Southen Grind Bad Monkey modification, simple.

[longun]

I recently purchased a Southern Grind Bad Monkey from the forum. When I received it the first thing I noticed was some difficulty reaching the lock bar to close the knife. The G10 scales are identical in size from on side to the other. But the liner has a cut out area, so out came the files and sand paper. I left the scale just slightly proud of the liner, then polished the G10 on a buffing wheel. In the second picture you can see how much it opened up access to the lock bar. I think this modification really makes the knife a great user. I'll be packing it for a while now.
Before the mod.

After the mod.

 

[MSchott]

Nice work! Very nicely finished. Looks professional quality.

 

[Dadpool]

Nice mod, and well done!

It's surprising to see that the knife ships with a relief cutout in the liner but no matching cutout in the scale.

 

[whitty]

Interesting mod. I will send a link to this to the guys at Southern Grind. I have never had a problem disengaging the lock on mine but definitely some food for though for the great folks at SG.

 

[Basp2005]

Nice mod, and well done!

It's surprising to see that the knife ships with a relief cutout in the liner but no matching cutout in the scale.

The gap just gives a little more room to get your thumb in.

 

[Lapedog]

I have long wondered about these knives, the Bad Monkey in particular. As a waved knife how does it compare to say, an Emerson?

 

[photoman12001]

Nice mod, and well done!

It's surprising to see that the knife ships with a relief cutout in the liner but no matching cutout in the scale.

The Hinderer XM-18 is like this too and I was surprised to see it. Functionally I didn't really notice it but asthetically it bothered me enough that I snagged a full Ti scale for it when one came up at a decent price. I like it much better now.

 

[whitty]

Got a great response back from Southern Grind on this. Thought it might shine some light on why some knives are done this way.


"I actually designed that area like that on purpose. Since the Bad Monkey is considered a "heavy use knife" I left material out of the solid titanium liner for a little more room to disengage the lock but left the scale prominent to help prevent the lock accidentally disengaging under a heavy grip or heavy use situation."

 

[longun]

I have long wondered about these knives, the Bad Monkey in particular. As a waved knife how does it compare to say, an Emerson?

My knife is not waved, but I have a number of Emersons. Some of my Emersons are also the unwaved variations. I think the Bad Monkey compares favorably with the Emersons. I was thinking of getting a CQC 7v when I ran across this Bad Monkey on the forum. I have used a Mini CQC7 as a work knife and it worked well. But I was looking for something larger in a V grind and the Bad Monkey fit the bill.

Got a great response back from Southern Grind on this. Thought it might shine some light on why some knives are done this way.


"I actually designed that area like that on purpose. Since the Bad Monkey is considered a "heavy use knife" I left material out of the solid titanium liner for a little more room to disengage the lock but left the scale prominent to help prevent the lock accidentally disengaging under a heavy grip or heavy use situation."

I guess that makes some sense. But I don't use folders for anything real heavy. And my knives are in and out of the pocket, opened and then closed numerous time per day. In my opinion this mod greatly reduces the ease of closing the knife. And it was such an easy mod, that it would not prevent me from buying another knife with this kind of construction. Who knows, for some knives I might prefer it as original.

 

[longun]

A picture of the Southern Grind Bad Monkey and the Emerson Super CQC7

Lapedog asked about comparison of the Emersons to the Bad Monkey. The Bad Monkey and the Super CQC7 are nearly identical in size. I'm actually a fan of Emerson knives, but in my opinion the Bad Monkey has better ergonomics than the Super CQC7. Maybe it is the distance from the pivot to the thumb stud/disc. Or maybe the difference in the depth of the handle. But I can swing the Bad Monkey open with my thumb much more naturally then I can open the Super 7. I'm a big fan of the Emerson pocket clip, but the pocket clip of the Bad Monkey compares very well. The Emerson uses regular tools for disassembly, the Bad Monkey requires special tools. My blade steel preference is yet to be determined. The V grind of the Bad Monkey is a bonus for me.
This one comes down to the ergos for me. The Super 7 is awkward enough that it has not gotten any pocket time from me. I've carried the Bad Monkey every day since receiving it.

 

[snapshot2017]

Last Christmas while working in the knife Dept. at a local sporting good store, we had the Zac Brown Grind knives, they were not being displayed well but i really liked them both the bad monkey and spider monkey.
Got them moved around so people could start seeing them, and they started being bought.
Also I had no idea the man Zac Brown was really himself involved in the company as he is a big name in music, but he really is himself involved.

Also for some reason their clips are designed to install only on one side, this caused a few lost sales.

 

[whitty]

Last Christmas while working in the knife Dept. at a local sporting good store, we had the Zac Brown Grind knives, they were not being displayed well but i really liked them both the bad monkey and spider monkey.
Got them moved around so people could start seeing them, and they started being bought.
Also I had no idea the man Zac Brown was really himself involved in the company as he is a big name in music, but he really is himself involved.

Zac approves all the designs before they go to production and has designed a couple of the knives himself. He is a great guy who loves knives, and has been known to show up at Blade Show a few times.