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Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
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Dr. Frankenstein, The Saga Continues!!!
- Thread starter esnyx
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2008
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- 4,559
I echo the others sentiments and appreciate your effort :thumbup:
This is very timely as I am going to try some cover mods soon. Ill be paying attention, probably be back with some questions soon
This is very timely as I am going to try some cover mods soon. Ill be paying attention, probably be back with some questions soon
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2014
- Messages
- 1,119
Questions are heavily encouraged! Thats why I made the thread!!
As far as brass pins go, they work perfectly fine. You need to make absolutely sure that your pins will smoothly slide through the holes you've drilled. If they are too tight, the brass will peel and/or mushroom up if you catch it on the spring or tang holes. You can easily reduce the size of your pins, chuck it up in a drill or drill press and run some sandpaper up and down the pin to thin it out. Its also helpful to grind a point onto the pin so it doesn't catch on the holes as you tap it through the scales. I definitely wouldn't use aluminum pins, they will wear down and deform too much during hafting and use. Let me know if you have any more questions.
As far as brass pins go, they work perfectly fine. You need to make absolutely sure that your pins will smoothly slide through the holes you've drilled. If they are too tight, the brass will peel and/or mushroom up if you catch it on the spring or tang holes. You can easily reduce the size of your pins, chuck it up in a drill or drill press and run some sandpaper up and down the pin to thin it out. Its also helpful to grind a point onto the pin so it doesn't catch on the holes as you tap it through the scales. I definitely wouldn't use aluminum pins, they will wear down and deform too much during hafting and use. Let me know if you have any more questions.
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2010
- Messages
- 7,567
Thanks, I did thin the pins 1/8" was all I had and the slip joints seem to be 3/32 or about that most often, perhaps I went to far, or didn't do it evenly enough, I shall try again, thanks for the answer 
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2014
- Messages
- 1,119
No problem! The issue could be that thinning from a 1/8th to a 3/32 might be too much. Sometimes I thin out some 3/32nd, but I haven't had to use anything larger so I can't really say. I would recommend getting some 3/32 pins before proceeding, should make it much easier on you.
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2014
- Messages
- 1,119
So, I am back with a walkthrough on how you can rescale a slip joint while reusing the original liners and bolsters. Here I am rescaling a Case sway back to have stabilized buckeye burl scales and nickel scale pins. I repeat some parts that are shown in the initial tutorial, but I think it could be helpful to see them done in this project since I do not take the knife apart completely. Thanks for looking!
To begin, an image of today's victim:
Before dismemberment, shield the blades from the horrors to come:
The surgical tool:
The first cut (WARNING!! DISTURBING IMAGES):
One connection severed, proceeding to the next incision:
Bone extraction(this process can be rather excruciating on the subject, but well worth the suffering
):
Some drilling is required to complete the deboning:
Skinned and deboned:
Time to clean the wounds of any decay:
While the subject recovers, the prosthetics are created:
Shaping dimensions based off of the originally removed carapace:
Adhering the prosthetic to the subject:
Some more painless drilling:
Subject is to be pinned to the new prosthetic for a more secure bond:
Implant the bottom pin with the springs and shape the scale to size for full reassembly before reanimation:
Reassemble the subject:
Hafting and reanimation of the subject coming soon!
To begin, an image of today's victim:
Before dismemberment, shield the blades from the horrors to come:
The surgical tool:
The first cut (WARNING!! DISTURBING IMAGES):
One connection severed, proceeding to the next incision:
Bone extraction(this process can be rather excruciating on the subject, but well worth the suffering
):
Some drilling is required to complete the deboning:
Skinned and deboned:
Time to clean the wounds of any decay:
While the subject recovers, the prosthetics are created:
Shaping dimensions based off of the originally removed carapace:
Adhering the prosthetic to the subject:
Some more painless drilling:
Subject is to be pinned to the new prosthetic for a more secure bond:
Implant the bottom pin with the springs and shape the scale to size for full reassembly before reanimation:
Reassemble the subject:
Hafting and reanimation of the subject coming soon!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2014
- Messages
- 1,119
Ok, enough of the shenanigans, this is something I haven't shown you. Here I haft the handle and do a cyanoacrylate finish on the wood. The CA is how I am going to bring out the color in the buckeye burl and give the scales a glossy smooth finish. On to the next step...
Since I am reusing the original bolsters, I taped them up while I haft the scales on the belt grinder:
Once the scale is close to fully shaped, I removed the tape to shape the bolster along with the scale to give the knife clean, even lines:
After the belt grinder, I hand sand the handles to make sure they are nice and even, and to remove any scratches. I usually start at 120 grit and build up to 600 at this point using waterproof sandpaper. No need to go all the way up to a polish at this point because of the CA finish.
At this point I wash the handles and scrub them with a toothbrush, a pipe cleaner, and dish soap:
Nice and clean:
Time for the CA finish:
I use thin CA first to fill in any cracks or gaps, spray it with the activator to instantly dry it, then I use the medium CA that glazes over the scale:
**Make sure to tape up your bolsters before applying the CA, if not, you will end up with the glue on you bolster and will have to spend extra time sanding it off.
Just as an FYI, cyanoactylate is the main ingredient in most household superglues. The difference between superglue and CA finish is the viscosity and the drying rate. This can absolutely be done with superglue, I actually did my first few CA finishes with a household superglue. I like to use a q-tip for applying the CA, the trick is to keep it moving in order to make sure it doesn't dry while you are trying to apply the glue. I also wear nitrile gloves and sometimes smooth the finish with my fingertip to even it all out.
Next comes sanding the finish and bolsters:
I brought it to a 600 grit finish before I give it a mirror polish on the buffing wheels:
Here I polish it with red and green polishing compound:
Clean out the compound and oil the pivot and springs with some WD40:
Nice and glossy:
*Sorry about the crummy pics, its gets tough taking pics with one hand during some of the processes (CA finish).
So thats I do a CA aka superglue finish on my knife scales. This is the last thing I do before working on the blade (polishing, sharpening). On this knife, I am going to polish the blade to a shine, then force a dark, even patina. I will try and take pics along the way so you can see how I force a patina on my knives. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, feel free to comment with any questions or any other modifications you would like me to post. Thanks for reading!!!
-Evan aka esnyx aka Dr. Frankenstein
Since I am reusing the original bolsters, I taped them up while I haft the scales on the belt grinder:
Once the scale is close to fully shaped, I removed the tape to shape the bolster along with the scale to give the knife clean, even lines:
After the belt grinder, I hand sand the handles to make sure they are nice and even, and to remove any scratches. I usually start at 120 grit and build up to 600 at this point using waterproof sandpaper. No need to go all the way up to a polish at this point because of the CA finish.
At this point I wash the handles and scrub them with a toothbrush, a pipe cleaner, and dish soap:
Nice and clean:
Time for the CA finish:
I use thin CA first to fill in any cracks or gaps, spray it with the activator to instantly dry it, then I use the medium CA that glazes over the scale:
**Make sure to tape up your bolsters before applying the CA, if not, you will end up with the glue on you bolster and will have to spend extra time sanding it off.
Just as an FYI, cyanoactylate is the main ingredient in most household superglues. The difference between superglue and CA finish is the viscosity and the drying rate. This can absolutely be done with superglue, I actually did my first few CA finishes with a household superglue. I like to use a q-tip for applying the CA, the trick is to keep it moving in order to make sure it doesn't dry while you are trying to apply the glue. I also wear nitrile gloves and sometimes smooth the finish with my fingertip to even it all out.
Next comes sanding the finish and bolsters:
I brought it to a 600 grit finish before I give it a mirror polish on the buffing wheels:
Here I polish it with red and green polishing compound:
Clean out the compound and oil the pivot and springs with some WD40:
Nice and glossy:
*Sorry about the crummy pics, its gets tough taking pics with one hand during some of the processes (CA finish).
So thats I do a CA aka superglue finish on my knife scales. This is the last thing I do before working on the blade (polishing, sharpening). On this knife, I am going to polish the blade to a shine, then force a dark, even patina. I will try and take pics along the way so you can see how I force a patina on my knives. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, feel free to comment with any questions or any other modifications you would like me to post. Thanks for reading!!!
-Evan aka esnyx aka Dr. Frankenstein
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2014
- Messages
- 1,119
Thank you all for the kind words!
The CA finish really does wonders when working with stabilized woods and composites. It not only gives the handle a solid, glossy feel, but it also stabilizes the wood, adding to the structural integrity of the scale. I was so excited when I learned how to use this stuff!
The CA finish really does wonders when working with stabilized woods and composites. It not only gives the handle a solid, glossy feel, but it also stabilizes the wood, adding to the structural integrity of the scale. I was so excited when I learned how to use this stuff!
