RC-3 MIL mod

lsheldon

lsheldon

Joined
Jan 2, 2009
Messages
3,143
I decided I wanted to make one of my RC-3 MIL's a user. However I wasn't really happy with the way it looked or felt in my hand. The handles were too light colored and it felt too narrow in my hand.

So, I decided to dye the handles black and put in some liner material. The thickest liner material I had was a gray color (I'm glad I chose this color). The thickness of both liners together is almost exactly the same thickness of the blade. It broadened out the handle enough that it fills my hand just right.

The process was a great learning experience for me. Grinding the liners while sandwiched between the handles without buggering them up took a lot of patience. Of course I needed some different screws. But other than that it went back together really well. I now understand why ESEE glues the liner material to the handles as well. It is a royal pain trying to line up the handles, liner & blade without doing so.

Overall I'm very happy with the way it turned out. The only thing I need to do now is to modify the sheath as it is too wide to fit in. I'm thinking of taking out the top two rivets. Putting a spacer in (washer) that is about 1/8 to 3/16 thick and re-riveting it. I think that should widen the top enough to make it fit properly.

And the obligatory photos are below.

Best to all,

Les.

rc3mil004.jpg

rc3mil007.jpg

rc3mil008.jpg

rc3mil009.jpg

rc3mil010.jpg
 
Total time for the work was about 2 hours. This was my first time making liners and dye'ing handles. I spent more time figuring out how I wanted to do it than actually doing the work.

Ad Alta said:
How long did your modification take to complete?
Click to expand...
 
Looks like a nice improvement. I love the blade size of the 3, but I do feel that a bit thicker scales would be more comfortable.
 
Great job!:thumbup: Did you have to make a new sheath or will it still fit?
Either way it still looks awesome!
 
Nice work they look good and it sounds like it fit your needs for a thicker handle. I don't think they add thickness but if anyone wants a different look, I am really please with my new handles for my 4 from the Knife Connection. They add a little length becuase they go over the lanyard hole (you can still use it the handle just wraps over the end and has a hole to line up with the lanyard hole. They are available for the 3 too. I don't need a thicker scale so they work great for me. Check out how they look here:
http://www.the-knife-connection.com/buyoownesknc.html

I guess you could add thickness to the same way it was done here.
 
As I said in the original post, the sheath is too narrow now. I'm going to fix that by taking out the top two rivets, inserting a spacer (washer), that is 1/8-3/16 wide, and re-riveting it. That should allow enough extra space to allow it to seat properly.

Jeff S1 said:
Looks great with the liners but what sheath will you be using now?
Click to expand...
 
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