Bauchop rehandle

[Rusty]

About a month ago I picked up a mint Bauchop Alley Cat. Unfortunately, from what I've seen Peter Bauchop looks large enough to give John Wayne and inferiority complex, and I'm only 5' 4" tall myself.

What that translates to is that the Alley Cat has a deep groove for the forefinger, that comes to a point between fore and middle fingers, kind of like a cut down integral sub hilt. My middle finger naturally rides up on the point of the ridge, my shoe size being an 8 and my glove size about the same.

I realize this may horrify some collectors, but I ripped off the micarta scales and ground off the point of the subhilt. Now the knife's handle is one clean sweep from behind the double guard to the butt, top or bottom.

I want to replace the original scales with ivory or stag and chop an inch of the 1 1/2 inch sticking out past the heel of my hand off the butt. Since Bauchop put a number of 7/16ths lightening holes in the middle of the full tang, any way I cut in that area is going to leave me with a hole to fill or cover in the middle of the butt. Or if I find a long enough set of scales I can cut it longer and leave the butt solid in back.

I've also polished off the CalGard black finish. This is going to be and open carry and use knife. If I have to use it, I will probably be holding a pistol in the other and want the knife in my left hand to be seen!!!

In any case it is a given that the quality of Bauchop's work will be maintained in the repolish and changes. While this is not a knife I plan to let go of, I'm sort of interested in whether I've destroyed or may have even enhanced it's value by repacing the micarta with ivory.

 

[RokJok]

Originally posted by Rusty
I'm sort of interested in whether I've destroyed or may have even enhanced it's value by repacing the micarta with ivory.

Generally an ivory handled knife is worth more simply because ivory is much rarer than micarta. Also, by modifying the handle shape and rehandling the knife, you are essentially creating a "one of a kind" customized Bauchop. IMHO that is so cool. Whether that blade is worth more or less than the standard version of the knife depends on your ability to find someone (i.e. a buyer) who likes your version of the knife better than the shop's version and is willing to pay the price to get your version.

FWIW I've found most modifications done to knives attractive, assuming they were done by craftsmen and not by hacks. Tactical blades like Bauchop's with black micarta handles are seen everywhere. So one with a nice stag or ivory handle really stands out from the crowd & leaves an impression. Check out this thread with picture of a beautifully modified Busse SteelHeart. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=168639

I'm sorry to see so few users willing to customize their blades to their own uses/tastes and just use the blade as it arrives out of the box. You bought & paid for the blade. It's YOURS now, so I advocate making it as uniquely yours as possible. Maybe someday the grandkids will say something like, "This knife of grandpa's is just like him -- one of a kind!!"

I think the bottom line of any modification to a knife is, "Does this change make the knife more attractive/useful/efficient to me as the owner and user of this knife?" If the answer to that question is "Yes" then you've done a good thing for yourself, whether anyone else likes it or not.