- Joined
- Dec 9, 2003
- Messages
- 4,817
So I decided to take off the FRN handles on my Endura and make a pair out of bright hunter orange G10.
After a bit of frustration, a lot of time, and a crap load of orange dust I finished.
Let me tell you G10 is some tuff stuff. I dont have a bandsaw so I ended up having to drill holes in it and cut it with a hacksaw like I would with metal stock. It also seemed to burn easily and is very resistant. The G10 really ate up my belts.... had to throw away a 36 grit after because all the sharp peaks were gone, just flatt tipped rocks!
I don't plan on working with G10 anytime soon.
I wanter more in the way of grip. The FRN did have texture and I knew I couldnt get that with the G10 so I decided to instead put more finger ridges/bumps. It feels nicer than the original shape which I never really liked. Plus there is a bit more curve in all dimensions giving it a more of a ergonomic feel.
I did learn a lesson about counter boring the holes for the screw heads. One or two went too deep and the screws dont hold the handle slabs together as well as I wanted, but overall the knife is still solid. A little bit more bladeplay but its not too bad.
Actually I learned a more expensive lesson the first try. I had some nice red dyed stabilized maple burl or birdseye slabls I was going to put on. SO i cut them out and drilled the holes and started grinding away to give it a basic shape/taper and whatnot. Only problem I ground the same side on both handle slabs, effectively giving me two right side handles. $25 bucks down the hole.... though I managed to use the scraps to make a kit spoon for my daughter (5 months)
I also reprofiled the blade just a tad, got rid of the edge on the bevel of the blade. I did not do a thurough job though as some scratches remain.
So here are some photos.
After a bit of frustration, a lot of time, and a crap load of orange dust I finished.
Let me tell you G10 is some tuff stuff. I dont have a bandsaw so I ended up having to drill holes in it and cut it with a hacksaw like I would with metal stock. It also seemed to burn easily and is very resistant. The G10 really ate up my belts.... had to throw away a 36 grit after because all the sharp peaks were gone, just flatt tipped rocks!
I don't plan on working with G10 anytime soon.
I wanter more in the way of grip. The FRN did have texture and I knew I couldnt get that with the G10 so I decided to instead put more finger ridges/bumps. It feels nicer than the original shape which I never really liked. Plus there is a bit more curve in all dimensions giving it a more of a ergonomic feel.
I did learn a lesson about counter boring the holes for the screw heads. One or two went too deep and the screws dont hold the handle slabs together as well as I wanted, but overall the knife is still solid. A little bit more bladeplay but its not too bad.
Actually I learned a more expensive lesson the first try. I had some nice red dyed stabilized maple burl or birdseye slabls I was going to put on. SO i cut them out and drilled the holes and started grinding away to give it a basic shape/taper and whatnot. Only problem I ground the same side on both handle slabs, effectively giving me two right side handles. $25 bucks down the hole.... though I managed to use the scraps to make a kit spoon for my daughter (5 months)
I also reprofiled the blade just a tad, got rid of the edge on the bevel of the blade. I did not do a thurough job though as some scratches remain.
So here are some photos.
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