Modification question?

P

Parker

Joined
Mar 19, 1999
Messages
1,987
Guys, this seems like the best place to ask this question - I picked up a Muddy Leaner Meaner from Heavy over the weekend - excellent blade and I can see it becoming a favorite, BUT I want to change a few things on the knife -

I'd like to strip off the coating and have it satin'd up, I'd like to re-shape the pommel end to something a little more along the lines of the original LMS - I see that pommel just banging me up as I carry it and go about my day.

Third, i'd like to get rid of the stock micarta scales and replace with a G10, preferably rounded to fit the palm as i've seen in the Ganza pics - I'm not looking to create a cloolector's knife, just one which will fit my needs as a user, and they dress it in a nice Kydex IWB rig.

is the Busse shop the best place to accomplish this threesome, or is an outsource vendor a better bet? I'm not looking to do this overnight, I'd just like to send it out this week or next week and see it reasonably soon.

Thanks guys,

Parker
 
Parker,

Good to see you over here. It has been many many years since I sold you that Wild Thing and got that Mirage-X Hunter from you.

The LMS is a great all around EDC knife very similar in profile to the Pack Rat that you are familiar with...

The custom shop is the best place to do the mods for you if you are looking to keep or increase the value of the knife. They can pretty much do anything you request. I am not sure about the turnaround time though.

There are a few knife makers on this forum that also do mods on Busse knives. Bill Siegle does some killer swedges and nice flat grinding. Scott from Tanguay Knives also does work on Busse knives.

Good luck on your quest and come visit us more often over here.
 
Ban, thanks for the welcome, I appreciate it -


I'm familiar with Scott's/ Tanquaray's work - I bottomed out on setting up an order with him early this summer, as my plate got WAY too full, nice time to revisit that perhaps.

I'll drop Mr Seigle a line as well - never heard anything bad about him at all.

And Ban, what sort of work are you doing these days?

I've got the email into the Custom shop currently, I hope to hear from them this week. I like the rounded slabs as seen on the Busse Forum's Ganza pics of the LMS, but I'm just keeping options open.

I do want this knife to be light and easy to carry, again like the Pack Rat referrred to above. Just maybe without the $900 value for a daily driver that could get lost or "lost."

Again, I'm not trying to make this a collector's piece, just a good user. It's got an excellent chassis, just needs a little "me" on it to make it what i really need.

Quick question about INFI, since I've not actually carried it about and sweat all over it - is INFI fairly rust resistant and therefore i should not worry about getting sweat or salt spray on it terribly? My prefered current blades are 01 steel with a hardchrome on them and i coat the edges with a very nice anti-corrosive, i'd just like to make this as low-maintenance as possible and still avoid the muddy brown color.
 
Parker said:
...Quick question about INFI, since I've not actually carried it about and sweat all over it - is INFI fairly rust resistant and therefore i should not worry about getting sweat or salt spray on it terribly? My prefered current blades are 01 steel with a hardchrome on them and i coat the edges with a very nice anti-corrosive, i'd just like to make this as low-maintenance as possible and still avoid the muddy brown color.
Click to expand...


What I have found with the bare metal is that the rougher the finish the more prone to rust,
The smoother the finish, like a high polish, the less susceptible to rust.
 
Cool, thanks again guys, I'll have the finish done up to a satin and buff it whenever it gets wet with Flitz. I'm not opposed to a dirty sticky blade, but a pretty one does impress the ladies more ;)
 
Ban can do things on his old Grizzly Belt sander that some people will not attempt on a KMG.

If you want a flat ground meaner duty with new scales, Ban will do a good job.

I keep telling him to raise his prices, mostly so he will have time to work on my stuff.
 
Parker,

I know what you mean about not wanting to lose a high $$$ EDC. I very much love my Lab Rat and Rat Thing but am not about to EDC them on a frequent basis for the same above reason.

I still have a normal full time job and have been dabbing into knife making and mods a little bit lately. You can see some of my mods if you do a search with my username.

Just PM me if I can help you with something.

BTW, bare Satin INFI is still very much rust resistant. Decent knife maintenance is all that is required to keep it rust free.
 
Parker said:
Quick question about INFI, since I've not actually carried it about and sweat all over it - is INFI fairly rust resistant and therefore i should not worry about getting sweat or salt spray on it terribly? My prefered current blades are 01 steel with a hardchrome on them and i coat the edges with a very nice anti-corrosive, i'd just like to make this as low-maintenance as possible and still avoid the muddy brown color.
Click to expand...

Another positive comment on the rust issue. I have a few 01 knives; I can make them rust just by staring at them too hard. I seem to have really corrosive skin oil/sweat. I can touch a clean brass bolster and watch it tarnish over a minute; seriously!

I have not yet managed to get rust on my (somewhat limited) stock of infi. None. Nothing. Not a speck.

I'm sure it can rust, but if it doesn't rust for me...

Rick.
 
Ban is being very humble. All the mods that I've seen from him have been excellent to say the least. He should be doing this part- if not full time. If you haven't seen his Leaner Pork Belly Skinner look it up. It might just be one of the most beautiful forumite mod that I've ever seen.

That said I've heard great things about Seigle and of course the Busse shop. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.
 
Well, Busse Custom is not interested for at least a year. No worries about it, and since I plan on getting this wet, grungy and dirty, I'm not worried about de-valuation I guess!

Ban, I just sent you a fairly extensive PM about this - Bill S is backed up for some months now, I just want to get this girl up and carrying.

Thanks Gents, and this is a pretty warm group of welcomes in here. It's much appreciated.
 
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