Homemade "Wave" with plastic ties is awesome!

F

Full Tang Clan

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Jul 22, 2000
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I don't know who the genius here is who thought of making a "Wave" on a tip up Spyderco with a plastic equipment tie, but I tried it for the first time today.

I took one of those thin plastic equipment ties and wrapped it tight around the Spydie hole on my Native. I put a drop of Super Glue in the notch of the tie so it wouldn't slip and unravel. Then i trimmed the excess off, except for a little protrusion up top which I shaped a reverse hook with nail clippers.

It works great. The blade snaps open on a quick draw.

Not to mention the little square of the tie makes for a nice makeshift thumbstud (thumbstuds on a Spyderco?).

I don't think Ernest Emerson will be too thrilled with this discovery though since us "bug" fans can now carry most any tip up Spyderco as if it had a "Wave".

Once again, hats off to the smart cookie who came up with this easy, home made solution. ;)
 
i read about it a while back(6 months???) on the forum, but they were doing it w/a BM 806 axis AFCK. i tried it for a while, really works pretty well, doesnt look so great though, imho. i guess would work w/any tip up knife w/a hole for opening.....

greg
 
Two of my favorite knives are set up that way. My BM 806 AFCK and my Spydie Wegner. It works particularly well on the Wegner. VERY VERY fast and reliable. More reliable than my Emerson P-SARK in most cases.

My 806 it works okay on, I just gotta keep the blade good an' snug to keep it from bouncing back.

I've heard it works awesome on the Chinese Lum as well.
 
can anyone please post a picture of the zip tie as well as the knife ? i'm german, hence i don't have any clue what a zip tie is.
 
Here is link to West Pac Industrial Zip Tie, I am sure you have them in Germany for electrical wiring harness applications.

http://www.westpacind.com/

Click on "Many Uses" however, they forgot to include "Wave" modification to a folding knife???

Regards,
FK
 
RWS- Yes indeed, it works well with the Chinese folder. I had mine set up with the ziptie for about a month earlier this year. Took it off for aesthetic reasons. :)
 
....I read this thread, then went and set my Spyderco Rescue up with a zip tie. Holy cow that's quick! If you don't know what the wave thing is (I didn't), check out the Emerson web page and go to the video archives.

Thom
 
Yeah the tie is awesome. I was going to cut into my griptilian until someone here suggested I try the ties first. Much cheaper and it sure works well.

I just used a little electricians tape so it wouldn't slide about. Works aweosme, but I might just cut a wave in anyway.
 
thanks alot. yes we do have them, it's just that they're german name is completely different from the english one, like it's very hard to guess.
actually, i was thinking about those, but i wasn't quitwe sure.
anyway, some pictures of the knife to share ?

cheez
 
I was wondewring too, I thought it had to do with a zipper, I always called those things tie wrapes:confused:
 
Originally posted by richardallen
thanks alot. yes we do have them, it's just that they're german name is completely different from the english one, like it's very hard to guess.
actually, i was thinking about those, but i wasn't quitwe sure.
anyway, some pictures of the knife to share ?

cheez
Click to expand...

Yeah, you should be able to pick up a package of them for a couple of dollars at any electronics shop (e.g. Radio Shack in North America), or computer equipment retailers.

Just make sure you put a small drop of either Krazy Glue, or epoxy at the notch of the tie as it may slip when you draw the knife abruptly.

The only unfortunate thing is that many of the Spydercos that would work great with this for self defense purposes -- e.g. Military, Police, Harpy, etc. -- are tip down carry. It might work with a cordura sheath though...
 
Cancel the above...Tried testing the homemade "Wave" on a cordura sheath. It gets caught on the loose woven fibers of the cordura.
 
Originally posted by Full Tang Clan
The only unfortunate thing is that many of the Spydercos that would work great with this for self defense purposes -- e.g. Military, Police, Harpy, etc. -- are tip down carry.
Click to expand...

Except, with those Spydies, it is easy to do the infamous spydie drop. Maybe not quite as fast as the wave, but pretty close.

If I wanted a waved knife, I'd stick with an Emerson. I don't really care for the idea of having a big, ugly zip tie at the top of my blade. The new CQC10 will have a nice opening hole to go with the wave. Good enough for me. :)

I may still try it for kicks, though.

Someone post a picture. Please?

-- Rob
 
When I put 'em on my Wegner and my AFCK I used four on the Wegner and three on the AFCK. I figured the redundancy is a safety measure in case one breaks and it tends to look a tiny bit less odd. Also took care of any sliding problems.
 
My experiences with the pseudo waved Native is that it isn't nearly as reliable as my Commander or Mini. Though it is a neat little trick, I ended up cutting it off...besides it looked damn ugly.
Matt
 
Originally posted by Jazzman
My experiences with the pseudo waved Native is that it isn't nearly as reliable as my Commander or Mini. Though it is a neat little trick, I ended up cutting it off...besides it looked damn ugly.
Matt
Click to expand...

I dig that you're just playing devil's advocate and pointing out some cons of this. You are correct in that it is not a substitute for having the "real McCoy".

But it does work well if it's constructed properly. Like I said, it would be nice if Spyderco had more linerlocks with tip up carry. You also have to leave a little bit of tab on top and sculpt a hook with some nail clippers.

However, the main thing is that it is a 10 cent solution (a cheap plastic zip tie), versus shelling out $160 (plus tax, plus currency conversion and duty for some of us)for an Emerson Commander. Also, if you don't want that type of behavior out of your knife anymore, you can just clip the tie off. I think it's a good interim solution until one can get the real thing. It's also a novelty.

As for the questionable aesthetics. Well, I guess it's unavoidable but who's really going to see it? Unless you're one of those tactless poseurs who whips out their tactical knife out at a restaurant just to show off. :barf:

Then again, it may just impress your friends when they the "snkt" of the knife and see it already opened.
 
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