Drill holes in BM 710 handle

M

McCleaven

Joined
May 24, 2009
Messages
161
I have a benchmade 710 that I would like to drill holes in the handle on to lighten it up a little. I was wondering what tool other people have used to accomplish this? I have a dremmel, but I don't know if it will work. Any help qill be appreciated!
 
Silly question. Do want the holes in the metal liner or in the G10 scales? I am guessing it is the scales because some 710s (well, mine does) already have holes in the liner.
 
If you don't have a drill press, using a Dremel will be iffy. Unless you are a dentist and can freehand with small high speed tools I would not try the Dremel.
I have not done this to lighten a knife and would think removing G-10, which is already fairly light weight, would not reduce weight appreciably. As far as what to use on the G-10,any normal drill bits will work.
 
The metal liner is where the weight is. Drilling the G10 will have limited weight reduction. It may however, give you a better grip.

I would only use a drill press with HSS bits, set your press at 1000 rpms. Wear a respirator.
 
I had my 710 rehandled by Keyman. The holes didn't reduce the weight because the new slabs were a little thicker than the old ones.
If I were going to do my own holes, I would use a Forstner bit in a drill press.View attachment 389793
 
tiguy7 said:
I had my 710 rehandled by Keyman. The holes didn't reduce the weight because the new slabs were a little thicker than the old ones.
If I were going to do my own holes, I would use a Forstner bit in a drill press.View attachment 389793
Click to expand...

Tiguy7 - you're sure now how to get it done the prestige way:thumbup: Skeletonize twilt cf - wow, can I have it? - very please ;)
 
Bluntcut, You probably wouldn't like the M390 blade. You're more of a K390 kind of guy.
 
tiguy7 said:
Bluntcut, You probably wouldn't like the M390 blade. You're more of a K390 kind of guy.
Click to expand...
You're right Tiguy7. I would love to borrow one of your Stellite 6K knife for wear-resistant test against k390. Beside you've way too many of them, so you wouldn't know one is missing from your large super steels/composites collection :) And afterward, you don't have to worry about scratches nor blemish, for-free, I turn a collector item into user :cool:
TIA ;)
 
In hindsight, I meant to say add more grip, but I had had a long day! Haha! I have worked with Keyman before, and he does amazing work. I just don't have the funds to do it that way. Figured if I went at it with dremmel I would be set. I'm gonna have to see if I can find someone near me with a press. Thanks for the info guys!
 
RevDevil said:
Lightening the knife by loosing 3 grams of G10?
Click to expand...

This.^

For weight loss, drilling out G10 scales doesn't really do much. I had an old beater S&W liner-lock years ago that was too loose to fix, so I decided to mess with it & see how I could modify it. It had skeletonized liners, so I drilled the G10 to match the liner holes. Looked cool, but the weight reduction was almost unnoticeable. Standard EDC-sized knife, and if I remember correctly, the knife weighed 4.21 ounces when I started, and weighed 3.96 ounces when I was done, after drilling five holes through the G10.

However, for looks, it can be kind of cool:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...o-s-Show-what-you-got?p=12637724#post12637724

And for adding grip when G10 smooths out and gets slick over time, this works too, even though it's not holes drilled through:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-pocket-quick-mod-PIC?p=12314224#post12314224

~Chris
 
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Dremel should work fine. I used a regular drill with a run of the mill drill bit and it worked. Also, I did not disassemble the knife, just eyeball the hole location and use a small bit to start. Drill a hole and then see how close to the liners you got, then use a larger bit. It's pretty exciting holding the open knife in one hand while wobbling the drill around in the other, obviously a chance of creating a spinning wheel of death. Worked for me and I'm a clutz!
 
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