Kustom Kalinga

E

echooff

Joined
Dec 31, 2004
Messages
2
My first post and I'm probley going to piss off the hard nose Buck guys so applolgies in advance. I just picked up a Kalinga. No box or sheath but it looks to be in pretty good shape. I'd like to put on elk horn handles reshape the hilt a bit and do a high polish on the blade. I'm pretty good with my hands and have no doubt I can pull the project off but I'm worried about devalueing a collecter item. Any advice one way or the other would be helpful.
L8R:
Larry
.....In a pinch a stone ax still works.....
 
You would be devaluing your Kalinga down to about nothing. A rehandle job would completely destroy the collectibility of the knife. But at the same time, I hate to discourage you from doing a little knife customizing. How about keeping the Buck pure and buying a blade only from one of the knife part companies to put your own handle on?

I was going to write that it would not p.o. me in the least, but the more I think about it, yeah, frankly, it would. And it might anger some of the hard core collectors here who would love to own a Kalinga in any condition. I'd compare this to taking an old split rear window Corvette and turning it into a convertible.

Seeing as how you asked, just my opinion.

Phil
 
I say go for it & do what you want to make it your own customized knife. I'm assuming you're planning on keeping it....so why worry about the value to someone else. I've seen plenty of NIB kalingas on ebay, if you decde you want to have an original one to hang onto. They're pricey, but still plenty of them out there.
Phil....I hear ya on that 63 Vette. Now that would be blasphemous indeed! :eek:
 
I'l cap this thread off by thanking y'all for your opinions. You'v shown a certian reverence for the old Kalinga and I expect I'll take heed and put her up on the top shelf of my knife case with the couple of other " look but don't touch" blades I'v come across over the years. Mostly I'm into restoring old knives and scrounging up antler, horn, stone and whatever else I can find for
interesting handles. That and polishing when it looks appropreate. I have quite a few Chinese stainless blades to practice on but I was kinda looking for something with a bit more class.
Something else I'm thinking about is getting into leather work. I have a couple of clam shell designs for scabberds I'd like to take a swing at.
L8r:
Larry
.....In a pinch a stone ax still works.....
 
hummm ... elk ... i got to agree with Mick57 do your thing its your knife make it yours ... have a buck knife for its value to you not to others- any thing else is investing not collecting....
now about the corvette... ;) :cool:
 
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