On a whim, for favourable reviews and because of the low price I have thought about getting a Cold Steel Voyager, the Vaquero style blade. The knife has been critizised because of the bulk of the handle. Does anyone know how thick the scales are? Voyager models have aluminium liners so I had in mind to sand the existing Grivory scales thinner and then jimping them for grip. Would that weaken the handle if done moderately?
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Reducing the bulk of Cold Steel Voyager
- Thread starter HFinn
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- Dec 26, 2010
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Will they be weaker than stock handles? Yes.
Will they be so weak as to affect the usability of the knife? That depends on how much you take off.
What size are you thinking of getting and modifying? You can probably take more handle material off a smaller size with less effect versus the larger sizes.
Will they be so weak as to affect the usability of the knife? That depends on how much you take off.
What size are you thinking of getting and modifying? You can probably take more handle material off a smaller size with less effect versus the larger sizes.
The knife is a Vaquero XL. I had in mind to sand the scales enough to remove the "crosses" on the handle and then do a "jimping" on the handle, or file grooves like in the CS Rajah.
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Honestly, I think if you're going to do it, you're just going to have to go until you're comfortable, or uncomfortable rather. Just go slow and use your judgement.
Got the knife today. It surely is outrageous! The coarse surface gives a very good grip, even too much so. I plan to carry it IWB, at about 4 a'clock.
The grip is so coarse that it is in my opinion uncomfortable, so I will take off the scales and start carefully sanding them.
I also plan to do some test cutting with it. So far the reviews of this knife have shown it to have great cutting abilities. It is possible I will get a smaller version in future to carry as an sd-knife. I have allways liked the idea behind Spyderco Civilian but dislike serrated knives. The 4 inch version of the Vaquero might be just perfect as an more EDC - friendly recurve knife.
The grip is so coarse that it is in my opinion uncomfortable, so I will take off the scales and start carefully sanding them.
I also plan to do some test cutting with it. So far the reviews of this knife have shown it to have great cutting abilities. It is possible I will get a smaller version in future to carry as an sd-knife. I have allways liked the idea behind Spyderco Civilian but dislike serrated knives. The 4 inch version of the Vaquero might be just perfect as an more EDC - friendly recurve knife.
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Sounds good. Take some before and after photos to post when you're done!
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Does anyone do aftermarket scales for these? I've seen some one-offs but never come across someone who does it regularly.
Never seen those. Splendid idea.
By the way, one thing I have noticed right away. This is the smoothest opening CS I have experienced. Better than Code 4. I quess the linerless G 10 models have more friction because of the design? I have never been able to open those as easily.
Maybe today I have time to start the project. It should not take long and be too difficult, just need an even surface to to put a sheeth of wet sandpaper in different grits.
I have started the project. Some things I have noticed so far:
The handle material is hard, harder than I thought. So far I have removed about 4 millimetres of material with much work. I have sanded enough to remove the "crosses" up to the point there is only a pattern visible on the surface. To get the handles smooth requires more work.
The handle scales are thicker than I thought so removing the cross pattern will not reduce the strenght much, because the raised crosses do not give any strenght to the material, since they are only an overlay. This knife is also, for the price, surpricingly well made and tolerances are thight. I put the knife back together for a while and I left the pivot bolt quite loose. Still there is no blade play. I am pleasantly surprised.
I also touched up the edge by stropping it against a slab of heavy leather I have glued on a piece of plank. Whoa baby! This thing got even sharper, scary sharp. Which, after some slight wounds, reminded me to tape the edge before continuing the work.
The handle material is hard, harder than I thought. So far I have removed about 4 millimetres of material with much work. I have sanded enough to remove the "crosses" up to the point there is only a pattern visible on the surface. To get the handles smooth requires more work.
The handle scales are thicker than I thought so removing the cross pattern will not reduce the strenght much, because the raised crosses do not give any strenght to the material, since they are only an overlay. This knife is also, for the price, surpricingly well made and tolerances are thight. I put the knife back together for a while and I left the pivot bolt quite loose. Still there is no blade play. I am pleasantly surprised.
I also touched up the edge by stropping it against a slab of heavy leather I have glued on a piece of plank. Whoa baby! This thing got even sharper, scary sharp. Which, after some slight wounds, reminded me to tape the edge before continuing the work.
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- Feb 24, 2011
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Sounds good! My only advice would be to not sharpen it until you're done all the mods; last time I did that I ended up with a nice cut too! :foot:
Sounds good! My only advice would be to not sharpen it until you're done all the mods; last time I did that I ended up with a nice cut too! :foot:
Yep. This is hard work. I might leave a shallow cross pattern on the handle area most likely to be gripped, but polish the front around the pivot like a "bolster". We'll see. Also the stop pin and lock axle pin are now raised from the handle surface, so they need to be shortened slightly.
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I hope you're taking pictures!
I think I will glue the now considerably thinner scales to aluminium liners with epoxy. This might give back some of the strenght lost in thinning the scales (allthough, like I said, the material taken off is mostly the raised cross pattern) and it will not affect the possibility of taking the knife apart any way.
I will do the final finish by filing shallow grooves to the handle and polishing with fine steel wool. Will post pictures when ready.
I will do the final finish by filing shallow grooves to the handle and polishing with fine steel wool. Will post pictures when ready.
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Ha! No kidding! Any hand sanding is difficult IMHO, especially with a material like Zytel/Grivory/FRN as you really need to work at it to get rid of tool marks.
That looks good so far! :thumbup:
The surface is a bit uneven. I quess the steel wool will take care of that. Still, it feels like a different knife now. The balance moved a bit forward which is good for a cutter. It feels nimble and poverfull. By the way, the tip is like a needle, I found that out today personally The handle feels much slimmer.
Scary sharp, balanced and comfortable. All at a good price. I am surprised by this knife.
The handle feels much slimmer.Scary sharp, balanced and comfortable. All at a good price. I am surprised by this knife.
