HRLM Problem

XMP

XMP

Joined
Feb 9, 2007
Messages
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OK, I need some advice about my HRLM. In many ways I really like the feel of this knife -- good handle ergonomics and handy blade length. The problem is that the choil is waaaay too small.

Has anyone else had this problem? What have you done about it? How hard would it be to enlarge it, and would this devalue the knife significantly? Or should I look for a different small Rat for a user? The Dumpster Mutt looks like its choil is much bigger, what about it as an option?
 
Dremel will work. It will remove the coating as well.

Be carefull not to get the blade too hot.

Another great option if you have a drill press or even possibly just a regular drill is a sanding drum for a drill. I bought a variety pack at Sears.

I use one on my press for modifying the choils. The drill press helps keep my grinding very square.

I prefer the choils closer in to the handles and in many cases larger as well.

Personal preference.

For the record, the DM is nice, but I still modified the choil.

I have a HRLM on the way to me. I should have it by Saturday or Monday. But, I have a Ramandu. I hear the Ratmandu and HRLM have a very similar handle (???). The choils on my Ratmandu and on my DM are very near identical. I assume the HRLM is similar.

Without yet having the HRLM to compare to my DM, I can't give real detailed specific comparisons. But, I know the DM has a longer and thicker blade. The DM also has Res-C handle with hidden tang. So, the DM will be much more blade heavy compared to the HRLM. They will balance differently so they will feel different in the hand.

I haven't done anything to my Ratmandu yet. I am sure I will someday, but as much as I prefer satin finish over coated blades, I still like looking at my black on Black G10 Ratmandu. It will probably get stripped one day though.

The only two options I know of that have a better choil design (IMO) are the Bog Dog and the SS4. These are the only two knives they used the mudder grips on. With the mudder grips, they pulled the choil in much closer to the handle. I like this a lot. Two of my favorite knives!!!!

The SS4 is smaller than the HRLM and significantly smaller than a DM or Ratmandu. However, the blade length is close to the HRLM. The SS4 is lighter. It is an AWESOME knife and was made with INFI. I still see a few for sale for under $200. I would recommend snagging one before the price gets WAY high. I can probably do anything with my SS4 that I could do with an HRLM. Both are great knives. With there different blade shapes, they will have slightly different advantages over one another. But, close enough in most cases.

The Bog Dog was originally about $89.00. Now they sell in seconds for over $200 and up to $250. Getting hard to find. I wish they would re-release the Bog Dog. I only have one... D2 or SR101... either way, I would buy another if not 2.

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It's your knife, go ahead and make it the way you want it :thumbup:

HRLM001-2.jpg


HRLM027.jpg


myknives120.jpg
 
1whitefoot,

Looks really nice!

I bet you can reshape that Basic into a functional choil!
 
I made the choil larger and rounded the edges. I also took off the silly and misplaced lanyard hole.

It's now VERY comfortable and usable .

.
 
FYI- The choil on the HRLM is much smaller than on the RatManDu. The RatManDu's choil is perfect, for me, at least.:thumbup:
 
Troop said:
FYI- The choil on the HRLM is much smaller than on the RatManDu. The RatManDu's choil is perfect, for me, at least.:thumbup:
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I just finally got my HRLM today. Awesome little knife. I like it way more than I had expected. But, they silly little choil needs altered.

As Troop said, the Ratmandu's choils is different and works just fine. The HRLM needs work. I can't even get the smallest part of my little finger in this choil.

As much as I feel it should have been done differently, I actually prefer what they did over the Gen. 2 howler. On the Gen. 2 Howlwer, the Choil is too far from the handle and eats up a lot of blade. You can't bring the blade back on the Gen. 2 Howler. In th case of the HRLM, I can easily grind the choil how I want - in close to the handle. I will probably reshape the back bottom of the butt to make a little smaller and create more of a beak that fits my hand.

The Gen. 2 Howler Res-C handles were nice and light, but too small in the grip area.
The HRLM is plenty roomy.

With the HRLM, this knife can easily be made to fit me as perfect as I can get it. But, in all fairness, outside of the choil, it is pretty awesome.

The thumb ramp fits me very well, but I will probably shallow it out a little for my big thumb.

Of course, I will strip mine and convex the edge some more!!!

.
 
cybrok said:
I have small hands, give it to me :)
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NO Way!!! MINE... Mine.... all mine!!!!:D

I can make it work easy enought and after I strip this baby and do a few little grind tweaks, it will be one of the (if not the) best knives I own in this size!!!!

I like my new HRLM much better than the Gen. II Howler and I like that one a lot!

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A choil is somewhat of a compromise.

The good: It gives a knife a littel more flexibility. You can use the knife in a regular grip or choke up about an inch on the blade by having your index finger in the Choil. This works pretty well for detail work.

The bad: you don't have any blade close to the guard in the regular grip.

Some people like them. Some people don't.

To me, it depends (????).

There are so many knives with so many little nuance variations.

With a choil is a little more versatile, but with an arguable slight drawback.

I don't really have any significant issues with the drawback, because it is mostly canceled by the option to choke up.

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A choil also make a knife easier to sharpen with a more consistent edge the entire length.
 
When I got mine months back, I thought the smaller choil was nice. After using it camping, I found it annoying. I may open mine up a bit as well. Its' a squidge too small. Not a lot. I like that mod.
 
I just hesitate to modify it, when someone else might find it perfect the way it is.
 
Remember that it is YOURS! Who cares what someone else thinks. The important thing for your knife is for you to find it perfect.
 
The choil on the HRLM is curious. It is bigger than it needs to be to serve as a sharpen-to-the-end-of-the-blade aid, yet it is not big enough to facilitate the forward grip for most fingers. For a user, I would go ahead and modify it to make it more comfortable for you to use. The only negative effect on value would be to someone looking for a factory mint example and they would probably not be all that interested in a user anyway. Indeed, a well done job like 1whitefoot's would increase the value as a user.

Drue
 
I'm going to modify mine when I get the time.

What's the best attachment to use on the Dremel?
 
Guyon said:
I'm going to modify mine when I get the time.

What's the best attachment to use on the Dremel?
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If assuming your use of the Dremel is to modify the choil, I would use the Drum barrel sander. I think there are two common grits like 80 & 120, but I am not sure on the grits.

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Choil change is correct.

I have both the barrel sander as well as some stone grinders that are round. I'll try the sander first.
 
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