First Post! Question about first Spyderco and Mods!

E

East_to_West

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Jan 3, 2014
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Hey all,
this is my first post here, if it's in the wrong section please feel free to remove it, although after some digging around this seemed like the most appropriate place for it. I apologize in advance for whats probably going to be a long post.

I just bought a Kershaw Echelon with the natural G10 scales. I like the knife a lot, but I think it's going to be Spyderco for me from here on out. I'm going to buy my first spyderco tomorrow online.

I have about $100-ish to spend and right now and off the bat I thought my best bet would be to get a Delica and an Endura for function.

Another aspect of knife collecting that really appeals to me is making custom scales and modifications. Browsing the Cuscadi site was what sold me in the first place.

I'm pretty sure I want to at least get a Delica because it seems to be the perfect mix of smaller size, aesthetics, ergonomics and overall function that I'm looking for. I'd love to build my own scales for the Delica, but I understand it's a very difficult thing to do with this particular knife. I've searched high and low, but alas couldn't find any information on scale making and re assembly of the delica. which brings me to my second purchase:

As far as the second knife (I might need to wait if I end up deciding on something over $60 or so), I'd really like something that I could make custom scales for, preferably out of wood or G10. I'd ideally love to use some of those exotic materials I.E. mother of pearl, abalone, mammoth ext... but I figure that wood or G10 would be much easier to work with (If this ISN'T the case, let me know because I'd definitely buy one of the less expensive exotics to start out with).

For the second knife, I want to be able to somewhat easily make new scales for without having to do the complicated milling and fitting that I gather is imperative to customizing the Delica. I'm open to suggestions for this one, but for now the three best options seem to be:
* The Endura
* The Tenacious (this seems like a good option because of the lower price point which would make experimentation less of a hazard $$ -wise),
* The Manix 2. I assume the 'Light weight' version of the Manix 2 is as hard (if not impossible) to mod as the delica due to it's one piece FRN (not sure if the material is correct) handle and lack of liners. If it is easy to make new scales/handle for this then I'd swoop on the $55 price point for sure.

So overall, I'm open to suggestions for the best way to spend $100 on a first Spyderco, but for now I'm pretty set on the delica and something that I can somewhat easily build custom scales for since this really appeals to me.

Thanks so much for making it all the way through my long and probably obnoxious post. I'd really appreciate some feedback on this. Bladeforums seems to be a cool community and I look forward to being a part of it and sharing my knives and (hopefully) my custom creations with y'all in the future. Cheers everyone, hope you're all having a wonderful 2014 so far:p,

Greg
 
I love my tenacious more than the delica or endura. Not only that but because of the price point Im not afraid of trying my hand at modifications on it.
 
Since I posted this I've been leaning toward a delica and a tenacious. Reading your post swayed me even further in that direction. I'd like to hear a few others input, but that seems a good safe bet for now. I'm sure I'm going to end up buying at least an endura, manix 2 and probably a salt for beach/ocean use in the near future anyway. Thanks a lot!

Greg
 
I did my first mods on an Endura, then a Delica. I put less-invasive wave-type mods onto them. Spyderco doesn't really make any bad knives, so it's not like your modding success won't be matched by a fully-usable tool. If you don't pay attention to heat treat, or geometry, you can mess any of their offerings up, but you really can't find quantitatively-better execution of any of the materials involved in their blades over the numbers they produce at the prices they produce them. They have the best materials available for their commercial scale as well, so again, any of their knives are a great starting point for modders.
 
Although I am interested in doing some mods like waves and other goodies, I was mainly referring to the difficulty of crafting and assembling new scales for the knives, specifically the delica.

I want to make some wooden scales, and then hopefully try a wooden scale with an abalone inlay. I'm aware that those are somewhat harder materials to work with, but I've done crafts like jewelry making and stuff where techniques like that are employed. I think it would be a fun thing to experiment with.

I might end up getting the delica and the endura anyway and buying the tenacious in a week or two when I have more money to spend. Either way, I see all of them in my near future. I guess the main point of this post is to see if people have any tips on modding delicas specifically, or any of the other models I've listed. I've tried everywhere to dig up info on whats required to build scales for the delica and I can't find anything anywhere, be it youtube, here, google, or the spyderco forum. I know some people here have experience with this, but I respect if it's somewhat of a secretive craft and I need to find out for myself ;) haha.

Thank you guys for your input!!
 
The easiest knives to mod will be models with full flush liners and all screw construction. Models with nested liners and those with locks that need relief cuts in the liner will be more difficult, as would any that require you to drill out rivets and replace them with screws. So, of the knives you mentioned, the Tenacious would be your best bet. The Endura has nested liners, the Manix 2 Lightweight has none, and the regular Manix 2's liners have that silly jimping on them which complicates things. As for materials, wood is probably the best to start with. Relatively inexpensive and easy to work, plus a low hazard for most species, although some folks are allergic to one or more of the exotics.
 
Thanks Deacon, thats what I was looking for! I think it sounds like the tenacious would definitely be a good starting point.

I'll buy some wood today when I place my order. So far I only have a dremel and a drill, but I think that will suffice for now.

Does anyone have any tips regarding this process? Or is there a thread/section of this forum devoted to scale making? If there is I wasn't able to locate it.

Thanks Sal for the personal welcome! I hear you're a great guy who runs an honest business and I look forward to buying your products and becoming a member of this community!

And a big thanks to everyone else who's given me speedy responses to my question! You've been a big help.
Cheers,

Greg
 
I think the combo of Delica and Tenacious seems to be ideal for what you want to do. The Tenacious is the knife that got me hooked.

Other starting project knives you may want to consider are entry level folders from Ontario and EESE.
 
Thanks for the heads up! I'll shoot you a PM right now regarding that belt sander! Thanks guys, I'm about to place my order! I think I'll snag the endura in the next week or two ;)
 
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