photojournal of a massacred mini-afck

neetones

neetones

Joined
Apr 30, 2001
Messages
701
Well, years ago one of my first knife purchases was a LNIB Benchmade Mini-AFCK. I put it to good use, carried it...cut apples with it.

I was looking around my room for something this morning and found it, having had it boxed away for a while. Now, I was thinking, "Do I finish this enormous piece of work I need to do for the university, or do I take out my Dremel and tear apart this knife?"

I decided on the latter.

Here's what it looked like (except mine is satin-finished) before I started:
bm814.jpg


I wanted to try my hand at G-10 texturing, so using my Dremel's sanding thing, I went at it. I also took the cut-off wheels and put in a few filed-out lines. I also used the sanding drum to make some arcs...it was just for the hell of it, but actually, it ended up being very ergonomic (locking the pinky into the grip).

stage11.jpg


and the opened knife...

stage12.jpg


"Well," I thought, "I could now go back and get started on the work I need to do...or I could cut off the back of the knife and re-grind the blade!!!"

So I did.

stage21.jpg

stage22.jpg
 
some more pictures...

stage23.jpg

stage24.jpg

stage25.jpg


So, with a Dremel, a few hours, and a respirator, anyone can completely screw up a knife to have it end up however they want it. As for problems that occurred:

The tip of the knife overheated when I was grinding it, so it has probably lost its temper (ha ha).
I have taken out one of the screws that holds the backspacer in, so it is not that stable.
The backspacer screw that remains has basically stripped the G-10 threads...superglue to the rescue.

Otherwise, it's a fully functional knife...smaller though.

Thanks to everyone who has ever posted a picture or information about any knife ever. that's where all of my inspiration has come from. Now I just need to finish school so I can open up a shop and get some real equipment.

Nitin
 
Why, why, why, how could anyone do that to such a nice knife, there should be a header warning parents in case children are present. :eek:

What were you thinking man? :confused:

Well it's your knife anyway ain't it? :)
 
Hmmm where to begin :D
The handle texturing looks pretty cool. I'm not a real fan of the extra finger grooves, but the overall look is kind of cool. Kind of like some of Jens Anso's stuff. I'd have to hold the knife in my hand to pass final judgement on whether I liked it better or not. It does look pretty neat though. :cool:

You did a fairly nice job grinding the blade, but I really hate how it turned out :D I understand making the whole thing shorter, but...well...I don't know, I just really don't like the profile anymore. I like a long clip point or narrow drop point. Just don't like the blade shape you can up with.

It looks like you had fun though, and it turned out a lot better than I was expecting when I read "do I take out my Dremel and tear apart this knife?" . That sentence scared me because of things I have seen other people do with dremels. They are very good tools, I would be lost without mine. Some people shouldn't be allowed to have them though :D So overall, nice work.You should try a knife kit sometime :)
 
Thanks for the critique Matt.

If I were to design a knife from scratch, or even design modifications to one, it would not look anything like this...particularly the blade. I wouldn't even want a knife with the grooves I carved into this one (even if they were done as well as Jens does his.)

I agree about the inelegance of the blade. If I had a grinder, I might have made if flow a little better, but this was all about impromptu experimenting.

It does actually feel good in my hand, in a number of different grips..

But again, thanks for the honest critique...it's nicer to hear than "That rocks!" or "That sucks!"

Nitin
 
That has got to be one of THE ugliest mod jobs I've ever seen. :barf: :D

From time to time they have ugly knife contests over in Shop Talk. You might possibly win with this entry. :eek: :D

But, I'm a believer in modifying your own knife to suit your own needs, (no matter how warped they may be) so I can see your reasoning. :D

Smart-ass critique aside, if the knife feels better in your hand and the blade profile suits your needs, then I say "Good Job"!

I do have some good news for you too:

The tip of the knife overheated when I was grinding it, so it has probably lost its temper (ha ha).
Click to expand...

Your AFCK looks like an ATS-34 bladed model, right?
ATS-34 is a high temp steel. If you got it just hot enough to discolor the steel and not glowing bright red hot, your tip will still have it's hardness.

Oh! BTW, I agree with Matt Shade, you should try a knife kit. Knifemaking is quite addictive and it looks like your catching the disease. Welcome to the club, Nitin!
 
Wow, looks great! I tried doing the Eric Blair/Jens Ansø thing to one of my customs and it didn't turn out anywhere near as well. I don't know what those guys use on their handles, but Eric obviously uses something with a lot smaller diameter as his mods come out with a similar texture but much smaller "dips" in the G-10. Regardless, for your first time with that handle treatment it looks great. It's not easy to do well and yours turned out pretty good. I like the blade shape and the rest, too.

MOre "modern" folders with nested liners, pinned handles, etc are a lot harder to mod without messing them up. This looks awesome!
 
Chiro75 said:
Wow, looks great! I tried doing the Eric Blair/Jens Ansø thing to one of my customs and it didn't turn out anywhere near as well. I don't know what those guys use on their handles, but Eric obviously uses something with a lot smaller diameter as his mods come out with a similar texture but much smaller "dips" in the G-10. Regardless, for your first time with that handle treatment it looks great. It's not easy to do well and yours turned out pretty good. I like the blade shape and the rest, too.

MOre "modern" folders with nested liners, pinned handles, etc are a lot harder to mod without messing them up. This looks awesome!
Click to expand...



Thanks! It was really fun. I wish I had the proper equiptment though. I know Jens uses a horizontal grinder with a small wheel to do his.

And in case anyone's frightened at the idea of someone who created that monstrosity owning a grinder and producing knives, my original designs are much more subdued: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297238&highlight=knife

Nitin
 
Just in case anyone is considering doing something like this...let me relay a few things I learned through my mistakes:

1. Be very careful not to interfere with any structural elements of the knife. I cut off the back part of the knife, including one of the screws that held on the backspacer. Now the spine of the knife is only supported at two points...one of those is the stop pin. It has become very flimsy, and the backspacer is free to move around.

2. If you're grinding a pattern like this, do whatever you can to stay away from the screws. You don't want to risk ruining the threading or the screw heads. Just modify the "design" to avoid them.

3. Practice on a knife or a piece of material you're not afraid of ruining. You will screw something up.

4. When you're done grinding the G-10...particularly if you've used a rough grit, it will look like crap. Take a scouring pad, go over it, and then rub in some mineral oil. It will look a hell of a lot nicer.

5. Take your time and have fun with it....as long as you can afford to scrap the knife. I would never sell this knife to anyone because of the crappy job I did, but I learned so much that the next time I do it, it will turn out much nicer and I won't make the same mistakes twice. I'll make new ones!

Nitin
 
YOu can substantially open up the back of an AFCK by replacing the backspacer altogether. I handmade a couple of spacers from carbon fiber that was the same thickness as the backspacer. Drilled 'em for the screws to go through and it feels every bit as solid as the original knife. That completely opens up the back of the knife and gives you some leeway to do the type of mods you did. I wouldn't, however, recommend taking out one of the screws altogether, though! ;)
 
I like it. It's cool when guys take to the Dremel to customize their knife. I had a mini AFCK a long time ago, and snapped the tip off while cutting some thick leather. So your point will serve you well and not be brittle.
 
I like just about everything about that knife..! the texture (go figure :)) and the new bladeshape is rocking!
 
It's always fun to change a knife to make it "unqiue". I like the way you textured the G-10 scales. The blade would look better if you tapered it down more toward the point. It seems like to much of an abrupt drop to the point or you could round it slightly for a wharncliffe affect. About overheating the blade, next time dip the blade in water every so often to keep it cool and you won't remove the temper.
Scott
 
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