Porject: De-Anodizing a 720

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Jan 27, 2012
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Ok, so I won a 720 from the very large auction site. My thought is to turn this



into this



The reasons are;

1) I really like the polished aluminum scales on the mini-grip.

2) I'm left handed so when I flip the clip over, the clip is going to cover the Butterfly logo and that's going to look bad, IMO.

3) From what I've seen if you carry this knife the anodizing is going to start coming off anyway.

So am I crazy for wanting to do this? How hard is it going to be to get the anodizing off? I assume some light sanding will take it off.

Has anyone ever done this before?

Also the knife was described as new but with no box.
 
Of course you can, and with ease, 220 seems to do the best job for me for removal, the scales are flat, no crazy machining.

You will possibly find that aluminum goes away very quickly at almost every grit, so take whatever precautions you need to ensure proper fit after the work is completed.

I would probably finish at 600 grit, maybe scotch brite.
 
I was going to start with 600. Maybe I still will and see how it goes. I knew aluminum was pretty soft.

The grip pictured above went for over $200. :eek::eek: I knew it was going to be high.
 
Keep in mind that bare aluminum will oxidize, so it won't stay that way. Your best bet is to get a clear anodize finish on it to preserve the bare aluminum look.
 
Yeah, scuffs up quickly after.

600 grit is good, but not for removing the adonization and grind marks.
 
UPDATE;

Now that I actually have the 720 in my hands, I think I'm going to hold off on modding it. I really like the grip the coating gives. I'm afraid that if I polish it, that will make it too slick. I may polish it in the future, after the coating starts showing wear.

On a side note, why was the 720 discontinued? It's a great knife.
 
Probably wasn't selling very well, there is a secret cabal of 72X fans that snatch up every one they find... It's what I call a sleeper, doesn't look like much. Performs very well.
 
Probably wasn't selling very well, there is a secret cabal of 72X fans that snatch up every one they find... It's what I call a sleeper, doesn't look like much. Performs very well.

I can see why and I'm glad they missed one. I might be a member of the 72X cabal now myself.
 
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