Removing the choil/guard on an esee 4

[yakantosh]

I have an esee 4, and I love the knife to death but it feels like the guard/choil thing always gets in the way. Have any of you ever removed that on your esee 3 or 4? Does it feel better in hand? I have seen rueben's mods that do what I am talking about, but I haven't been able to find any information on how they feel after doing the modification.

 

[n7titan]

Since almost everybody feels the 4' choil is too small, I imagine it would just be an overall improvement.
I'm planning to do it myself once I decide to replace the scales again with another wood.
Something like this

 

[chiral.grolim]

I don't have the ESEE-4, but I did that with a SYKCO 511 that is kinda similar...

original vs mod

This knife felt a lot better after the mod since the handle is kinda small for the blade-size, but if you'd rather sell the knife intact it might be worth more to a buyer and you could use the funds to buy a knife that feels better generally. *shrug*

 

[yakantosh]

Both mods look like what I was thinking of doing. The choil feels like it needs to be just a bit bigger to be useful. By the way, those scales look great n7titan!

 

[joejeweler]

Since almost everybody feels the 4' choil is too small, I imagine it would just be an overall improvement.
I'm planning to do it myself once I decide to replace the scales again with another wood.
Something like this

If that were me, I wouldn't wait until you replace the scales. That would be a small job (maybe 20 minutes) to easily grind out using a 1/2" rubber backed sanding drum on a Dremel with the flexible shaft attachment. This is easier to control than working the heavier motor section directly. I use my similar but heavier duty use Foredom flexible shaft machine. (I was a bench jewelry repairman for 35 years and still have a few handy tools.)

The sanding drums are a Dremel product that I pick up at my local Sears store,....in the tools section. The sanding drums come in 60 grit, 120 grit, and 240 grit,....all useful. (6 to a package as I recall) You can finish up my hand in higher grits if you feel the need, but 240 grit is pretty fine for a user.

I've done this procedure on several knives over the years, and it really makes a difference in comfort and usefulness to a knife.

Here's a Buck 500 drop point I added a full set of finger grooves to, and later some vine-work on the spine using 1" stone cutoff discs in the same flex shaft machine, followed by fine rubber abrasive wheels and finally a 1" muslin polishing wheel. This was a lot of metal to remove with a small hand setup,....about two hours as I recall. Had to keep it all cool so grind a bit, and dip in water,...repeat!





I own several of this Buck model. The one at top I left stock. The middle one I added just a front an Index finger and pinky finger groove. The bottom knife the full finger-groove set and "file work". The steel was too hard to use a file though,....hence the "stonework" was done freehand with a 7/8" stone cutting disc, followed by tapered fine grit rubber wheels to smooth it all up!





If you do a folder, be sure NOT to touch any of the back side of the blade cutting the finger groove. That spot on the blade presses against the spring when the knife is closed, and if you cut even a little away there may not be any tension on the blade when closed may move a little. ( as well as create a "lip" on the spring/bolster area at the back) I went pretty close though....



I carry the full finger groove knife (one of several knives for EDC, and each does a job well) in a simple leather pouch I sewed up. It fits snug, and keeps the hinge end out of the trash and lint in most pockets. (hinge end at lowest part of pouch)



Measure carefully and work S L O W L Y and even a stone cutoff disc will do some nice work....



cheers,
Joe T

 

[killgar]

Nice job on that Buck Joe. :thumbup:

 

[joejeweler]

Thanks,....just wanted to give you guys some incentive to "get-er-done" on your own knives.

A comfortable knife is one you'll WANT to use more, and it will be.......

Those 1/2 inch diameter rubber backed sanding drums sure are handy. They also make a little smaller version for work in tighter places, which I've also used a lot.. (3/8" diameter I think?)