Spyderco Gayle Bradley Spydie hole mod w/pics

S

ScreaminSS01

Joined
Jan 2, 2012
Messages
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I am not sure if anyone has made a thread about this. I did a quick search and didn't find anything related.

First off let me say I love this knife! Its tough and a fine looking knife while doing it. I am happy with the knife except for a minor flaw in the design. I really have no idea how they over looked the Spydie hole being partially covered. It really made closing the knife a pain in the butt. So I finished a project from the honey do list and I thought what the hell I'll try this myself. I disassembled the knife and officially voided my warranty so there was no turning back at this point. I got out my dremel and got to work. I used a fairly abrasive stone to take most of the material away from the liner. I used a file on the carbon fiber for most of it and finished with a rubber wheel from my polishing kit. The file left the CF a very light gray and I thought I ruined it. I got the idea to use a rubber wheel attachment in a last ditch effort. The friction created enough heat to bring back the darker color.

I was really impressed how precise the knife was built and assembled. I must have partially assembled the knife 50+ times trying to get the liner and scales shaved down to my liking. Overall the process took a little over an hour to do clean up included. I am a little unhappy with the metal finish where I took the material away. I'm definitely going to spend some time polishing it up. Overall I am pretty happy with the results. It passes the function test and I will work on getting the finish 100%.

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Great minds think alike, as they say. I had Tom Krein do mine a while back. Its a tremendous improvement, as I can now actually access the Spydie hole and liner lock.

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He did a helluva job! The only thing I want to do is get the liner polished a little more. I would love to know how he perfectly matched the CF bevel also. I really didn't put a whole lot of planning or thought into this one. I discussed it with richard j a few weeks back but pretty much wing'd it lol. I don't think I did bad on my first knive mod.
 
They look awesome re: the mods on both. I love my GB, the steel, the feel and everything.... but it really is SUCH a flaw in the knife in having the liner lock 'flush' to the scales the way it is. Thx for sharing the pics.
 
CR33 said:
They look awesome re: the mods on both. I love my GB, the steel, the feel and everything.... but it really is SUCH a flaw in the knife in having the liner lock 'flush' to the scales the way it is. Thx for sharing the pics.
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It's no flaw, it's what Gayle Bradley designed. Basically to help you keep your fingers attached to your hand. The Chris Reeve Umnumzaan is basically the same way, so are countless other folders.
 
Frankly, I don't know why they don't manufacture it that way...the MSRP goes up by $10 I guess.
 
powernoodle said:
Great minds think alike, as they say. I had Tom Krein do mine a while back. Its a tremendous improvement, as I can now actually access the Spydie hole and liner lock.

IMG_7678.jpg


IMG_7674.jpg
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What material are your scales? cause the look like the cf but not really...
 
ol_sc said:
Frankly, I don't know why they don't manufacture it that way...the MSRP goes up by $10 I guess.
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Simple...Gayle Bradley designed it that way on purpose, and he knows a thing or two ;) about knives.
 
RevDevil said:
It's no flaw, it's what Gayle Bradley designed. Basically to help you keep your fingers attached to your hand. The Chris Reeve Umnumzaan is basically the same way, so are countless other folders.
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I must be special. :D I've never had any trouble at all opening the GB - with either hand. :thumbup: :)
 
I made this mod to my GB, too, and it makes the knife much nicer to use. The problem isn't opening the knife, it's trying to access the locking bar with your thumb to close the blade when there is no relief in the scales/linger to easily reach it.

The Umnumzaan does have that relief, although not as much as the Sebbie.

Whether it's a design flaw is to some extent a matter of opinion. If you think that people are cutting their fingers off because most knife makers include the relief, then I guess that you think the flagship Military has a design flaw that Spyderco just doesn't care enough to fix.

Personally, I don't hear about a finger-cutting problem with liner locks that have a relief. But lots of people do complain about the lack of relief on the GB. For those people, me included, it's a design flaw to omit the relief. If you have the hand geometry and thumb dexterity to make opening the knife easy without the relief, then for you it's not a design flaw.
 
Twindog said:
I made this mod to my GB, too, and it makes the knife much nicer to use. The problem isn't opening the knife, it's trying to access the locking bar with your thumb to close the blade when there is no relief in the scales/linger to easily reach it.

The Umnumzaan does have that relief, although not as much as the Sebbie.

Whether it's a design flaw is to some extent a matter of opinion. If you think that people are cutting their fingers off because most knife makers include the relief, then I guess that you think the flagship Military has a design flaw that Spyderco just doesn't care enough to fix.

Personally, I don't hear about a finger-cutting problem with liner locks that have a relief. But lots of people do complain about the lack of relief on the GB. For those people, me included, it's a design flaw to omit the relief. If you have the hand geometry and thumb dexterity to make opening the knife easy without the relief, then for you it's not a design flaw.
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I did the mod and prefer my GB with the relief
 
Twindog said:
I made this mod to my GB, too, and it makes the knife much nicer to use. The problem isn't opening the knife, it's trying to access the locking bar with your thumb to close the blade when there is no relief in the scales/linger to easily reach it.

The Umnumzaan does have that relief, although not as much as the Sebbie.

Whether it's a design flaw is to some extent a matter of opinion. If you think that people are cutting their fingers off because most knife makers include the relief, then I guess that you think the flagship Military has a design flaw that Spyderco just doesn't care enough to fix.

Personally, I don't hear about a finger-cutting problem with liner locks that have a relief. But lots of people do complain about the lack of relief on the GB. For those people, me included, it's a design flaw to omit the relief. If you have the hand geometry and thumb dexterity to make opening the knife easy without the relief, then for you it's not a design flaw.
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The relief on the Umnumzaan came recently, it was not originally part of the design, rather a modification Chris made after. I've never seen or heard from anyone that cut their fingers off with a folder closing on them, however, that is something that some folks love to elude to. Specifcally those that think all Walker Liner Locks are created equal, that is obviously not the case. I've carried and used the Mlitary more than most other knives I own, never had a problem with it closing, flexing, or breaking on me. Owning 12 different models of the C36 it's safe to say I am comfortable with the design. :thumbup:
 
Thanks for the design input guys. I am a newbie compared to most of you guys and never thought of the relief as a safety hazard. I used it on a project since the mod and I had no problems with it closing on me. If I was left handed I would have never done the mod. As a mechanic, I consider my hands tough but this knife tore my thumb up. Maybe if I didnt play with it all the time it wouldn't cause so much damage!
 
I'm one of those people who has no problem disenaging the lock. Seems like a great mod if you need it.
 
Sp!durrr said:
What material are your scales? cause the look like the cf but not really...
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Everything Powernoodle touches automatically starts to look fabulous.

I understand why Misters Sal and Gayle hid the liner from us - to reduce the chance of accidental disengagement. But I don't like it, because for me its a pain in the rear to disengage. If I were trying to hack through a brick wall with my GB, I might like a hidden liner. I just don't use my knives that way, and I think few other folks do either.

Its also always been a little strange to me that the liner has to be hidden on this knife because its "hard use", but the knife has slicky, blingy CF scales that are there to please the eyeball and not to provide optimal traction. If you gotta hide the liner from me for my own good, then why the low/medium traction scales? Its just a contradiction.

My GB (when carried) is an EDC user, and not a substitute for a reciprocating saw or pry bar, so I'm groovy with both the low traction CF and the easy access liner mod. JMO.
 
Design preferences make the industry interesting. Both Gayle and Ed are of the opinion that the relief is not as safe as no relief. Both are highly skilled at designing knives, making knives and cutting with them. Both are champion cutters in competition. My linerlock designs include a relief. I'm often wearing gloves and I prefer them in general. I've heard many complain about my Military and Sage linerlock designs because they feel the relief is unsafe.

Both approaches are valid. That's why we make both. For those that want a relief, it's easier to create one.

sal
 
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