Homemade inlays

on_the_edge

on_the_edge

Joined
Jan 31, 2006
Messages
11,712
Has anyone ever seen a Sebbie on which the original inlays were replaced by a wood or material that CRK does not offer as inlays, such as osage orange? I'm thinking about it, but am not sure how difficult or practical it would be to change them out. It would certainly make for a unique Sebenza though!
 
I would like to know the answer to this too. I've got some brown micarta hanging around, and I've been considering performing some blasphemy on one of my 21s, but so far don't have the guts.
 
A guy from Germany replaced the original inlays by stag inlays. I think he did a pretty good job. I believe that you must accept that the original inlays will not "survive" such surgery :-)

Stag Sebenza, 1.jpg

Stag Sebenza, 2.jpg

Stag Sebenza, 4.jpg

Stag Sebenza, 5.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Stag Sebenza, 6.jpg
    Stag Sebenza, 6.jpg
    41.5 KB · Views: 119
Just looking at the pics, it appears as though your mystery guy from Germany did an excellent job with the stag scales. Stag is one of my favorites and I love how they look on your knife. Awesome stag pieces as well. :thumbup:
 
Haze did jigged Titanium inlays on a Mnandi.

Perhaps he will share some photos, or someone with more time can do a search for the photos he shared previously?
 
Not a replacement inlay, but I found this pic of a completely homemade one:

rEPyYRWh.jpg
 
I have read that Mr H has done a CF inlay for an annual. He may have done other inlays also?
 
Last edited:
James Longstreet said:
A guy from Germany replaced the original inlays by stag inlays. I think he did a pretty good job. I believe that you must accept that the original inlays will not "survive" such surgery :-)
Click to expand...

You can tell they're not original, but they do look good.
 
Berry H has replaced the inlay on an annual with carbon fiber but I am not sure if he ever worked with wood.it is an interesting idea, but I bet it would be expensive.
 
Ernie1980 said:
Berry H has replaced the inlay on an annual with carbon fiber but I am not sure if he ever worked with wood.it is an interesting idea, but I bet it would be expensive.
Click to expand...

Why do you think that? If one acquired the material, especially if it was already in the right thickness, and then chose to shape and finish the inlays themselves, I'm not sure where I think it would be pricey (depending upon the material of course).
 
I could be wrong since I am guessing what another said, but I think he was saying it could be pricey if someone else did the work. If you do the work it will be mostly time consuming. Your costs will be the wood(preferably stabilized) or other inlay material and adhesive tape, presuming you have any tools you might use in shaping the inlay.
 
on_the_edge said:
Has anyone ever seen a Sebbie on which the original inlays were replaced by a wood or material that CRK does not offer as inlays, such as osage orange? I'm thinking about it, but am not sure how difficult or practical it would be to change them out. It would certainly make for a unique Sebenza though!
Click to expand...

The main problem with replacing the inlays is that you have to do a clean job on the fit or it looks terrible. It's not really a "problem" removing the inlays undamaged if you take your time with it, it is a "problem" though so take your time with it. :p That all makes the job a rather large PITA to take on and you will really want to get it right, too. A CRK is not a cheap knife and a disaster of some sort would be strongly felt. The last thing anyone wants is 3 broken original inlays, mashed up corners on the Ti frame and badly fitted new inlays that you change your mind about right away. :eek:....:D
I have done a few inlays for the Mnandi and promised myself solidly that each time would be the last time. That said, the 3 Sebenza inlays may be easier shapes to match...but those subtle curves are always there. :p
 
Hmmm...maybe I should leave good enough alone. Has anyone tried this and failed? If anyone knows someone who did, how did they ultimately correct a botched job?
 
It seems like a pretty hard task to make 3 different scales with great fit that match up with each other well as well as match up with the knife(many ways to fail and few to succeed). This is one area where machining has a large advantage over doing it by hand. You may (or may not) also consider that probably 95% of customizations decrease the value of the knife. This would not matter if you will keep the knife forever, but many do find there way to the sales forum eventually. The one exception I can think of is Mayonized( and maybe a few others done by well known knife makers).
 
Last edited:
Peter Hartwig said:
It seems like a pretty hard task to make 3 different scales with great fit that match up with each other well as well as match up with the knife(many ways to fail and few to succeed). This is one area where machining has a large advantage over doing it by hand. You may (or may not) also consider that probably 95% of customizations decrease the value of the knife. This would not matter if you will keep the knife forever, but many do find there way to the sales forum eventually. The one exception I can think of is Mayonized( and maybe a few others done by well known knife makers).
Click to expand...

Yes, it is nice to think about doing something, maybe doing some type of g10 or micarta inlay where the material is fairly homogeneous or consistent throughout and can be worked slowly. But, like so many times in life, this may be a time better suited to the philosophy that one should not try to fix something that is not broken.

Thanks for all the wise insight folks! You've probably saved me a boatload of headaches. :thumbup:
 
I heard my name mentioned:p

I've done inlays in CF and LSCF. I'm confident certain hardwoods could be done, too.

I'm not too active anymore, but I have an old photobucket account out there that show some of my past work.
 
If you had a link to that photobucket account, I would be curious to see some pics, but at this point I doubt I'm going to try to change anything myself.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top