A Moran with a drop point blade in 440V would sell like hotcakes,as a hunter and backpacker I would buy one in a minute.Any replies?
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- Oct 3, 1998
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- 883
FA475, you're reading my mind! I would settle for a SPYDERCO (sheesh, Danelle!
)Moran Featherweight-like knife with a drop point and the current VG-10 (or 440v). This is something I've given some thought to recently. I find the trailing (upswept) point to be less practical than a drop-point for the kinds of cutting I do most.
David Rock
David Rock
- Joined
- Feb 11, 1999
- Messages
- 652
I would love to have a drop-point Moran type FB!!
The current VG-10, or whatever. Don't know if I would buy it (who am I kidding, of course I would buy it). I would definitely WANT it.
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Live fast, die young, and leave a good looking corpse, it's the only way to win.
Outlaw_Dogboy
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Live fast, die young, and leave a good looking corpse, it's the only way to win.
Outlaw_Dogboy
Great idea! One of the things that keeps me from getting the Spyderco Moran is that the tip looks like it is just too fragile.
Yes, I've broken a few tips on knives.
And yes, I was abusing them.
And yes, I will continue to do so should the need/urge arise.
Bernie
Yes, I've broken a few tips on knives.
Bernie
- Joined
- Oct 3, 1998
- Messages
- 3,264
Hmmm . . . 1 Spydie Moran, plus 1 power grinder, plus frequent dipping to keep it cool = 1 Drop Point Spydie Moran?
But I wouldn't mind seeing that as a factory option either.
More SKUs! Yesssss! More SKUs!!"
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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
But I wouldn't mind seeing that as a factory option either.
More SKUs! Yesssss! More SKUs!!"
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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
- Joined
- Oct 3, 1998
- Messages
- 883
Bernie,
The tip in the Moran Featherweight is not what I would call "fragile". I used mine to cut the top off of a can of pears. Worked great, although it would have been easier to negotiate the circle with a narrower, DROP POINT blade. The Edge was slightly impacted, because I had thinned out the original "Moran" convex edge to make the knife sharper, but the tip was not damaged at all. After I ate the pears, I said "what the heck" and I cut the can in half sideways. This seriously dulled the edge, but I'm convinced that the Spyderco Moran Featherweight can take a fair amount of abuse. It's a tough little knife.
David Rock
[This message has been edited by David Rock (edited 18 May 1999).]
The tip in the Moran Featherweight is not what I would call "fragile". I used mine to cut the top off of a can of pears. Worked great, although it would have been easier to negotiate the circle with a narrower, DROP POINT blade. The Edge was slightly impacted, because I had thinned out the original "Moran" convex edge to make the knife sharper, but the tip was not damaged at all. After I ate the pears, I said "what the heck" and I cut the can in half sideways. This seriously dulled the edge, but I'm convinced that the Spyderco Moran Featherweight can take a fair amount of abuse. It's a tough little knife.
David Rock
[This message has been edited by David Rock (edited 18 May 1999).]
- Joined
- Oct 3, 1998
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James,
It has occurred to me more than once to grind away the trailing point to make it a drop point. The only reason I haven't done it is because the upward curve is so pronounced that I'd have to make it pretty darned short to get the shape I want. I might do it anyway. Sacrilege! I can here the gost of Bob "Marley" Allman rattling his chains.
Heck, it's my knife darnit. Where's the Dremel? (It's a good thing the Morans are selling at bargain basement prices.)
I'll keep you posted.
David Rock
[This message has been edited by David Rock (edited 18 May 1999).]
It has occurred to me more than once to grind away the trailing point to make it a drop point. The only reason I haven't done it is because the upward curve is so pronounced that I'd have to make it pretty darned short to get the shape I want. I might do it anyway. Sacrilege! I can here the gost of Bob "Marley" Allman rattling his chains.
Heck, it's my knife darnit. Where's the Dremel? (It's a good thing the Morans are selling at bargain basement prices.)
I'll keep you posted.
David Rock
[This message has been edited by David Rock (edited 18 May 1999).]
- Joined
- Oct 3, 1998
- Messages
- 883
Well Guys, all it takes is a Dremel, a steady hand, and nerves of steel. I'm no Yekim, but I've got me a drop point Moran Featherweight. Too bad I don't have a scanner or a digital camera. Picture, if you will, the bastard child of a drop point REKAT Pioneer and a Kabar Warthog
. After modification the blade is just a hair over 3-1/2 inches in length. It still has plenty of belly for effective slicing, and a tip that's easier to keep track of.
David Rock
David Rock
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- Oct 3, 1998
- Messages
- 883
AEM,
Like I said before, I'm no Yekim (he's a Dremel master), so there may be a better way to do this. But I'll tell you how I did it and if anyone has a better method, I'd love to hear it.
Okay. First you need to figure out the general shape you want the blade to be when you're all done. You can just eyeball it as you go, or you can mark it first. I marked mine first using masking tape. Masking tape serves three purposes: 1) it shows the line you're not supposed to cross; 2) it protects the side of the blade from being marred if you should happen to slip during the operation (like I said, it takes a steady hand); 3) it covers the edge so you don't accidentally cut yourself.
Next, you get everything ready: a bowl of water to dip the blade into every few seconds so the steel doesn't get too hot and lose its temper; paper towels or a cloth to catch the drips and metal filings, etc., so you don't make a huge mess in the kitchen; the Dremel kit; safety glasses--ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES WHEN USING POWER TOOLS!
Start cutting/grinding. I tried two different bits and ended up using both for different phases of the operation. The Moran Featherweight is made of fairly hard steel, and it's not easy to grind, at least not with the normal bits that came with the kit I bought. For metal I normally use the gray-green stone-like grinding bit, but I found this to be incredibly slow going, even for grinding a mere fraction of an inch off the blade. I ended up using one of those thin, brown cut-off wheels. This still takes a bit of patience, and it gives the Dremel a real workout. I stopped frequently to allow the machine to cool down. Keep the blade cool by dipping it frequently. Oh, and don't cut right on the line, but a little above it. You'll grind off a bit more later to clean up the line and finalize the shape, and you don't want the blade do end up smaller than you had planned on. The cutting phase is just to remove most of the metal fairly quickly. I found it easiest to begin the cut at the spine and work my way forward towards the tip, following the general direction indicated by the edge of the masking tape.
Once you've cut off a slender--and very sharp, so be careful!-- triangular piece of metal, switch to the gray-green stone bit and grind away watever remains to get the shape you want. Use a light touch and take your time. You'll figure out the best way to get a smooth, reglar grind. I use a back-and-forth motion. I didn't use a vise to hold the knife in place, primarily because I don't have one. I simply held the knife against the kitchen counter (I don't have a workbench either
) and passed the stone along the spine in short back-and-forth strokes over and over until I was satisfied with the shape and smoothness of the grind.
Again, the steel is pretty hard and it takes a while. The good thing about this is that you are unlikely to ruin the knife if you make a mistake: you can improve the line and clean things up as you go. But be very careful not to let the bit slip off of the spine, as it will ride along the side of the blade and mar the finish. (The tape will help prevent this, but you still need to be careful.)
When you're done grinding, the spine will be roughed up where you ground and smooth where you didn't grind. I'm not one to care much about what a knife looks like, as long as it cuts to my satisfaction. If you care about a uniform appearance, you'll have to polish the spine. For my purposes, I got it good enough by simply rubbing the spine with a DMT diamond sharpener to smooth out a few minor bumps and troughs left over from the grinding.
One additional thing to be careful of while grinding is to avoid rounding off the tip. If the bit goes all the way off the end of the blade, you'll end up with a blunt tip, and you'll have to grind the spine down more to fix that, or take forever sharpening the edge up to the tip.
If you've never used a Dremel to modify a blade before, you might want to practice on a crummy kitchen knife.
Have fun, and don't blame me if you screw it up!
(Actually, once you get started you'll have to finish, so it's best to convince yourself from the outset that it's just a knife, and if worse comes to worst you can always buy a new one.
I hope this helps.
David Rock
"If at first you don't succeed, destroy the evidence that you tried."
[This message has been edited by David Rock (edited 20 May 1999).]
Like I said before, I'm no Yekim (he's a Dremel master), so there may be a better way to do this. But I'll tell you how I did it and if anyone has a better method, I'd love to hear it.
Okay. First you need to figure out the general shape you want the blade to be when you're all done. You can just eyeball it as you go, or you can mark it first. I marked mine first using masking tape. Masking tape serves three purposes: 1) it shows the line you're not supposed to cross; 2) it protects the side of the blade from being marred if you should happen to slip during the operation (like I said, it takes a steady hand); 3) it covers the edge so you don't accidentally cut yourself.
Next, you get everything ready: a bowl of water to dip the blade into every few seconds so the steel doesn't get too hot and lose its temper; paper towels or a cloth to catch the drips and metal filings, etc., so you don't make a huge mess in the kitchen; the Dremel kit; safety glasses--ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES WHEN USING POWER TOOLS!
Start cutting/grinding. I tried two different bits and ended up using both for different phases of the operation. The Moran Featherweight is made of fairly hard steel, and it's not easy to grind, at least not with the normal bits that came with the kit I bought. For metal I normally use the gray-green stone-like grinding bit, but I found this to be incredibly slow going, even for grinding a mere fraction of an inch off the blade. I ended up using one of those thin, brown cut-off wheels. This still takes a bit of patience, and it gives the Dremel a real workout. I stopped frequently to allow the machine to cool down. Keep the blade cool by dipping it frequently. Oh, and don't cut right on the line, but a little above it. You'll grind off a bit more later to clean up the line and finalize the shape, and you don't want the blade do end up smaller than you had planned on. The cutting phase is just to remove most of the metal fairly quickly. I found it easiest to begin the cut at the spine and work my way forward towards the tip, following the general direction indicated by the edge of the masking tape.
Once you've cut off a slender--and very sharp, so be careful!-- triangular piece of metal, switch to the gray-green stone bit and grind away watever remains to get the shape you want. Use a light touch and take your time. You'll figure out the best way to get a smooth, reglar grind. I use a back-and-forth motion. I didn't use a vise to hold the knife in place, primarily because I don't have one. I simply held the knife against the kitchen counter (I don't have a workbench either
Again, the steel is pretty hard and it takes a while. The good thing about this is that you are unlikely to ruin the knife if you make a mistake: you can improve the line and clean things up as you go. But be very careful not to let the bit slip off of the spine, as it will ride along the side of the blade and mar the finish. (The tape will help prevent this, but you still need to be careful.)
When you're done grinding, the spine will be roughed up where you ground and smooth where you didn't grind. I'm not one to care much about what a knife looks like, as long as it cuts to my satisfaction. If you care about a uniform appearance, you'll have to polish the spine. For my purposes, I got it good enough by simply rubbing the spine with a DMT diamond sharpener to smooth out a few minor bumps and troughs left over from the grinding.
One additional thing to be careful of while grinding is to avoid rounding off the tip. If the bit goes all the way off the end of the blade, you'll end up with a blunt tip, and you'll have to grind the spine down more to fix that, or take forever sharpening the edge up to the tip.
If you've never used a Dremel to modify a blade before, you might want to practice on a crummy kitchen knife.
Have fun, and don't blame me if you screw it up!
I hope this helps.
David Rock
"If at first you don't succeed, destroy the evidence that you tried."
[This message has been edited by David Rock (edited 20 May 1999).]
- Joined
- Oct 3, 1998
- Messages
- 883
Yup, I've got one of those too!
David Rock
David Rock