"Thinning" a 112 - Anyone?

[sharkattacksw]

Hi all,

I recently saw a 112 that was shaved down/thinned a bit. It was as if the knife was put through a planer to thin it down to reduce some weight to make it more pocket friendly. Has anyone modded their 112 in such a manner? If so, who did the work? I'm very interested in getting something like this.

Thx!

 

[Badhammer]

More than one member here has done this to their 110 and 112 but can't remember who. Might be able to do a search of the forum and get some info. Seem to recall at least one thread that had step by step photos detailing the process but thanks to Photobucket the photo portion of that thread is probably gone.

 

[jbmonkey]

yep..seem to remember reading various members have done something similiar. maybe David Martin has done that......

 

[redcanoe]

Try a bladeforum search for Slimfit 112

 

[Larry Oden]

Leroy Remer has done several of these, both 112s and 110s and perhaps other models as well.

 

[sassafrassdogs]

The member's who do that sort of thing are here quite often...So they'll probably see your thread...

 

[jbmonkey]

Leroy Remer has done several of these, both 112s and 110s and perhaps other models as well.

Sir...good to see ya back here. thank you for the shipments i got from you.

 

[bucksway]

Beginning back in the 70's it was a popular modification especially in the Biker community. One how- to magazine article I read 20 years ago involved a belt sander and I'm sure you could find a U Tube video to see the process and decide if it's something you could do yourself . If look at a 500 you might find it's extremely simular to a thinned 112.

 

[CaseyChaos]

Search Pocket melt. Sitflyer did a few of those, I believe.

 

[nutoknives]

Sitflyer is the 1 That did this 1, I named it the Slimfit 112, here next to a Custom 1972 112 with full bolsters and Scales

 

[sportingspecialist]

For the sake of being constructive in my criticism,I wouldn't slim a brass frame 112.I believe the brass pivot pin for the blade isn't strong enough to hold its position when shortened.I would use a nickel silver frame model for this type of modification.

Some of the brass frame slim model 110's that I've viewed over the years,that have been used and not just collected, had their blade pivot pins move within the frame.

This just my humble opinion based upon observation and has not been scientifically validated.

 

[sharkattacksw]

. If look at a 500 you might find it's extremely simular to a thinned 112.

Now why didn’t I think of this! Thanks for the suggestion. Perhaps a 500 is just what the doctor ordered. I have a few 503’s and a 501, I love that platform. For whatever reason, I forgot about the 500. Well, there goes more money, lol!

 

[bucksway]

When I first met the Buck collectors in Atlanta I almost decided to go with the 500 series instead of 112's but there was one BCCI member that displayed them and I think he had every variant ever made..but 112's had more oddball and advertising knives to chase plus the prices of 112's were considerably less .

 

[Pondoro2310]

For the sake of being constructive in my criticism,I wouldn't slim a brass frame 112.I believe the brass pivot pin for the blade isn't strong enough to hold its position when shortened.I would use a nickel silver frame model for this type of modification.

Some of the brass frame slim model 110's that I've viewed over the years,that have been used and not just collected, had their blade pivot pins move within the frame.

This just my humble opinion based upon observation and has not been scientifically validated.

This makes sense and the fact that the 500's are (I think) always nickel silver backs this up. I have a 112 and though I love it its one shortcoming is that it is thick and heavy for a knife that size.

 

[ohen cepel]

I have a 110 that another forum member slimmed down. Neat mod, makes them a little lighter also. Much easier for pocket carry.

 

[Scott321]

I still haven't picked up a 500, but it's on the list (right after a 110 LT). I actually prefer the 112 to other 3" knives specifically because of the width, but I did melt a couple of the finger grooves on one of my FG 110's. I just used a rotary tool (e.g. Dremel, but mine's a Craftsman) to do the major shaping, then lower and lower grit sandpapers to smooth out the grooves of the dremel and higher grit sandpaper, then a final buff with the polishing attachments for the rotary tool. You can't really tell it was modified unless you look closely. The brass and wood are pretty easy to work on.

If the poster above is right about thinning the bolster, you could smooth down the corners and keep the width in the middle. Just an idea. It really depends on what you want the handle to feel/grasp like when you're done.

Even though I like the mods on that 110, I preferred the 112 FG model (w/o any modifications) to the FG 110, even with mods. I found I prefer my 112's for my tasks anyway (mostly w/o FG's). Although it doesn't make the knife any thinner, the FG 112 shaves a tiny bit of weight off from the non-FF model. You might see if that fits your needs too... can't have enough 112's anyway.

 

[Christiantrevor]

This was a SK Blades little Jack 112 with nickel silver frame and D2 blade. Leroy Remer with Triple R knives thinned the frame, Replaced the cocbola scales with black macarta, added a pocket clip and a thumb stud.

 

[sitflyer]

For the sake of being constructive in my criticism,I wouldn't slim a brass frame 112.I believe the brass pivot pin for the blade isn't strong enough to hold its position when shortened.I would use a nickel silver frame model for this type of modification.

Some of the brass frame slim model 110's that I've viewed over the years,that have been used and not just collected, had their blade pivot pins move within the frame.

This just my humble opinion based upon observation and has not been scientifically validated.

I've pocket melted a bunch of 112's and a few 110's, the trick to make them hold up in everyday use is to replace the pivot pin after the modification and properly pein it , when done correctly they hold up to normal use for many years. I did a work in progress thread quite a few years back, where I showed my crude homemade disc grinder setup for grinding down and rough shaping the bolsters, final sanding was all done on sheets of sandpaper by hand. I used a bench grinder with a buffing wheel and rouge to polish. I only kept a couple 112's and a single 110, and gifted most of them to family and friends. There is a substantial weight reduction, and they do ride quite comfortably in pocket.

I also acquired a micarta handled 112 from a collector, which was done at the Buck factory by an employee, I seem to remember that I was told it was a salesmans personal knife and the collector I got it from bought it from him.

 

[BP_]

I love these thinned out 112’s. The weight of the original is my only reason for not having one in my pocket every day. It is definitely a favorite. It gets rotated, but I carry a Leatherman on my belt mostly. Folding knives go in my pockets. I would really like to have one of these, but alas, my skill set says no chance.

 

[Scott321]

I love these thinned out 112’s. The weight of the original is my only reason for not having one in my pocket every day. It is definitely a favorite. It gets rotated, but I carry a Leatherman on my belt mostly. Folding knives go in my pockets. I would really like to have one of these, but alas, my skill set says no chance.

As much as I love my 112's, the aluminum 110's are great and are about 30% lighter than the 112's. You might want to give them a try. I just don't carry my aluminum versions that often because I usually don't need that large of a blade.