife that he has attached to his search and rescue gear. I've been working on a refined design for a while. I should get to grind out 2 of them over Christmas. I hope I get a Spydie folder over Christmas too :)
 
does Spyderco make the newer models with convertible tip-down carry like some of their knives seeing as a lot would prefer tip up carry ?
 
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