need help on making a few folders lighter weight...

[Jadon Troyer]

hey all.. was thinking of trying to make a few of my budget knives lighter weight and thought i would hit you all up for some help.

i want to mill out the liners of a few of my knives and was hoping some people around here would have some tips/tricks and actual experience doing this.
in particular i would like to do this on my BM Vex and my Buck Vantage.

as always you guys rock and thanks in advance for your help!

also, other ideas for making them lighter weight??

 

[JBK2596]

i haven't ever done it but be sure to stay away from the lock cut out, if you milled to close it could effect the lock... good luck!

 

[all 41 + 14 all]

i want to mill out the liners of a few of my knives and was hoping some people around here would have some tips/tricks and actual experience doing this.
in particular i would like to do this on my BM Vex and my Buck Vantage.

I recently put my Vantage on a crash diet. I stacked the two liners on top of a piece of aluminum bar stock, clamped both ends down very tight, placed the whole shebang in a vise, then used a drill press to make a series of holes toward the butt end. Start with a 1/4" or smaller drill because it'll cut much easier than a big drill. Once the small holes are there you can always widen them with a bigger drill, and it'll be much easier now because the bigger drill's wider web doesn't have to plow through heat treated stainless. The aluminum backer not only gives you something to clamp onto but also prevents the drill from grabbing / chipping as it exits below the bottom liner. Just be sure to lay out everything before you go to town, using a pencil, marker, protractor, etc. Measure twice, cut once. Use a center punch (Home Depot, Lowes, local hardware store, etc) to make a dimple at the center of each hole - prevents the drill from walking when it makes contact.

You can also cut quite a bit of material out of the spacer/clip mount. Put it in a vise and carefully hack saw / file /dremel etc. Just make sure not to remove the threaded portions of the bottom holes which receive the clip screws. Also avoid cutting into the non-threaded cross holes which keep the spacer attached to the knife.

I also took a dremel to the exposed (overhanging) part of the locking liner, but more for ergonomic reasons. I prefer my liner locks to be not nearly so proud of the handle scale - YMMV. I doubt that trimming the thumb ledge removed much weight but it sure feels comfier when I grip.