Knife modding by committee/GAW

HeathH said:
Yeah, I think the slow/steady method is best in a one-off capacity. Last time I tried a coping saw on brass it didn't end well, I probably need to pick up some finer blades.
Click to expand...

I agree with Pàdruig Pàdruig , a jeweler's saw is what I would use. (I hope you don't mind all the back seat driving on this project, but you asked for it. :p)

SawCutting_color_L2.jpg
 
HeathH said:
What manner of sorcery is this! Ordered!

I'm all about the back seat driving. I have been hoping something would come up to push me past my comfort zone!
Click to expand...
Excellent. A bit of advice:
1) Don't position your left hand in the path of the blade like the hand-model in that stock photo. Even though it's not a power tool, you can stab your finger when you break a sawblade.
2) Buy extra sawblades.
 
HeathH said:
NEW POLL ADDED TO THE THREAD! Hardwood types readily available that I'm willing to spring for! There were a lot of cool wood options, but some of them were upwards of $60 for a couple of small pieces... :rolleyes::eek:

http://www.strawpoll.me/14912556

Hi there!

I've been lurking and occasionally posting here for several years, and I've learned a TON about knives in that time. I really enjoy learning all the little details about knife construction. Probably the most enjoyable thing I've picked up from this place has been modding. I love working with my hands and doing fine detail work and playing with different materials. I've always loved exotic woods and I've been having a lot of fun with Micarta. I used to do some minor "mods" to my modern knives before I got into slip joints, but the level of work you can do to a traditional knife with basic hand tools is *way* more fun :D

One of my favorite things is to pick up a $5 piece of junk off the auction site, or from a flea market, and turn it into something nice and usable. A big plus in the skills I've picked up is that I can address problems or shortcomings on knives. Maybe even put together your dream knife... At this point I feel like I can pick pretty much anything up and address any problems I need to with a factory knife. I'm way short of the really talented modders on the forum, but I'm learning a lot with each knife I do.

I've been wanting to do a GAW for a while now, but I thought I'd do something unique. I picked up this Providence RI Imperial jack for about the price of a cup of coffee ~ it should be here next week. My plan is to mod the knife based on responses to polls, then do a giveaway after posting some WIP pictures.

Here's the knife I picked up:

View attachment 831670

If it gets here and it's trashed, I will mod something else. I've got several laying around :)

I'm planning to do it with G10 liners (if people vote for liners) and Micarta handles, because I have an OK selection of both. I can also pick up some hardwood too, but I don't know what will be available 'til I get to the store. If wood is selected, I'll run to the store and see what's available then post a followup poll.

I've created some polls on Strawpoll on the design ~ if this doesn't work I will try something else. In the case of a tie, I'll cast the tie breaking vote. If some illogical combo shows up like a linerless tip bolstered shadow pattern in wood... we'll talk about it ;)

I'll let the polls go until next Thursday, 1/25. If you're interested in the giveaway, just post that you're in. I'll do a random number draw to select the winner. I'd like to keep this in the US only due to legality concerns and shipping costs. Please be aware, I have a busy life with a whole fleet of kids and work responsibilities, so it may take me a little bit to put the knife together.

Anybody can vote in the polls, regardless of whether you want to enter.

So, here we go! Here are the links to all of the different decisions to be made:

Blades Selection:
http://www.strawpoll.me/14876102

Patina on blade and backsprings:
http://www.strawpoll.me/14875626

Shadow Pattern vs Bolster
http://www.strawpoll.me/14875463

Bolster color:
http://www.strawpoll.me/14875560

Bolster style:
http://www.strawpoll.me/14876017

Liner color:
http://www.strawpoll.me/14875520

Handle color/material:
http://www.strawpoll.me/14875546

Pin material:
http://www.strawpoll.me/14875975

Pin covers (Carbon fiber cap over the pins like Ohta does on some of his shadow slip joints)
http://www.strawpoll.me/14875616
Click to expand...
Thank you I'm in
 
"Hard Maple" was my vote because "Whatever Whatever You Like To Work With Best" was not an option.

Any of the choices would be good, IMHO. :)
 
I'm just here to see where this fun road takes us :) answered the polls for fun, and rooting for a revival of this knife to a Phoenix rebirth :) good stuff!
 
Voted, and I'm in. Thanks! I'll be interested to see how this one turns out.
 
neal70 said:
I’ve got a table jigsaw that I’d give ya, if you lived close HeathH HeathH .
Thanks, Neal
Click to expand...

Dang, I'd take you up on it too :) I agree with you on Wenge. I wasn't going to include it, but then I saw a pen blank that was big enough for this knife and I was blown away by the edge grain on it! I will probably get it for personal use. I've got a recurve bow with a wenge and purple heart riser. The Wenge is pretty plain on that, but some of the stuff in the store was drop dead gorgeous!

I'm hoping that jeweler's saw will be what I need for the liner material. I followed Rachel's advice and ordered a LOT of blades, so that should keep me going for a while. Been watching tutorials on how to use it, I'd never even heard of the thing (it works by using a sawing motion. Thanks Youtube!).

It may delay putting the knife together, however. I just got a notification that it's shipped. If it gets here Friday or Saturday I will get a start over the weekend. I will let the wood poll run until Friday at least, although I may pick up the top two candidates just in case.
 
HeathH said:
Dang, I'd take you up on it too :) I agree with you on Wenge. I wasn't going to include it, but then I saw a pen blank that was big enough for this knife and I was blown away by the edge grain on it! I will probably get it for personal use. I've got a recurve bow with a wenge and purple heart riser. The Wenge is pretty plain on that, but some of the stuff in the store was drop dead gorgeous!

I'm hoping that jeweler's saw will be what I need for the liner material. I followed Rachel's advice and ordered a LOT of blades, so that should keep me going for a while. Been watching tutorials on how to use it, I'd never even heard of the thing (it works by using a sawing motion. Thanks Youtube!).

It may delay putting the knife together, however. I just got a notification that it's shipped. If it gets here Friday or Saturday I will get a start over the weekend. I will let the wood poll run until Friday at least, although I may pick up the top two candidates just in case.
Click to expand...
No need to rush. It's your party after all, and we're all just enjoying the invitation. ;)
 
Hell I’ve got some Wenge too. Let me know, I’d have to see if I had scrap the right size. I’ve got Ebony, but that’s for something else ;)
Thanks, Neal
 
neal70 said:
Hell I’ve got some Wenge too. Let me know, I’d have to see if I had scrap the right size. I’ve got Ebony, but that’s for something else ;)
Thanks, Neal
Click to expand...

I'm going to buy that pen blank when I go back over to the wood shop. It was pretty cheap... I have a little bitty shell handled Barlow that I've been sitting on for a while. I think I'm going to do Wenge/black bolsters/blue liners on that guy a couple projects down the road. I am also going to do the carbon fiber pins and pin covers when I tackle that one too... I really like the idea but I'm not sure how hard it will be to pull off...

In other news ~ I'm closing down the polls at 4pm MST today, so we have about 4.5 hours left to vote. If you haven't cast your vote, now's the time! I will leave the poll up for wood a bit longer, at least until I have my jeweler's saw. Based on the responses we have so far, there's not a lot I can do until I knock out liners.
 
Results are in! I updated the original post with a more detailed breakdown. I have the links to the original polls, if anybody wants to see the results. I thought the voting was very interesting ~ Thanks to all who voted! I enjoyed that process a LOT more than I thought I would. I definitely want to do something like this again in the future. The winners were:

Both blades, with the "original" finish
Short, barehead Black Paper Micarta bolsters
BLACK liners won in a tie breaker (I will practice with brass, I promise)
Hardwood covers (I will close the poll tomorrow before I go to lunch, and I'll run to the wood shop over my lunch break)
Brass pins.

I'm hopeful! I think this'll be a cool looking knife. Overall it's pretty safe and not too edgy (ha) except for maybe the G10 liners. I think the black will look nice with the dark patina and black bolsters. Tonight if I have time I'm going to break apart the knife, trace out (And maybe cut) the liners. If there's time left over, I will cut the bolsters.
 
HeathH said:
Results are in! I updated the original post with a more detailed breakdown. I have the links to the original polls, if anybody wants to see the results. I thought the voting was very interesting ~ Thanks to all who voted! I enjoyed that process a LOT more than I thought I would. I definitely want to do something like this again in the future. The winners were:

Both blades, with the "original" finish
Short, barehead Black Paper Micarta bolsters
BLACK liners won in a tie breaker (I will practice with brass, I promise)
Hardwood covers (I will close the poll tomorrow before I go to lunch, and I'll run to the wood shop over my lunch break)
Brass pins.

I'm hopeful! I think this'll be a cool looking knife. Overall it's pretty safe and not too edgy (ha) except for maybe the G10 liners. I think the black will look nice with the dark patina and black bolsters. Tonight if I have time I'm going to break apart the knife, trace out (And maybe cut) the liners. If there's time left over, I will cut the bolsters.
Click to expand...

Sounds fantastic, Heath. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
 
Not an entry from me, Heath. Just wanted to say what a neat idea this is, can't wait to see what the outcome is!
 
glennbad said:
Not an entry from me, Heath. Just wanted to say what a neat idea this is, can't wait to see what the outcome is!
Click to expand...

Thanks Glenn! I hope it turns out well. I'm having misgivings about the thickness of my g10 liners. We will see how it feels when I get it together, but I think at least the center liner will need to be thicker.

I spent some time out working on the knife this evening. Sorry for the awful lighting in all the shots, I had a fluorescent light go out in the shop, and I frankly was more concerned with capturing the process than with high quality photos...

I started out by breaking the shells off, then taking the rest of the knife apart -

20180126_215417-747x1328.jpg 20180126_220333-747x1328.jpg

Having liners off the original knife makes the rest of the process pretty simple... I used the stock liners to trace out my new liners on the g10 sheet...

20180126_221322-747x1328.jpg 20180126_221528-747x1328.jpg

With g10, you can cut it pretty easily with diagonal cutters, so that's what I did... plus, it's cold in the shop so the more time I can spend inside, the better ;)

Here are the roughed out liners, more or less the right shape
20180126_222006-747x1328.jpg

After I knocked them out, I taped the stock liners back on to use as a drilling template

20180126_222448-747x1328.jpg

When all the holes are drilled, I pin all three liners together, with an original liner on the bottom and top. I used a 2.5" sanding drum chucked into my drill press (wearing a respirator, naturally). I use a drilled out section of 2x4 to sink the sanding drum to give me a flat working surface:

20180126_223302-747x1328.jpg

A couple of minutes later, I've got three liners, ready for bolsters and covers!

20180126_224028-747x1328.jpg


I picked up a really nice piece of walnut today - good dark color, interesting swirly grain... should look good on the knife :)

I'm hoping to rough out the bolsters tomorrow, and get them pinned to the liners. Stay tuned!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top