Hi! I'm new here. The name's Mike. I also go by Trucky on GJ (Garage Journal).
First, a little background:
My first and most beloved Benchmade... and my first serious knife, a 950 Rift, was somehow lost in my first year of college. I got it in a trade on CPF for a beautiful Mag85 (any flashlight nut will know what that is... if you don't, don't worry about it
). 2 years later, I graduate with my Bachelors. I have my expensive paper, but something is missing: my knife. Those FULL liners.. that blade profile.. the heft. I missed it all. And that darn boomerang. Osborne is definitely one of my favorites as far as Benchmade designers go.
Now the present: Last week I went into Gander Mountain and bought a full sized Grip with cash. I know, online is cheaper. Call it an impulse buy, and I'm not disappointed that I did it. The blade is evenly ground on both sides, razor sharp, and I even got a discount for taking the display knife. I knew it had plastic handles.. but they're worse than I thought. It's not the material. I have plenty of SOG knives like this.. but the balance drives me nuts. I read around a bit, and found out the Mini's had "fuller" liners. So I ordered a limited mini from GPKnives (in M4) and just received it today.
Anyways, I need some advice on a few things, and I know you guys can help
First, a picture. I'm glad this forum uses IMG tags, as I'm familiar with those.
Firstly: I'm going to replace the grips.. with something. I contacted Cuscadi about black micarta scales w/ a cf spacer. 90 Euros. Any thoughts on this? I loved the G10 on my rift, but I wish it was a bit more ... supple, to say. That's where micarta comes in (Specifically, canvas). And that's for the mini. As for full sized grip, I'm thinking of getting them from someone on here K-something... I can't remember his name. But I know he does good work. Do you guys know of anyone else that does custom scales for these? I'm aware of the Wilkins... but those are EXPENSIVE. Trust me, I'm well off. But those prices are rediculous compared to Cuscadi, even. And you cannot order what isn't in stock. So I'm slightly offended at that 
Anyways, I'd love to support a smaller enterprise as far as getting the larger scales.
Second: I bought Blue Lube with the mini. I love how sharp these things are, and I would love to take advantage of the LifeSharp program. I cannot sharpen knives worth a damn. Not one bit. But by adding these custom scales, I'll have to do it anyways... so I figure what the heck, I'll disassemble them and screw the warranty. (Or should I not?) I bought a cheaper Smith's kit for my Rift, but I can't find that either. It worked well. Do any of you have a favorite disassembling "how-to" video/guide that would be good for a beginner?
If you read all of that crap, thank you very much. I'm terrible with decisions and I hope you can help me out.
Thanks,
-Michael
First, a little background:
My first and most beloved Benchmade... and my first serious knife, a 950 Rift, was somehow lost in my first year of college. I got it in a trade on CPF for a beautiful Mag85 (any flashlight nut will know what that is... if you don't, don't worry about it
). 2 years later, I graduate with my Bachelors. I have my expensive paper, but something is missing: my knife. Those FULL liners.. that blade profile.. the heft. I missed it all. And that darn boomerang. Osborne is definitely one of my favorites as far as Benchmade designers go. Now the present: Last week I went into Gander Mountain and bought a full sized Grip with cash. I know, online is cheaper. Call it an impulse buy, and I'm not disappointed that I did it. The blade is evenly ground on both sides, razor sharp, and I even got a discount for taking the display knife. I knew it had plastic handles.. but they're worse than I thought. It's not the material. I have plenty of SOG knives like this.. but the balance drives me nuts. I read around a bit, and found out the Mini's had "fuller" liners. So I ordered a limited mini from GPKnives (in M4) and just received it today.
Anyways, I need some advice on a few things, and I know you guys can help
First, a picture. I'm glad this forum uses IMG tags, as I'm familiar with those.
Firstly: I'm going to replace the grips.. with something. I contacted Cuscadi about black micarta scales w/ a cf spacer. 90 Euros. Any thoughts on this? I loved the G10 on my rift, but I wish it was a bit more ... supple, to say. That's where micarta comes in (Specifically, canvas). And that's for the mini. As for full sized grip, I'm thinking of getting them from someone on here
K-something... I can't remember his name. But I know he does good work. Do you guys know of anyone else that does custom scales for these? I'm aware of the Wilkins... but those are EXPENSIVE. Trust me, I'm well off. But those prices are rediculous compared to Cuscadi, even. And you cannot order what isn't in stock. So I'm slightly offended at that Anyways, I'd love to support a smaller enterprise as far as getting the larger scales. Second: I bought Blue Lube with the mini. I love how sharp these things are, and I would love to take advantage of the LifeSharp program. I cannot sharpen knives worth a damn. Not one bit. But by adding these custom scales, I'll have to do it anyways... so I figure what the heck, I'll disassemble them and screw the warranty. (Or should I not?) I bought a cheaper Smith's kit for my Rift, but I can't find that either. It worked well. Do any of you have a favorite disassembling "how-to" video/guide that would be good for a beginner?
If you read all of that crap, thank you very much. I'm terrible with decisions and I hope you can help me out.
Thanks,
-Michael
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