Chris Reeve mods?? Firesteel Q's??

[KiljoyKutlery]

Has anyone ever modified thier Chris Reeve knives, to better serve thier needs? I have a Shadow III that I think is a really cool knife, I love the small size, I just can't spark a fire steel with the rounded over back...do you guys just use the edge or what...I want to take this guy out, but I am worried that if I spark on the edge, it will dull the small blade.
So, I have a 2 part question I guess...1. Has anyone modded thier CR knives and how? and 2. Is it OK to strike a firesteel with the edge?
Thanks, Gene

 

[Darkaz]

No I haven't but I know of a man who has see this thread for a pretty severe but professional mod.

I wouldn't use the edge of a blade on a firesteel. Never tried it myself but you have to be asking for trouble. I can't see how you could do this without at best dulling or at worse causing micro fracture of the edge. IMO save the blade of the knife for what it's designed, cutting.

I've a few knives which have slightly rounded backs I've thought about flattening but it's always swings and roundabouts - although a very square back is good for firesteels, it's less comfortable when you want to apply extra pressure onto the spine with your other hand. For this reason I've always resisted the temptation.

One option would be to make a small concave cutout at an appropriate place on the spine, of slightly larger diameter than your firesteel, and hone this to a sharp 90 degrees leaving the rest of the spine square. The other option is what I do and use a second knife for the steel, a Spyderco manix comes with an appropriately squared off spine and is excellent backup for a fixed blade :thumbup:

 

[westllen]

Piter's is very cool! but the one I have that I purchased from Bill Siegle, (Bill made with Chris's consent not to make any others) seems to be of more useful as a WSK. Mine has a false edge on top of the spine instead of Piter's flat top. The false edge not only looks better in my opinion, but works great to strike a fire stick, you save the primary edge instead of dulling it. Just love mine!:thumbup: Another excellent job by Bill Siegle.

Jules

 

[bulgron]

The Mountaineer II has a false edge on the top of the spine that works extremely well for sparking a ferro rod. No modifications necessary.