custom scales on a production folder?

shootist16

shootist16

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I have seen several production knives that have been fitted with custom handles. That really looks interesting. Obviously this would be easier with some production knives than others. Assuming one had a produstion liner lock that had handles that were easily removed, how hard is it to make custom scales for? How would you do it? This is something that I wouldn't mind giving a try but would like to hear from the experts first.
 
Hey Dennis,

Since no one else jumped in with a reply I'll give it a whirl. What I think you are asking is probably no big deal but it takes a bit of time. If the piece has bolsters it might complicate matters a bit. Actually, the more I think about it, the task could get somewhat complex depending on what kind of knife you're talking about. There's a lot of different configurations possible and some milling might be required underneath the scales in some cases such as for an axis lock folder.

But basically, you would just take the knife apart, lay out the frame slabs, lay your overlay material on top of them and figure out what you want showing. I'm thinking of wood here, but it would be the same with carbon fiber or micarta, etc. ANyhow, you would trace the outline of the frame slab onto the overlay material and then cut the material to shape leaving a 16th or so of material on the edges.

Next you would clamp the pieces together with a pony clamp and very carefully center punch all the holes. Then very carefully and accurately drill the holes. SOme may require countersinking or counterboring to seat the screws into them properly. It all depends on the knife and what the slabs cover.

After drilling you would then screw the overlays onto the frame pieces and take them to the belt grinder for the final fit up. Very carefully sand and contour the edges to fit the frame pieces. You can also use a dremel for this step and I always have to for the thumbnotch area since my grinder does not have a small wheel setup.

Once the final fitting is done then you can take the pieces apart and do a finish sanding by hand to the overlays or give them a buffing, whatever your heart desires. There's always the danger that in doing the fitting you may have disturbed the original finish on the edges of the frame pieces so those may need to be fixed up as well.

Put the knife back together and clean it up. Sounds easy enough but there's always something to screw up. :D Getting those holes lined up accurately is really tough. Changing drill bits can consume considerable time. Oh, and there's always the flatness question: Is your overlay material flat enough? You may have to spend a bit of time taking care of that on a disc sander or by hand.

I won't even get into the mammoth overlays, MOP and other tedious materials......

So, as you can see, it can get complicated and take much longer than you anticipated which is why knifemakers are always whining about not making any money!;)
 
Thanks for the response. That is more or less what I expected but I wanted an expert opinion. I may try it. I definitely want to choose a folder that isn't too difficult.
 
Pete said it all :) I think a good one to start with is an LCC :) Just remember to heat up the screws to lossen the loctite before trying to unscrew it, or else it will snap your torx driver :( I almost had ironwood on my LCC last week, but the ironwood cracked :(

I would look for a knife with dual liners. That way, the handle material is fully supported.
 
Don't forget the Locking liner kits: This is my Darrel Ralph 605. The kit was $30 and I can't say enough about how impressed I am with the quality and performance. It might be a good confidence builder before jumping into something more difficult.

605.jpg


Good luck with it.
Rob
 
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