Modifying a framelock...............

ARtsig1

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In the past month I have been fortunate enough to end up with two of Mike Obenauf's large model 2 framelocks. One was a special order by me directly to Mike and resulted in an "extra beefy" framelocker. The second one I bought off the forums and am the 3 rd person to own it and it still looks 100% mint. I have been carrying these two, in a rotation, since they came. The locks lock up better than any framelock knife I have owned, and I have owned several other customs along with what I consider to be the standard by which all other framelocks are judged, the Sebenza. With that said I had only one gripe and that is the slick metal surface. I have given some thought to sending these knives to CheckerMarx and have a portion of each handle half checkered for an enhanced grip. Until I do I thought I would try something else. I had been reading in a back issue of TK how the author, while evaluating the BM Pinnacle, had applied stair tread tape to the handle to give a more secure grip. Off to Ace Hardware I went and found the very product that had been talked about. This is called Stair-Tread Tape and is made by 3M so it is some good stuff. The color is a medium gray and the molded texture is very grainy but being a rubbery product it is not rough on the hand and boy does it ever help the grip! I used a sheet of paper and traced the outline of the handle then cut it out and worked it till I got the pattern I wanted. I then traced it on some posterboard and cut that out so that I have a template. Next I traced on the backside of the tape since it is peel off paper. Using a SHARP pair of scissors I cut out the pattern, carefully peeled off the paper to expose the adhesive, and applied it to the handle. Went right on and STUCK with no movement. The handles were cleaned before hand in order to degrease them. On the front side I put a strip about
3.5" X 3/4" and on the back side just a little piece about 3/4" square with a thin strip running another 2.5" along the top of the backside handle. Once applied I used a round pencil and with firm pressure rolled over the tape to make sure it adhered at all points.

The end product looks really good as the gray tape contrasts nicely against the glass beaded surface of the titanium handle. Now comes the test as I will carry it tomorrow and see how acts when drawn from the pocket several times and put back several times. Guess we'll see if 3M is indeed the king of adhesives!!:D :D :cool: :)
 
Glad to hear it is working out for you, the Model 2 is a great knife, alright. Nice, safe modification, if you don't like it a little acetone and you are back to square one.

I have very dry hands so find a the plain blasted titanium handle to be plenty grippy for my uses.
 
Hi artsig,

I was wondering if you could post a picture of the end result. It sounds like a perfect solution but I´m very curious how it turns out visually.

Thanks,

Serge.
 
Can't do the picture thing but I can say, at least to my eye, that it looks great. The shape of the piece I put on front follows the curves in the handle and at a glance looks like it has been inlaid into the handle. The color is the best part as it is a medium gray and the glass beaded ti handle is a silver-gray. Stjames said it right though, if it gets to looking a little ratty or I decide I do not like it I can peel the tape off and use a little acetone to clean it right up and I'm back to the beginning.
 
Sorry Art, i have to say this even without seeing your Obie first hand, nothing on earth locks up better then the Sebenza and Chris was the first to make the framelock, PERIOD! Impossible IMHO! Sorry i don't mean to rain on you parade.

James
 
James, James, James........oh ye of little faith. I would have been skeptical also if anyone had told me this, but remember I had a strong love affair with the Sebenza for a year and a half and in that time ran close to a dozen through my hands. I still respect the Sebenza and will in all probability pick up another large wood inlaid Classic as it is my favorite of all. I still think that the Sebenza lock is the standard by which all framelocks are judged, at least by me it is. I've had a few custom framelocks and these were not as tight or as well engineered as the Sebenza! There was a lot of TWINGING and TWANGING at times when a little lateral pressure was applied to the blade as the spring would move around a bit. The locks never failed but you lose a little confidence when you start to hear the "singing lock bar" The Obie is the first framelock that I picked up that feels as good as the Sebenza and has that same vault like quality lockup like a Sebenza. The lockbar stays where you open it and does not move one little bit until you push it with your finger to move it. There is just the tiniest bit of stick to let you know that the lock is securely engaged and the lock falls to the same spot on the blade each and every time I have opened them, meaning that the lock is consistent in different model 2's.

From the first time I opened these framelocks I felt like I had the same lock up as I would have had they been Sebenza's! And I KNOW how them benza's lock up!:D ;) :cool:

So maybe what I meant to say was that the Obie has as good a lockup as the Sebenza!:D :D :D :cool: :)
 
Originally posted by artsig1
So maybe what I meant to say was that the Obie has as good a lockup as the Sebenza!:D :D :D :cool: :)
Now your cooking with oil Art and i can agree with that statement if i had that Obie of yours that is. hehe

Cheers!
James
 
Originally posted by APM
Sorry Art, i have to say this even without seeing your Obie first hand, nothing on earth locks up better then the Sebenza and Chris was the first to make the framelock, PERIOD! Impossible IMHO! Sorry i don't mean to rain on you parade.

James
I don't want to rain on your parade, but are you really sure Reeves was the first to make a frame lock?
 
but Sebenza lockups like a vault IMO, that's all.

I have a TNT Steve, great lockup and oh so smooth, IMO the lockup is flawless indeed, smoother yes but it doesn't lockup better then a Sebenza, ask Tom! :p

db let me ask you this question, if Steve wasn't the first who was?

James
 
:eek: :eek: :eek: You mean STEVE HARVEY made the first framelock!!!WOW and I thought it was Chris Reeve!;) ;) :D :)
 
A gentleman over on the Spyderco forum, maybe glockman99, recommended Agrip for this purpose also, since it apparently can be peeled off easily without leaving any residue behind. I found some sheets at Brownell's, but haven't tried it yet. Sounds like a good idea.
 
Originally posted by Steve Harvey
After all, everyone who is anyone knows, the king of the frame locks is the TnT. :D

Except Neil Blackwood.. :) ~~~> a "beginner".., and not shabby!


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
James that is a very good question. I don't really know. I am pretty sure Steve Harvey wasn't the first. Maybe someone who knows for sure who made the first one will let us know.
 
IMHO, Chris Reeve did. I may be wrong but you will have to prove it to me.

Who is the Steve you are talking about?
 
If you can come up with a frame-lock folder older than this 1989 pre-Sebenza I would like to see it.

sa301.jpg


Give credit where it is due, people. I understand Mike Walker developed the concept around the same time, but Chris Reeve went ahead and made it popular around the world. Thanks, Chris!
 
Hi Kit. James accidently put the name Steve instead of Chris, as Steve had a post right above the one where James made the boo-boo. I was just funnin' James a bit!:D :D :D
 
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