fishface5
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2001
- Messages
- 9,611
Before

After
This is a modern traditional but still a traditional so it seems appropriate to post here as an FYI.
I had been wanting one of these without the swedge so that it would be easier to pinch open. I finally got one off the exchange but it was super-tough to open. The spring was very strong and the pull was not far enough down the blade to give much leverage. So I thought I would share 3 mods I did that really helped.
(1) you can't see this mod b/c I didn't want to take the knife apart again. But it is easy to take apart and remove the backspring. Thanks to a search of BFC I learned that by (slowly and carefully) removing material from the backspring on the inside face -- in the area north / towards the blade around the center pin or screw that holds the backspring in place -- you can reduce spring tension. Don't take off too much, and keep the transitions rounded you don't want any sharp angles! Check as you go! I got it down to where it was still strong but not actually painful on the nails when using the pull.
(2) extend the long pull. I obviously screwed this up aesthetically. If I had it to do again I would have done more with a file and only the beginning with the dremel. I have shaky hands so my dremelling was imperfect. But what I did was to use a conical diamond dremel bit to draw out the long pull (regularly dipping the blade in water to cool it). Result: longer pull = more mechanical leverage = much easier to open!
(3) rounding the edges of the g10 scales to allow thumb and fingers closer access to the blade when pulling it open. Simple but very helpful. (I also tried my hand at jigging the scales, which feels better in hand but I clearly need to work on my patterning).
I can now comfortably pinch it open without needing to dig a nail in, but the walk and talk is firm and snappy.
Anyway I wanted to share because I am VERY impressed with the construction of this knife, and I initially though with despair that I would have to sell it because it was so hard to open, but now after modding it is fantastic! (But if you try this, just be more careful than I was with the long pull, because the F&F of these knives is so excellent it is a shame to ding it up as I did to mine)

After

This is a modern traditional but still a traditional so it seems appropriate to post here as an FYI.
I had been wanting one of these without the swedge so that it would be easier to pinch open. I finally got one off the exchange but it was super-tough to open. The spring was very strong and the pull was not far enough down the blade to give much leverage. So I thought I would share 3 mods I did that really helped.
(1) you can't see this mod b/c I didn't want to take the knife apart again. But it is easy to take apart and remove the backspring. Thanks to a search of BFC I learned that by (slowly and carefully) removing material from the backspring on the inside face -- in the area north / towards the blade around the center pin or screw that holds the backspring in place -- you can reduce spring tension. Don't take off too much, and keep the transitions rounded you don't want any sharp angles! Check as you go! I got it down to where it was still strong but not actually painful on the nails when using the pull.
(2) extend the long pull. I obviously screwed this up aesthetically. If I had it to do again I would have done more with a file and only the beginning with the dremel. I have shaky hands so my dremelling was imperfect. But what I did was to use a conical diamond dremel bit to draw out the long pull (regularly dipping the blade in water to cool it). Result: longer pull = more mechanical leverage = much easier to open!
(3) rounding the edges of the g10 scales to allow thumb and fingers closer access to the blade when pulling it open. Simple but very helpful. (I also tried my hand at jigging the scales, which feels better in hand but I clearly need to work on my patterning).
I can now comfortably pinch it open without needing to dig a nail in, but the walk and talk is firm and snappy.
Anyway I wanted to share because I am VERY impressed with the construction of this knife, and I initially though with despair that I would have to sell it because it was so hard to open, but now after modding it is fantastic! (But if you try this, just be more careful than I was with the long pull, because the F&F of these knives is so excellent it is a shame to ding it up as I did to mine)
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