Diy Skeletonizing or Reccomend Someone?

[jacobi]

I have a kizylar Supreme D2 Urban that i'm interested in lightening up - it weighs 5.3 oz and just feels heavy to me. Has g10 handles that I can take off - should I just drill a bunch of small holes in the blade and scales? Any potential problems with this? I don't baton wood with it, will be dressing some game and thats about it. If someone does this and can make it look nice might be interested in just sending it off. Thanks!

 

[killgar]

Drilling the blade in any way that would result in a noticeable reduction in weight would take a lot of work. Hardened D2 isn't going to be easy to drill (if it's even possible), even with carbide drill bits and a good drill press.

I have a D2 fixed-blade that I wanted to make lighter. My plan was to drill holes and create cut-outs in the full-tang (the knife was handle-heavy). I tried using a brand new 1/4" carbide drill bit, but I didn't get very far through the steel. In order to drill the tang I had to first soften the steel. I did that buy submerging the blade in a container of ice water, with only the rear half of the tang sticking up out of the water. Then I heated the tang with a blowtorch until it was nearly red-hot. This softened the steel enough that I could easily drill the tang (with the carbide bit), as well as use a regular round file to create larger cut-outs (wore out a new file). The blade stayed cool throughout the heating process so it's heat treat was never affected. I was very happy with the result.

Carbide bits, especially the larger diameters (like 1/4") can be a bit expensive ($35 + shipping), and without a drill press I'd say don't even try it. You might be better off buying a lighter knife for your needs. When you consider the cost of shipping your knife to someone, buying insurance, the cost of having difficult custom work done on it (they would likely charge you for a new drill bit), and the cost of return shipping/insurance, it might be more economical to buy a lighter knife. Or maybe trade your knife for a lighter one in the trade forum.