ooitzoo
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2010
- Messages
- 8,216
Good day everyone.
I've been a member here for about 16 years. In that time, I've made full use of the forum on my knife journey. Its been great.
In the last few years, I have also gotten into 3D printing as a hobby. I absolutely love the idea of turning a digital item into a physical one (Star Trek replicators here we come!!)
I generally EDC a Spyderco Paramilitary 2. A Para 1 was my 2nd Spyderco ever which I got in trade right here on Bladeforums. I loved the knife and ended up trading it in favor of the Para2. IMHO its the perfect EDC knife. I now have a rotation of three Para2s in M390 all in different scales. Formerly, I had a set of Cuscadi scales in CF on one of my Para2s but didn't love how it felt in hand --it felt a little too "skinny" for lack of a better word. The others have a little more heft --one is a TuffThumbs in small anzo pattern while the other is a Flytanium titanium set. It should be obvious at this stage that I really like the knife modding scene.
A couple of weeks back, I decided to try and craft my own set of Para2 scales to my own specifications reflecting my own preferences. It is to this end that I am posting today.
My objectives with this thread as follows:
* Show off my work
* Solicit feedback and ideas from the community
* Keep track of improvements
* I intend to run a passaround shortly so I will update this thread when that is up-and-running
I do want to note, I am referring to these as the "Backspacer Delete" version as they are intended to be run without the backspacer. That is, I can still add the stock backspacer back but don't need to. I do plan on create a backspacer with the charm as well. I have generally gone back and forth on the Para2 backspacer. Two of EDCs are run without and one runs with it.
Some key changes to "stock" scales:
* Scales are generally thicker toward the spine and taper to stock thickness toward the blade chanel
* Modified checker pattern on the scales for improved grip while smooth at the pocket clip to avoid destroying yet one more pair of pants
* Pirate skull charm on the back
Without further ado, I give you OOITZOO's ParaMilitary 2 scales:
Pending improvements aka the To-Do List:
* Align the skull (or any charm) to be perfectly consistent with the knife's width. Right now, its aligned but the charm is a fraction of a mm too thick which means its not perfectly flush between the two halfs
* Find a solution to the pocket clip screw that's near the thicker end of the scale. Its currently a fraction too thick for the stock screw to find purchase so I will either need to sculpt it out a little or find slightly longer screws. I got around the problem by heating the clip and letting it sculpt itself into the scale
* Create my own backspacer with a charm and test that out
* I am planning to create a set in glow-in-the-dark with a Lorax charm
To reiterate, as mentioned above, feedback and ideas are most welcome so please feel free to post here. I will also run a passaround to get these into the hands of the community for "field testing" and feedback.
I've been a member here for about 16 years. In that time, I've made full use of the forum on my knife journey. Its been great.
In the last few years, I have also gotten into 3D printing as a hobby. I absolutely love the idea of turning a digital item into a physical one (Star Trek replicators here we come!!)
I generally EDC a Spyderco Paramilitary 2. A Para 1 was my 2nd Spyderco ever which I got in trade right here on Bladeforums. I loved the knife and ended up trading it in favor of the Para2. IMHO its the perfect EDC knife. I now have a rotation of three Para2s in M390 all in different scales. Formerly, I had a set of Cuscadi scales in CF on one of my Para2s but didn't love how it felt in hand --it felt a little too "skinny" for lack of a better word. The others have a little more heft --one is a TuffThumbs in small anzo pattern while the other is a Flytanium titanium set. It should be obvious at this stage that I really like the knife modding scene.
A couple of weeks back, I decided to try and craft my own set of Para2 scales to my own specifications reflecting my own preferences. It is to this end that I am posting today.
My objectives with this thread as follows:
* Show off my work
* Solicit feedback and ideas from the community
* Keep track of improvements
* I intend to run a passaround shortly so I will update this thread when that is up-and-running
I do want to note, I am referring to these as the "Backspacer Delete" version as they are intended to be run without the backspacer. That is, I can still add the stock backspacer back but don't need to. I do plan on create a backspacer with the charm as well. I have generally gone back and forth on the Para2 backspacer. Two of EDCs are run without and one runs with it.
Some key changes to "stock" scales:
* Scales are generally thicker toward the spine and taper to stock thickness toward the blade chanel
* Modified checker pattern on the scales for improved grip while smooth at the pocket clip to avoid destroying yet one more pair of pants
* Pirate skull charm on the back
Without further ado, I give you OOITZOO's ParaMilitary 2 scales:
Pending improvements aka the To-Do List:
* Align the skull (or any charm) to be perfectly consistent with the knife's width. Right now, its aligned but the charm is a fraction of a mm too thick which means its not perfectly flush between the two halfs
* Find a solution to the pocket clip screw that's near the thicker end of the scale. Its currently a fraction too thick for the stock screw to find purchase so I will either need to sculpt it out a little or find slightly longer screws. I got around the problem by heating the clip and letting it sculpt itself into the scale
* Create my own backspacer with a charm and test that out
* I am planning to create a set in glow-in-the-dark with a Lorax charm
To reiterate, as mentioned above, feedback and ideas are most welcome so please feel free to post here. I will also run a passaround to get these into the hands of the community for "field testing" and feedback.
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