Should I or Shouldn't I: R1 Military Classic Mod

[Albin]

I just got a Cold Steel R1 Military Classic, I bought it used, but it's essentially NIB.

I love the feel of the knife and of course, it's looks. But especially I like the blade shape. One thing I don't like is the upper guard.

I'm thinking of grinding/cutting off then smoothing and polishing out the upper guard to where I can up my thumb over the guard like most hunting knives. A friend of mine had this done on his Vietnam-carried Randall #1 model; except he had it done by Randall.

Thoughts on whether I should do this or not? I have no idea if CS R1 Classics are collector items or not. If I don't change it, this knife won't be used much, if at all, and it would stay in it's pristine unused state. If I do the mod, it would become a user and I'd proudly carry and use in the field.

Comments, thoughts, suggestions?

Thanks,

Al

 

[dangreco]

As of now it's not too collector, so you should go ahead and try it on a cheaper knife first to see how it goes. Then, do the mod, and use that pretty knife with pride and vigor.