Saga To Highlight The "Razor" Look in the Insingo.

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Hawaiian Sun shinning through the mango tree today after a few voggy days:

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:)
 
Lovely pics! I've followed your whole process from the other thread till now and all I can say is you have talent and a unique eye for beauty! Those colors are extremely bright and vivid and the blade! It's a mirror! Do you plan to anodize the screws yet too?
 
Lovely pics! I've followed your whole process from the other thread till now and all I can say is you have talent and a unique eye for beauty! Those colors are extremely bright and vivid and the blade! It's a mirror! Do you plan to anodize the screws yet too?

My....those are some flattery! :o

Future evolution on my Insingo will consist of Plan A & B.

The following will be on Plan B:

Actually, heat treat to alter the mating screw finish are within part of the continuing evolution plan. You are right on! Just have not decide on color intensity and for now, letting it play out in my mind!

Stop pin replacement bushing is going to be made with 17-4 PH, heat treated to low 40'sRC, remains as a sacrificial item, just a little better to resist flattening, prolong lock positioning with repeated contact from the blade tang. Possibly, ended up either dark blue or straw brown in color.

Floating titanium shouldered lanyard replacement pin end flat face is beginning to be an itch for me! It will probably ended up with concave divot ends and/or combining with a thru hole, matching effect to the rest of the screw's optically hollow center, the flat face lanyard replacement titanium pin is not pleasing visually and magnetic to my eyes:

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Aloha!

:)
 
Cheap discontinued vintage Taiwan made manual Lathe, 12" swing X 36" between center and an equally junk Taiwan Mill.

But I do know how to work around their shortcomings! :)

Aloha!

:)
 
Yea! Knife mod is only a tiny portion in the whole scheme. Motorsport consumed the other 99% and the most used machine is the mill.

Especially great budget wise, with '84 pricing right? Freight for the lathe was < $300 from Chicago to my door in Honolulu! Combined price for the set of Aloris quick change tool holders, European 3 & 4 jaw chucks cost more than the new Taiwan lathe.

Those were the days! But then, proportionally, I was only making $27/hr. in my young career! :o

Aloha!

:)
 
Took advantage of a very nice Hawaiian morning.

Not Tail of the Dragon but we locals called this "Snake Road", which leads to the famed North Shore of Oahu. Where few put their skill to test and became among the many nameless monuments dotted the road side edge. This twisty road is best using a balanced suspended car when there is no traffic. My solo crotch rocket with sticky rubber max'ed out a little north of 45 mph. Having excellent tires/brakes along with massaged suspension, pictured car can handle a generous north of 65 mph with ease.

The beginning:

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1/3 way down:

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Back up to the opposite side from where I started:

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Aloha!

:)
 
Amazing pictures of some truly amazing work. I applaud your dedication to this project as well as the beautiful end result(s). You've a real eye for detail. :thumbup:
Do you have plans to mod any other knives?
 
Amazing pictures of some truly amazing work. I applaud your dedication to this project as well as the beautiful end result(s). You've a real eye for detail. :thumbup:
Do you have plans to mod any other knives?

Yes, several projects going on at the same time, so I can digress, switch one to the other for a change of pace! :)

This was done in comparison with an unmolested:

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This past Monday decided to put a little color to the clip for a more subdue'd effect above the carbon fiber handle, at the same time, not to distract from the reprofile blade's mirror polish, which is intended as the center focus:

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At the moment, second day into a BBS Sprint Domino' transformation. Handle slab milled, waiting for the mirror then flame ano finish. Deep into blade sanding progression at the moment. Unlike the super hard S90V on the Yo, Domino's CTS-204P is no slouch - good fun to get the finish expected.

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My Insingo's ongoing mod is on the hold right now. But if there is a need for me to use my lathe, first thing is to face off a few thousandth, on both side, from the titanium shoulder'ed lanyard pin replacement, then, machined two .006" T6 aluminum washer to go between the two titanium wear surface as a sacrificial cushioning entity. In addition, the shoulder titanium floating pin will have other minor work done to it, to compliment as well as a more harmonious overall look, along with the other fasteners - as a lanyard hole plug but it has a rather plain/flat look and it is an itch for me!;)

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There are a few more mods in my mind's eyes, so the Insingo is just stalling at this point. :)

Mahalo for your interest!

Aloha!

:)
 
That Insingo is amazingly stunning
You just convinced me that I need one and eventually find someone to mod it like yours. Gorgeous. This may be a dumb question, but how well will that finish hold up to mild usage? Just regular knife stuff?
 
That Insingo is amazingly stunning
You just convinced me that I need one and eventually find someone to mod it like yours. Gorgeous. This may be a dumb question, but how well will that finish hold up to mild usage? Just regular knife stuff?

Thank you for sharing your appreciations!

If your question is relating to the titanium ano'ed finish:

Look back at #49 post, there, you can see some of the titanium stuffs I have been using since 1990! Exposed to the elements, DD went through whatever conditions - normally at high speeds, loads of contaminates blasted the surface as well as frequently washing. Hold up well so far.

If question is on the historically time honored mirror polish for a worthwhile blade:

Well, that will depend solely on how different a person apply their common sense!

Lets put it this way:

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Shown are few variety of elevated hardness grade ground tool bits, hand configured for their unique application, capable cutting into any CRK steel blade, without ill effects. I stored them side by side, a few touch up honing stones wedged between, basically reasonably segregated to eliminate movements, which can induce cutting edge damages. Some looked similar to an untrained eye, in its lifetime, will never be reground into different shape - it is expensive but I believe every tool has its purpose.

My common sense with knife use is much the same way, having an assortment of "other" tools for variety of cutting task. My knife blade never gets abuse and mirror polish will last for years.

HTHs?

Aloha!
 
Many people hold different philosophies for pocket knives and how they should be treated. I would not use the term "common sense", but rather "paradigm" (so as not to insult anyone).

For example, if you carry your knife clipped or loose in a pocket that also supports carry of other items, the finish of the knife will be impacted...and if the finish is higher luster, it will tend to show blemishes more readily.

Similarly, a polished blade can be very nice to look at, but for those that deem their pocket knife as the appropriate tool (in thier philosphy/paragigm) for general cutting chores (such as breaking down the occasional cardboard box for recycling) a polished face is less desirable because eventually the blade will come into contact with contaminants that scuff, marr, and scratch it. These sorts of tasks are exactly why makers like CRK use low lustre finishes like satin or stone wash (because they do not show these marks as readily).

Just think about a glass window or mirror an the wall next to it. Both surfaces are eposed to the exact same things, but the glass or mirror will appear dirty long before the wall next to it (because the wall is low lustre). That is just dirt. Scratches are basically the same (except that they are not as easy to remove).

So if your knife use paradigm involves this sort of use/exposure, high lustre finishes are going to be higher maintenance also.

Have a nice day;)
 
This is an example of what I am discussing above. I use this blade/knife for all matters of daily use. Perhaps some would question the "common sense" of that, but in my paradigm or philosophy of use, it is a knife that allows me an easier life of not having to trott down a razor knife to break down a box, or pair of shears when I need to trim a rivet from a hand towel...Sure a better tool may exist, but I would question the value of a pocket knife if I had to constantly trott down the RIGHT tool every time something needed to be cut.

In that regard, I selected this low-lustre finish that suits me well. If you hold it at the appropriate angles you can see the minor scuffs and scrapes on the blade face...but as you can see, this angle looks ok:)



I have some knives I have polished over the years (most notable perhaps is the ZDP-189 (which is right at Rc 66...that most would agree is REALLY hard). I have some nice photos of it that show the nice polish, but then I used it for a while and even that hard steel shows the scratches that will happen with my philosophy of use.







Plan accordingly;)
 
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Busy involved with these project at the moment:-

Picture was after 10 hr. but 20 hr later, flaws have nothing to distract on FFG blade shape - still not satisfied:

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Will be finishing up this today, much easier and taking a little time out from the CTS-204P's chase for a satisfactory mirror:

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Saw a nice video relating to Japan's Katana yesterday. Gleaming example of personal touches and skills to achieve the exact crisp line separation, sharpness along with a mirror polished finish - what admirable pride and dedication those blade smith shown!

Although it is a slow and deliberate process, it will be sweet to finish up with the CTS-204P and able to move back onto the saga with my Insingo!

Aloha!
 
First off, I do appreciate those, visited this thread, moved on, all without contributing any of their own unsolicited personal view/opinion opposite from mine.

Again.

This thread is my personal journey and to share with those who can appreciate!

In that light, my removal of another obstacle yesterday, which enable me, moving closer back into my personal Insingo's Saga:

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Time out distractions are not all lost!

They gave me more time to contemplate and hone my problem solving skills, in making flame treat stainless pocket clip, having a chameleon similarity to titanium!

Well, one Insingo step closer, at the very least.

Aloha!
 
Since this one has diverged into modifying car parts and other knife brands, I'm moving it to a more general location at the request of CRK.
 
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