Dex's Saber 16 Modification WIP : Progress Update

[Cryptyc]

That's some great advice CamH.

 

[hawkhead]

You're right Dex, the BK16 is one sweet knife. It took me a long time to wise up to that fact. The first project was a simple reshape of the spine. Now thanks to you and other fellows in Becker land I am planning a bigger customizing project for my second 16. This thread is great for learning some of the tasks I have never done to my other projects. Pics and commentary are excellent.

 

[Dexwithers]

Glue on one side, drill the holes, glue the other scale on and drill that one too and then put the pins in, when its permanently fixed it makes drilling much easier and there's no chance of misaligning the holes.

That would work for sure and make the hole drilling a lot easier but to guarantee that the front part of the scales by the blade is a perfect match, I think its best to have the holes drilled then temporally place the pins and shape the front part together before glueing. Shaping the front and getting them to match would be almost impossible to do if its not done before glueing I think?

 

[daizee]

That would work for sure and make the hole drilling a lot easier but to guarantee that the front part of the scales by the blade is a perfect match, I think its best to have the holes drilled then temporally place the pins and shape the front part together before glueing. Shaping the front and getting them to match would be almost impossible to do if its not done before glueing I think?

Drill the holes in each scale.
Then temporarily pin them together and shape the fronts. Finish the fronts completely.
Then glue them all together and shape the rest.

The problem with using your drill press as a drum sander is that many small drill presses do not have the cylindrical bearings required to handle side loads. Do I do it too? yes. But not since I got a drum sander for the holidays.

 

[Dexwithers]

Got more done.

Here are the pins getting hacksawed.

I filed some grooves in them for the epoxy to grip into.

Getting ready, used some JB weld this time.

One side on

Both on.

Clamped her down. Not to tight to squeeze out all the epoxy but just tight enough to get a flush fit all the way around.

All glued up!

Trimming down the pins.

Sanding her down real good.

Let's add some palm swells

She's getting there. I also added the thumb divots.

Finished her up by hand.

Sanded her up to around 2000 grit, then used some micro mesh, then buffed her a little with the dremel.

This baby feels so nice in the hand. She is a little thicker than the stock micarta and that is a big plus now that I have handled both side by side.

Gonna mod all my other tweeners for sure with either permeant scales like this or some liners.

The thumb divots feel amazing and this is by far my most comfortable knife I own.

Still have a few more things to do to her but here are a few pick of how she looks now.

The lanyard hole came out awesome. Way better than I expected.

Here is a top view.

Gonna take some nice pictures soon.

I think I am going to polish the blade a bit. The black might have to go since I want to get the grind marks out of the blade since the handle looks so nice. I will keep you all updated.

Enjoy

 

[GarnetandBlack]

Wowza, that came out fantastic. Excellent job Dex! You should be danged proud to tote that steel around. I've really enjoyed reading through this WIP and seeing the progression and the final product.

 

[KP]

Excellent work. Looks very comfortable.

 

[The Warrior]

Looking good man.

 

[daizee]

Great looking work, Dex!

 

[hawkhead]

You outdid yourself on this one Dex. Excellent "how to" and accompanying pictures.

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

Looking great, Dex! Also, Daizee, now I want a drum or spindle sander, and it's all your fault.

 

[Jerry D.]

Sweet 16, Dex. I like that you added the thumb divots.

 

[Don W]

Those handles turned out sweeet! Nice work and thanks for the photos and tutorial. The photos make it so much easier for me to understand how you do parts.

 

[granitestateofmind]

Wow, Dex. Just....wow.

Great pics, too. Very inspiring to see what can be accomplished by an "amateur". Not amateurish at all. What an informative tutorial, to boot.

 

[Dexwithers]

Thank you guys. I am so happy with how it's turning out. I was able to shape the handles to fit my hands perfectly and it just feels so good. I am seriously gonna order and/or make some more micarta and re-handle most of my other beckers. Gonna do some liners on the next one for sure. I never thought it would make such a difference in the way a knife felt in the hand, If I did, I would have done this a long time ago.

Glad the pics and info helped some of you out. If you have any tools at all, I would suggest you try it. It really wasn't hard to do. Just takes some time..... and patience. Really simple tho if you follow all the steps. But I'd skip the step of sanding the scales flush with the knife tang before glueing to save on time. Only get the front of the scales by the blade like you want.

 

[tjswarbrick]

Very, very nice - I like it! - and great advice to boot.

 

[dynamicmoves]

Looks great, I like the thumb ramps. Little surprised the micarta turned out so shiny.

 

[LeeBower]

Nice job! those are some great looking handles.

 

[Galeocerdoshark]

Do want

 

[Cryptyc]

Dude, Dex! I'm crazy impressed with the final result of those scales. WOW!!! The thumb ramps are a wicked awesome touch btw.