Tekut Ares with new scales

[rict]

I recently purchased a Tekut Ares fixed blade (http://www.tekut.cn/en/tactical/HK5025/), and I really like the general knife shape, thickness of the blade, balance, etc.

But the thinness of the scales really bothered me; they would be more appropriate on a folder. On a fixed blade, I want something that kind of fills my hand. The original G-10 scales are easily removed, so I thought I would create some replacements. This first try was fashioned from a pine board that I had lying around.

The knife as with original G-10 scales (blade taped over for protection):

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with the scales removed:

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With some white pine handles roughly formed & shaped:

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With the pine scales scored (by a file) for better grip, and scorched (with a lighter) to give the look more depth:

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With the scales stained green, allowing the scorching to show thru:

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Since I took that last pic, I've thinned down the pine scales just a "smidge". Right now, the scales have been sealed with polyurethane and are drying. I’ll do some light sanding to knock off the shine and make it more of a matte finish. But I like the way it looks, and it feels MUCH better.

Next, I'll be modifying the sheath to accept the fatter scales.

 

[jjoanty01]

Nice work. Looks good :thumbup:

 

[Omega Leather Works]

I like it.

I'd like to see an overhead view. The biggest mistake (usually) that a person makes with their first few sets of scales is leaving them too thick. Not saying that applies to you of course.

When I last made scales (about a month ago) I looked at a number of custom knives for reference/ideas. I settled on the "Coke bottle" and they feel nice.

Again, nice work.

 

[rict]

Thanks, guys.

I'm not, by any measure, skilled at creating custom grips, but I have made some grips previously for my pistols and knives. I usually use exotic hardwood, "swirled" micarta, or G-10, like this:


or this:



but for this knife, I wanted to use scrap pine as a "quick & dirty". I might use some other material on this knife later, but I wanted to confirm that a fuller grip would be better.

Yup, it's easy to make the scales too thick, which is why I went back after the last photo, and thinned them a bit.
I'll get an overhead view posted probably tomorrow.

 

[rict]

I was curious about the actual original thickness vs the pine scale thickness, so I did some photos & measurements:

original scales; total thickness: .485" (constant reading, since the scales are flat)

with new pine scales; max: .855", min: .76"
Much more comfortable!