I'm not surprised there are people looking to acquire your knife, considering how rare they are. Contrary to what some people believe, producing one is not as simple as just sticking a spring in a Ti-Lite. I've had several people ask me to produce conversion-kits so that they can make their own, but I explain to them that with my conversions, the blade, and both liners need to be carefully drilled, and even if the stock handle scales were used, they would both have to be modified. So basically we're taking about me supplying the entire knife. As a result, conversion kits are simply not a possibility.
Perhaps the main reason such conversions are so rare is the difficulty in producing them. Otherwise I imagine they would be all over the place. The lack of supply certainly isn't from a lack of demand. Heck, just re-building an existing switchblade can be very tricky, and a lot of work, but taking a knife that was never intended to be a switchblade, and turning it into one (and not a hack-job), is a lot of work (my hats off to the Vallottons, masters of conversions). Anyone who works on switchblades knows that there are several things, often tiny little things, that can prevent a switchblade from functioning properly. And it can be a bit frustrating and aggravating trying to work all the bugs out and make them work the way you want them to.
To give an idea of how rare Ti-Lite conversions are, here is a breakdown of my research. Of course it's always possible I missed something, the internet is a big place-
I got the idea to convert a T6 back around 2015-2016, and I started by searching, scouring the internet for any scrap of info, or any pictures.
Almost six years of searching and I never found a single picture (my latest search was about a week ago). I've never seen another Ti-Lite conversion until I saw yours.
I found a few references to some being made several years ago (my memory isn't perfect, so my apologies if I get any of this wrong)-
As I recall, and as I mentioned in a previous post, there was a guy who made a dozen 4" conversions for sale (I believe they had zytel handles). But that's all the info I could find about him/them.
The other reference was a couple of guys with a machine shop who had plans to produce titanium handle Ti-Lite conversions for sale. But they ended up abandoning the idea because milling the titanium handles proved to be so difficult that the cost of their knives would have been so high that it was doubtful anyone would buy them. I believe they produced 2 conversions, and I believe they were sold for $495 each.
From what I read, they all sold fast.
And that's it.
Of course it's certainly possible that others have succeeded in doing conversions, but I haven't run across them in any of my searching. And man did I look.
Whoever owns those few existing Ti-Lite conversions must be hiding and protecting them like Gollum and his "precious" ring of power, because I haven't been able to find a single one (although yours could be one).
As someone with a special affection for stilettos, and stiletto switchblades, I don't blame you at all for wanting to keep yours. If you were to part with it I doubt you would ever even see another, much less get the opportunity to buy one. Don't let anyone tell you that what you have isn't worth much because of what a new 4" zytel Ti-Lite costs. The fact that it is now a switchblade, and as you have said (and as it appears to me) a very well done conversion, makes it far more valuable than what it started out as. Like with most things, rarity + demand + quality = valuable.
