Great Knives that YOU made better...

batosai117

batosai117

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Jun 5, 2007
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I'm sure there's at least that One knife that you really enjoyed using but you thought, "what if I did _____ to make it even better!"

So this is for those of you who in your own opinion made a great knife better. Explain why you made the change and how it makes it "better" in your own opinion.

Here's mine to start things off:

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The Emerson A-100. It is by far the perfect EDC for me. Simple sleek lines, .125 inch blade which holds it's width from ricasso to tip, 154CM which I've always had good experiences with, grippy G-10, thick liner lock, and although it doesn't look like it - it has a very comfortable handle.

I wanted the clip to be polished (or satin finished if you will) to have it resemble my Spyderco Paramilitary 2. This was done quickly with my dremel set and a little elbow grease.

I then sanded the first bevel on the blade to have a two tone finish which I find attractive on a knife. This was done with several different grits of sandpaper and elbow grease.

Lastly, I wanted the blade to have a full "V" grind, so I just started on one side and kept sharpening until the "V" met up at the center of the blade. Emerson Knives come with either a chisel grind or a half done "V" grind. The A-100 has the halfway done "V" grind so I just finished the job so to speak. This was done for preference and ease of sharpening later on down the road.

Overall this is a great EDC knife, it carries small, does well with everything I can think of, and has a solid lockup.

Post away, J.
 
On the Delica and Endura, the middle hump is right where my middle finger wants to be. So I took it to a bench grinder and ground the hump down. It barely changes the look of the knife and makes it a thousand times more comfortable.

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I often modify my knives. My most heavily modified knife is a Spyderco Endura Wave. I prefer thin edges, and was not impressed with the factory edge geometry. I ended up regrinding the entire knife. The knife now has an extremely high and thin hollow grind and a rounded spine. The knife cuts far better than before, and is lighter due the the excess material I removed.
 
I also ground off the points on my FFG blue Endura 4, and after using the gnarly houge knife for a day or two,
then switching to the endura, it was like :eek: so much better.
 
I changed the profile of the G10 handle scale on my Paramilitary...took the little hook out of the pommel end and it fits my large hand much better. I was very pleased at how well G10 sands.
 
Most of my mods revolve around the pocket clips. I always cover the clip with black 3M Stair Step tape to help conceal the clip to some extent, while at the same time providing an easy way to grip the knife and remove it from the pocket.

I also will cut the clip down to a shorter length, regrind the round tip, use a torch to bend where it needs bending in order to work correctly. Many times I'm talking about a 1.0 to 1.5 inch clip upon completion.

If I cannot find a fold-over, deep carry clip, one that will allow the entire knife to go inside my pocket and only exposing the 1 to 1.5" clip, I will take the stock clip and turn it into what I want. This is one reason I use the 3M Stair Step tape as it gives my forefinger a great purchase on the knife when withdrawing it from my pocket.

I have taken my Ontario Hossom Retribution I (the large one) folder and reworked it by sanding down the handles until there is a slight bulge in the middle of each scale, meaning getting rid of the swells on both ends of each handle slab, and then attaching a fold-over, deep carry clip to the back end of it for tip up carry. In the right pants, and I wear the right pants:D, this allows me to carry that huge whopper of a knife with no hint of it even being in my pocket!:thumbup::)

Heck, I even took my brand new custom John W Smith Extreme SD-3 folder and redid it's clip to a fold-over that places the entire knife inside my pocket with 1.25" of clip being all that shows.

Btw, most, if not all, pocket clip screws I've run across are 2-56's, and have #6 torx head. These screws can get "buggered" if you do not take your time and use the correct driver. I found some 2-56 screws that have a #8 torx head and these are easier for me to use and to get tight without messing up the hole in the handle. I have replaced all the clip screws in my knives with these.

I love taking a knife and adding my own touch to it to make it mine!

Here is a very poor picture of the JW Smith, before I shortened the clip, but had already made it a fold-over;

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I've modified several of my knives:

FFBM- took the coating off, then made the edge slightly convex that turns into a v grind. It bites depper when chopping and stays a bit sharper

NMSFNO- Stripped the blade, convex to v grind, and sanded the scales down smooth. Once again, bites deeper, batones easier, and the scales feel a lot better when chopping.

SAR 3 LE- Rounded all the edges of the micarta scales. Gives it a sleeker look and feels better.
 
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