BK16 Liners MOD

[RWT]

I did not see anyone here that is making G10 liners for the tweeners. I have always wanted to take a stab at this and decided to after 1. no response on the forum 2. I was inspired by receiveing my CABS from the custom shop 3. I was waiting on the tweeners as they are MODABLE so here goes.

This is my first attempt at a MOD or liners on a handle, so no need to be gentle. I need advice on how to clean these up. I chose acrylic plexiglass from Lowes as it is the correct thickness (2mm), inexpensive and a similar consistency as micarata or G10. I know this is not a great material, however, for first shot it affords me the opportunity to screw up a few times. I now plan on obtaining some G10 to do this correctly.
Hope this gets me a BKH #.

The total cost of the MOD is below.
$2.13 Acrylic
$1.37 8/32 x 3/4 bolts

$3.50 Total materials

Started with a naked knife and raw material

Taped plexiglass to avoid splintering and sharp edges then traced slabs

Cut the plexiglass with a hacksaw. Make sure you clamp it down and use a spacer board on the side of your work work bench or you will damage your bench top. Not the first time I have cut or burned through to the bench. This took 15 mins.

Changed cameras mid stream as it looks like my old Nikon is dying.

After cutting the rough form it was off to the bench grinder. To have the slabs roughed out took 45 mins.

After the rough form I went to the works-sharp belt sander 60 grit. This took 30 mins

Now that they are 95%. I am not happy with the cutout area in the rear. This is where I need some experience for sure.
Drilling the correct 3/16 holes

I needed to replace the bolts and grind them down as the 8/32 x3/4 are to long

Before and After

Finished Product

 

[RogueBowie]

Good work looks nice. Thinking about making some liners for my 9...

 

[thrillbilly]

That clear actually looks killer with the black handles and black blade! I never would have thought about using clear...but it sure looks good!

Liners are a PITA...and deceptively harder to make then one who has never attempted it would think LOL

I would suggest a Dremel with sanding drum for the final work....hi-speed and low-drag

 

[DJG097]

Those look sick. Good job

 

[The Warrior]

Nice. And this is how you get a BH number: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...s-roll-(Beckerhead-Member-List-SIGNUP-THREAD)

 

[C_Tanner]

Very cool! I want to learn this myself.

 

[Jroden5446]

Those clear liners look great

 

[TwinStick]

Good stuff ! What is the knife w/orange/red handles ??? I am partially color blind, thats why i said that.

 

[oXide]

That's awesome man! Now all I need is some plexiglass and some longer screws! And a proper grinder, that would be a meatball parm!

 

[LG&M]

Nice job. How does the 16 fit in the stock sheath with the liners?

 

[thrillbilly]

Good stuff ! What is the knife w/orange/red handles ??? I am partially color blind, thats why i said that.

Its a Busse...and the handles are Orange..or at least I would call them orange. I think he called it a ''Busse CAB(??) from the Custom Shop'' in a previous thread

 

[oXide]

I think it would probably be tight on the top strap, with the bottom one becoming totally useless, but damn if those liners make the handle look that much more comfortable! I'm assuming The Warrior an I have similar sized hands, I'm XL and the 2 fits almost perfectly in my hand, with the tweener handles being less than hand filling, they are still fairly comfortable, the difference being that I don't have a problem with the way the handle curves.

Though I saw in one of his (Warrior's), how he would modify the handle to be more his style, and that looked like it would be even more comfortable. Sorry for thread jacking, I just went off and had to explain what I was talking about.

 

[Skystorm]

If you have a drill press get a pack of the little sanding drums from sears or wherever. I use them all the time for tight spots that a belt sander can't get into. Though you will probably need a file and sandpaper to get in the corners. Good handle making takes mad skillz and patience.

 

[RWT]

Still learning how to post with a quote.

The sheath fits but the retention straps do not snap with the liners. They barely snap at all without them. This is why I am looking at a custom for the BK16 and my Busse CABS.

The orange handled knife is a Busse CABSLE that I bought at least 2nd hand here on the forum. I just got it back from the custom shop for a handle upgrade. The original slabs have a nice design they are just to small for my arthritic hands. The BK16 suffered from the same issue, great design, just to skinny to be comfortable for long term use such as cleaning a deer. Thus the need for liners.

I never though of using the dremel, that is on the list. I was using a dowel wrapped in sand paper for the final sand on the cut out portion.

Skystorm, no drill press. Sold it years ago, I can't cut a straight line with a saw so I did not see the need to have perfectly straight holes with material that was cut askew.
Next up finding some G10 or Micarta. Which one is easier to work with?

 

[tman038]

nie job! they look good.

 

[tjswarbrick]

I would NEVER had selected plexiglass (acrylic is a little brittle and hard to work) - but those look awesome!
I did mine in Kydex, using a dremel - drill for holes, grinding bit to expand holes, cutoff wheel to cut, and sanding drum to shape. I think both took me about 30-45 minutes.
I was surprised how well the back cutout came out, since the sanding drum looks kinda large for those tight areas.

I used .060 (1.5mm) - also thinned out the index finger groove ahead of the palm swell - it's about as snug as stock, but I can snap the bottom strap. (I modded the sheath and removed the top, so didn't try it.)
Anyway, great first attempt, and I'm really impressed you got the plexiglass to work.

 

[Dr Rez]

I know this is a super old thread but does anyone have the original pictures or a link to them in another thread. The first half are all showing up as not found. I am trying to do this mod currently.