Pug-butter
BANNED
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2012
- Messages
- 743
Being eager to use my new 119 recently, I've been looking for excuses to wear it on my belt and whip it out whenever applicable. However, in doing so I have found it is not as nimble as I would like. So I decided to commit knife heresy, possibly voiding my warranty in the process.
To be honest, I did not notice it at first. But as I read a review of the knife online the words became more and more true to me. I realized the discomfort with which I choked up on the knife to whittle. This person had performed a specific mod to remedy his dilemma, and I have followed his example. I have taken a good slice off the aluminum guard of the Buck 119.
http://www.cliffstamp.com/knives/reviews/buck_119.html
First and foremost I had to find the tools I needed. Finding a hacksaw was easy. The file was on our back deck; it's rusty but still works like a charm. It's the sandpaper that did me in; I could only find grits as high as 150 (my dad works with wood more often than metal), and the polish of my knife has definitely suffered as a result. On to the process.
With the hacksaw I placed the knife flat on the table. Using my thumb as a guide, I made some long scratches into the guard, aligning the cuts I would make. When this groove held the saw adequately I began to grind away. The aluminum is easy to cut at. Unfortunately, I miscalculated very early on; either the saw was too wide or my cut too low, as I began to tear away at the phenolic handle. I analyzed the damage and, indeed, much of the smooth sheen at the top of the handle would be ground away when I was finished.
I broke the piece off after several minutes of cutting, and looked over the damage. There was a clear, conspicuous line running from the guard, at least an inch long and about a millimeter deep. I was surprised to find the phenolic has a musty green color beneath its black surface. I worried myself over this for a time, but decided I would deal with it later.
The cut was rough, looking much like the blade of the saw itself. I clamped the knife in a vice, working at the sharp corners of the guard. I tried to make it symmetrical, since the saw had done its job at a slight angle. It's crude—a bit "wavy," as it were— but the angles are at equal heights now and I'm satisfied in the crude, almost barbaric look the guard has been given.
When filing became redundant I began to saw away with 80-grit sandpaper, smoothing down the edges of the cut. It's at this point that I decided to protect the blade from the scratches that were becoming increasingly rampant across the knife, so I lined it with electrician's tape. Whenever I found the sandpaper impotent I would return to the file, eyeing angles and doing fairly well smoothing them off.
I became satisfied with the guard when it was at its original smoothness; that is, when the marriage from phenolic to aluminum glided as well as it did when I first bought it. By the time I was done accomplishing this, however, the handle looked honestly horrible. The shiny black and rough, tough olive-green were not very attractive. I decided I would put sandpaper to the entire handle in an effort to make it more uniform. This is the one regret I have with the project, wishing I had done better math as to leave the knife looking more dark and mysterious. (
) Still, it's not too bad-looking as a rough-and-tumble Green Beret among Bucks.
I'm sorry for neglecting to take pictures during the process, but here is the result. Mind you, this is the first mod I've ever performed on any piece of cutlery. Pardon the atrocious camera.
As you can see, the handle is now a dull, slated grey color. You can also see the scratch that started it all. The result is patchy (à la the space nearer the pommel) and made of scratches rather than smears, but I hope to find finer grits of paper and even it out very soon. It actually provides a chalky sort of grip now, much more secure than the slick surface of the original phenolic.
You decide which of us is uglier.
The new space makes for a good reverse grip. A project for some self-defense enthusiasts?
To be honest, I did not notice it at first. But as I read a review of the knife online the words became more and more true to me. I realized the discomfort with which I choked up on the knife to whittle. This person had performed a specific mod to remedy his dilemma, and I have followed his example. I have taken a good slice off the aluminum guard of the Buck 119.
http://www.cliffstamp.com/knives/reviews/buck_119.html
First and foremost I had to find the tools I needed. Finding a hacksaw was easy. The file was on our back deck; it's rusty but still works like a charm. It's the sandpaper that did me in; I could only find grits as high as 150 (my dad works with wood more often than metal), and the polish of my knife has definitely suffered as a result. On to the process.
With the hacksaw I placed the knife flat on the table. Using my thumb as a guide, I made some long scratches into the guard, aligning the cuts I would make. When this groove held the saw adequately I began to grind away. The aluminum is easy to cut at. Unfortunately, I miscalculated very early on; either the saw was too wide or my cut too low, as I began to tear away at the phenolic handle. I analyzed the damage and, indeed, much of the smooth sheen at the top of the handle would be ground away when I was finished.
I broke the piece off after several minutes of cutting, and looked over the damage. There was a clear, conspicuous line running from the guard, at least an inch long and about a millimeter deep. I was surprised to find the phenolic has a musty green color beneath its black surface. I worried myself over this for a time, but decided I would deal with it later.
The cut was rough, looking much like the blade of the saw itself. I clamped the knife in a vice, working at the sharp corners of the guard. I tried to make it symmetrical, since the saw had done its job at a slight angle. It's crude—a bit "wavy," as it were— but the angles are at equal heights now and I'm satisfied in the crude, almost barbaric look the guard has been given.
When filing became redundant I began to saw away with 80-grit sandpaper, smoothing down the edges of the cut. It's at this point that I decided to protect the blade from the scratches that were becoming increasingly rampant across the knife, so I lined it with electrician's tape. Whenever I found the sandpaper impotent I would return to the file, eyeing angles and doing fairly well smoothing them off.
I became satisfied with the guard when it was at its original smoothness; that is, when the marriage from phenolic to aluminum glided as well as it did when I first bought it. By the time I was done accomplishing this, however, the handle looked honestly horrible. The shiny black and rough, tough olive-green were not very attractive. I decided I would put sandpaper to the entire handle in an effort to make it more uniform. This is the one regret I have with the project, wishing I had done better math as to leave the knife looking more dark and mysterious. (

I'm sorry for neglecting to take pictures during the process, but here is the result. Mind you, this is the first mod I've ever performed on any piece of cutlery. Pardon the atrocious camera.

As you can see, the handle is now a dull, slated grey color. You can also see the scratch that started it all. The result is patchy (à la the space nearer the pommel) and made of scratches rather than smears, but I hope to find finer grits of paper and even it out very soon. It actually provides a chalky sort of grip now, much more secure than the slick surface of the original phenolic.

You decide which of us is uglier.


The new space makes for a good reverse grip. A project for some self-defense enthusiasts?

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