Love my new knife but... Knife modification question

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foofie

Joined
Sep 25, 2011
Messages
958
I just received a new Schatt and Morgan, and it essentially fulfills my current search. I was doing light cutting (ie opening envelope), and it felt great. I started a bit more (ie apple), and the ergonomics hurt my hand. There is a sharp point at the end of the spine of the coping blade - when gripping the handle with the coping blade closed, it digs right into my finger. There is a swedge on one side of it, which makes it even thinner and pointier.

But - I really like the knife.
So I am looking for some wisdom from the porch - what should I do next?

1) file down the kick. The coping blade is not pinchable, but there is still plenty of access to the nail nick.
2) file down the spine, turning it into more of a wharncliffe (with a tiny belly). Get rid of the offending sharp point. Don't add a swedge, so the spine stays as thick as possible.
3) a little of both
4) get another knife. In all seriousness - I also got a muskrat, where I plan to cut down one blade into a wharncliffe. I could cut my losses (sorry for the pun) and just move along.

Or something different? Open to suggestions.

Thank you for your thoughts.

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Just slightly round off the corner. Use a sharpening stone and polish with a strop. If you have buffing wheels it would be easy to just polish off the sharp. I work over most new knives to take off the sharp corners that bite! Don't do anything too drastic. Looks like a great knife otherwise.
 
If it was me, probably knock the point off the spine. Just round it over a little at a time until it suited my liking.

looks like you have tons of room to lower the kick and not worry about the edge hitting the back spring, but I noticed that filing the kick on one of my knives caused a back spring that sat flush when the knife was closed to become recessed a bit. This didnt change the function but did ruin the aesthetically pleasing smoothness of my handle. I was being nit-picky about it though.
 
Riz! said:
I noticed that filing the kick on one of my knives caused a back spring that sat flush when the knife was closed to become recessed a bit.
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Hadn't thought of this - but it makes sense the spring will rest a bit lower.
That makes two votes for rounding off the spine, one vote against filing the kick.
 
I wouldn't mess about lowering the kick, it's a single-spring knife and that could worsen the feel of it in hand. Also, a Coping blade isn't a high riding thing like say some Sheepfoots- I think this pattern has a cut-out access for the Coping blade, I'd recommend leaving it alone.

Also, your problem might derive from the fact that the Turkish Clip master is extremely thin on this pattern, almost like a fillet knife as it will flex under pressure - not the best option for cutting a large firm apple - broader blades are much better for this. The Coping blade's sharp corner can easily be smoothed off a bit by using a ceramic rod and strop. This can be a common problem particularly on Stockman knives where a high riding Sheepfoot can compromise handling comfort.

Thanks, Will
 
Any of the options about rounding off the corner would be good, I generally use sandpaper. You could also check out the GEC possum skinner which is pretty much the same configuration with a warncliff and a Turkish/California clip. They don’t seem to be suffering from the secondary market hyperinflation that some of the patterns are currently. Not to steer you towards GEC but if you like that pattern it adds to the options.
 
Will Power said:
Also, your problem might derive from the fact that the Turkish Clip master is extremely thin on this pattern, almost like a fillet knife as it will flex under pressure - not the best option for cutting a large firm apple - broader blades are much better for this.
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Thanks for the insight, Will. It seems almost like the knife was designed with the coping blade as the main; the clip is thin as mentioned, and also almost fully sunk so that I can't feel it when closed. This suggests that a firm grip should happen only with the coping deployed, and probably not with the clip? Almost like the sharp corner on the coping blade will keep me from overstressing the clip?
Sorry for rambling - I am thinking that I should not take off as much on the coping as I was originally planning. Just enough to round the edge a bit (rather than converting it to a full wharncliffe).
 
jsdistin said:
You could also check out the GEC possum skinner which is pretty much the same configuration with a warncliff and a Turkish/California clip. They don’t seem to be suffering from the secondary market hyperinflation that some of the patterns are currently. Not to steer you towards GEC but if you like that pattern it adds to the options.
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You are a wise man;). An 82 will hopefully arrive today:D (this one in elderberry bone!). Actually, the possum skinner is what started me looking for this configuration. This Schatt and Morgan is only about 3.5 inches, so a bit smaller than the possum skinner. I guess this is the trade-off for such a compact knife.
 
The 82 is a sweet knife. My dixie is the one I filed the kick on. Even after I buggered the flushness of the backspring when closed, the knife is still one of my favs.
 
foofie said:
Thanks for the help!
I start work late this morning, so had a little bit of time...:D
Didn't go full wharncliffe, but took just enough off the corner that now it feels nice and comfy.

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I cant see your pics
 
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