Buck 124 Handle Modification

Joined
Oct 6, 2006
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I just picked up a new 124 Frontiersman and was wondering if Buck will thin the handle scales down if I send it in? I plan on calling and/or emailing them later this week, however it's on my mind now, so I was curious if any of you have had this done before.:)
 
I would think that should more appropriately be performed by a customizer and not the factory.
Several good ones hang out here.
 
Do a google search for Stone Knifeworks or do a search here on blade forums for the same name and you should be good to go.
 
I just picked up a new 124 Frontiersman and was wondering if Buck will thin the handle scales down if I send it in? I plan on calling and/or emailing them later this week, however it's on my mind now, so I was curious if any of you have had this done before.:)

Don't forget....we want to see before and after pictures!!!
 
I decided to give it a go and do the handle mod myself. I have access to a belt sander and started last night. I got the thickness where I want it, however I need to get new handle bolts/pins. When I thinned the scales down, I found out that the stock bolts are not solid. They screw together and taper down to around 1/8". I have some mosiac pins on order in that diameter that I plan on using.
 
I would have sent it to buck,now you have no lifetime warranty on the knife...

I'm not really concerned about that. I'm just reshaping the handle and it's not going to affect the integrity of a full tang fixed blade. If the knife where to ever break, it would most likely be from me doing something stupid (on accident, lol) with the knife, which their warranty doesn't cover anyway.


Those are called blind cutlers rivets. I use them, they work very good. DM

Do you know if the shaft on those cutler rivets are 1/8" or 5/32"? I'm finding conflicting info on the web. Eyeballing the hole in the handle it look's like 1/8" using my cheap ruler. Guess it doesn't matter as I ordered mosaic pins in each thickness, lol.
 
Interested in how it turns out. I bought one of the new 124's and the handle fits my hand like a 2x4, it is big and blocky, not like an earlier one I have. I know there were changes over the years and I like some of the handles much more than others.
 
Interested in how it turns out. I bought one of the new 124's and the handle fits my hand like a 2x4, it is big and blocky, not like an earlier one I have. I know there were changes over the years and I like some of the handles much more than others.

Your description of a 2x4 is spot on. My hands aren't small, but it just felt to "blocky" in its stock form. My brother thought it was fine, however he has freakishly large hams for hands, lol.

I'll try to remember to get some pics up tomorrow. It's not close to finished yet, but I have the width sanded down to where I want it. I basically sanded from the guard down to match the width of the pommel. I haven't measured it, but I'm guessing the handle is somewhere between .75" to .80". The edges are currently squared off from the belt sander, however I plan on contouring them a bit after I get the pins epoxied in. I'll do this with a small drum sander that chucks in to my drill press, then finish with higher grits by hand.
 
Here's an update to the handle modifiaction I've done to my 124. It's almost done, I just need to go back and re-sand the handle, starting with a lower grit. I couldn't get my phone to take a decent picture of the knife, so I just used my scanner. The scanner pictures are almost "too detailed" and really highlight where I didn't spend enough time sanding with a lower grit paper before moving on to the higher grits.

Also, looking close, you will notice that the pattern of the mosaic pins is straight on one side and slightly off center on the other. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that they had a defect, in that the "guts" of the pin had a slight twist to them. Now I kind of wish I had used solid pins, however hindsight is 20/20. This defect just "makes it mine", lol.

Imperfections aside, the knife feels much better in hand with a thinner handle!:thumbup:

124B_zps89b0c7f7.jpg

124A_zps8ba1d724.jpg

124C_zps3725c73b.jpg
 
I have a question for anyone who might know. Before I started this project, the linen micarta scales were a glossy black color. Is some sort of wax used to give them that "shine" and if so, does anyone know what type it is?
 
I can't really see you did much of anything to it. If you had a photo showing 2 knives side by side, I think I could see the modifications.
Yes, the chromium oxide bar does have a fine clay binder in it (maybe some wax) that gives micarta a polished finish. After fine sanding it
up to 800 grit, rub mineral oil on and you'll see a difference. DM
 
I need to take a few more pictures. Last night I ended up contouring the handle a bit using a few scotchbrite drum sander attachments for my drill press. I used the medium grit to quickly remove material, then onto the fine grit to smooth out. From there I wet sanded the handle up to 1200 grit. After I posted last night, I hand rubbed a bee's wax/mineral oil mix I use for finishing sheaths onto the handle. After it dried, I buffed it off my hand with a micro fiber towel. It turned out decent, not "shiny" like a fresh from the factory knife, more of a matte black.
 
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