Griptillian question

I went and made my own micarta handles for my griptillian. Was alot of work hollowing out the are for the axis lock.
 
I think the weight savings from the hollow sounding scales are well worth it. I prefer the FRN scales from Spyderco for feel but I'll take the cheap sounding scales for the lightness.
 
Before purchasing WilkinsGrips, I fixed the loud "clack" by filling the honey comb with silicon. It did the job and it didn't really add any weight either.
 
i have these on the way for my ritter M4

grip_cf_2.jpg
 
The RitterGrip has the same handles as a regular Grip.

Here is a pic of my Ritter handle after modifying it.
I mashed some sinker lead into some of the waffle holes on both sides. Then I put epoxy over the top. I made sure it was smooth and not sticking out. Then, I took a black marker and colored the epoxy. It looks kind of messy in the photo, but you can’t see it at all when the knife is reassembled, even with a flashlight.

The annoying ‘Clack’ is gone. The knife is also balanced now, before it was blade heavy.
I only added 1.5 total ounces to the knife, but it felt much better. It is hard to describe how much of a difference it made.

The Wilkins grip replacements are another option.
They are expensive, but they transform the knife into a whole other animal. I put a set of these on my Ritter. Many people have told me they thought the knife was a custom when they saw it. The WilkinsGrips turn the Griptilian into a true tank knife.
 
I guess it's one of those knives that if your lucky enough to play before buying it you
will be able to make that determination about the scales. I was lucky enough and didn't mind it because it offered good grip and a larger handle for a work knife. Thank goodness for the aftermarket craftsmen though. :)
The only thing I had to do was put a bevel on mine. From the factory it was rather dull
and didn't have much of a bevel at all on it. I really had to hunker down on the lansky
for a bit and now all is well.
 
I kinda like the hollow "THWACK" sound my large Grip makes when flicked open. ;)

Here's another option for you. Look at the Benchmade 950Rift. It's a little like a large Grip on steriods. It has very grippy G-10 scales, and a nice thin-edged blade that slices better than the stock Grip blade. :thumbup:
 
KeithAM said:
I kinda like the hollow "THWACK" sound my large Grip makes when flicked open. ;)

Here's another option for you. Look at the Benchmade 950Rift. It's a little like a large Grip on steriods. It has very grippy G-10 scales, and a nice thin-edged blade that slices better than the stock Grip blade. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

:thumbup: Not to hijack this thread, but...I love my Rift. It's my fav BM now, even over my H&Ks. Plain old black/gray G10 & 154CM, nothin' special. Does sorta remind me of an upgraded Grip, though.
 
marthinus said:
Thank you! It gave me an idea. I have some Blue and green g10 laying around. I will have to play with it when I have some time (found out recently how difficult G-10 is to work with).
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I found that g10 is not the easiest to grind. I think the glass fibers (there are glass fibers right?) resist abbrasives. I found myself burning the G10 a lot, but maybe that was wrong speed or worn out belts?

The easy part is screw holes. The harder part is the loop for the axis lock. You have to get it skinny enough so that the axis lock sticks out enough to grab.
The hardest part is the spring in the axis lock. On the inside of the liners you have to hollow out a circular pattern for the omega spring. I used a dremel and a steady hand.
Unfortunately I also lost a spacer hence the bulky piece seen near the end. Unfortunately it is not quite the right size so the handle is just a little off and the mechanism is not as smooth as before, but it works. Also because I curved the handle I am not able to put on a pocket clip. Well I guess I could I just have not tried yet.
 
eyeeatingfish said:
I found that g10 is not the easiest to grind. I think the glass fibers (there are glass fibers right?) resist abbrasives. I found myself burning the G10 a lot, but maybe that was wrong speed or worn out belts?.
Click to expand...

Jip and they are damn hard to form without the right tools!


eyeeatingfish said:
The easy part is screw holes. The harder part is the loop for the axis lock. You have to get it skinny enough so that the axis lock sticks out enough to grab.
The hardest part is the spring in the axis lock. On the inside of the liners you have to hollow out a circular pattern for the omega spring. I used a dremel and a steady hand.
Unfortunately I also lost a spacer hence the bulky piece seen near the end. Unfortunately it is not quite the right size so the handle is just a little off and the mechanism is not as smooth as before, but it works. Also because I curved the handle I am not able to put on a pocket clip. Well I guess I could I just have not tried yet.
Click to expand...

A steady hand I always struggle with! But I think I will give it a try.

The only thing I have made with g10 is the following:

PC050050.jpg

PC050049.jpg
PC050048.jpg

PC050047.jpg

PC050045.jpg


It took me 4 days of work. I do not have the proper tools. Used a file. Sandpaper and a round file for the groofs. It is not nearly as good as I wanted so I took it off. I have not worked on it yet since my academics are my main focus again.
 
There's a CF-handled Gold Class Griptilian coming out. ;)

Also, as previously mentioned, there's the new Bone Collector, which is a spitting image of the Griptilian but with a G10 handle.

15020.jpg
 
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KeithAM said:
I kinda like the hollow "THWACK" sound my large Grip makes when flicked open. ;)
Click to expand...

I also don't mind the thwack from my Ritter. But you guys got some great ideas in trying to fix the stock skins.

I also think the orange g-10 scale looks pretty damn good. For what its worth.

SB
 
G10 is a nearly perfect PITA to work with IMHO. The dust is near-toxic. The stuff is so hard it dulls just about any cutting tool sooner rather than later. If you use power tools at too high rpms (like a router) you'll burn the G10 if you don't take precautions. Looks great, but I've decided that I'd rather let someone else fabricate finished scales. YMMV.

For filling the large Grip scales, I've thought about mixing up some JB Weld or some similar epoxy and spooning it in. G10, after all, is basically just epoxy and glass fiber. It will sound more solid but it will definitely weigh more.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Also, as previously mentioned, there's the new Bone Collector, which is a spitting image of the Griptilian but with a G10 handle.

15020.jpg
Click to expand...

It also has full steel liners compared to the Grips partial nested liners. It will certainly feel more solid but also come in at a heavier weight.
 
Thanks for all the positive comments! I've sure sold a lot of WilkinsGRIPs for both the regular and the mini Griptilians and have had nothing but happy customers so far. Only "complaint" is that my grips are on the expensive side. I do my best to make a premium product and – big surprise – it costs a certain amount of coin.

One thing to take into consideation is that my WilkinsGRIPs are NOT just a copy of Benchmade's grips done in another material. I redesigned the entire look and feel of the knife around Benchmade's existing blade/locking system without modifying the original product. This took a good deal of time and effort.

Plus, just like Benchmade, knifemaking is my job not my hobby. I don't really think it would be fair to Benchmade for me to copy their design and sell the results unless I had their express permission to do so. Same as I wouldn't want them to copy my work and sell it. So I don't copy their work, I do my own design and manufacture it.

Also note that both large and mini WilkinsGRIPs for the Griptilians utilize a separate spacer made from anodized aluminum or G11. These require their own fixtures and vendors for materials and anodizing.

Currently the WilkinsGRIP BMG for the large Griptilians are sold out. I am working on a redesign: The WilkinsGRIP BMG X2 which incorporates a redesigned alu spacer with gripper serrations and a lanyard hole. I hope to have these rolling out the door in late Spring. I will be posting computer 3D renderings on my site are soon as I'm done tinkering. (Just the 3D program I use to do this design work took all the fun out of $10,000.)

I like to get stuff right and sometimes this takes time and I also have to pay the rent while I'm doing R&D on new stuff.

So thanks to everyone who has forked out the cash and so generously supported the whole WilkinsGRIP project and a special thanks for all the email and web posts letting me know how you like the goods. And of course thanks to Benchmade and their designers for creating such a fantastic platform from which to work.
 
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