To pimp or not to pimp....that is the question

[VermontEdge]

Sure, as long as it performs the function that you need!





Very in depth response, and makes sense, from a quite paranoid stand point.


Don't worry about those washers. I've flipped and used mine countless 10's of thousands of times. No issues or concerns. Still isnt, and never was, as smooth as my Domino nor Dice, for some reason.
Just don't abuse or over tighten the knife.
Also, if you're honestly paranoid about the longevity of your Southard, just don't disassemble it, and proceed to use the heck out of it knowing if you have issues you can always send it in to Spyderco for w&r.


Biggest concern for me personally is using one of these knives in gritty conditions or around debris of very fine particles. It may end up getting into the lube in the unsealed bearing.
I have occasionally blown mine out a bit with my air compressor.
But, just knowing that, I have plenty of other knives that excel and perform better in dirty conditions and I will use the proper tools accordingly.

Haha, yeah, I'm one paranoid SOB. I usually go through a paranoia phase when I buy a new knife where I research everything that could go wrong with it, haha. I really hope this dissipates with time.

Thanks for the response :thumbup: . It was really thoughtful and helpful. I'm thinking that the best course of action, as you said, is going to be cleaning it assembled and not messing around with it. I also bought it used through the exchange, so I think I'm also partly anxious to see what kind of shape it's in.

Thanks again to Speedholes for the advice and apologies again for hijacking the thread!

 

[BilboBaggins]

Haha, yeah, I'm one paranoid SOB. I usually go through a paranoia phase when I buy a new knife where I research everything that could go wrong with it, haha. I really hope this dissipates with time.

Thanks for the response :thumbup: . It was really thoughtful and helpful. I'm thinking that the best course of action, as you said, is going to be cleaning it assembled and not messing around with it. I also bought it used through the exchange, so I think I'm also partly anxious to see what kind of shape it's in.

Thanks again to Speedholes for the advice and apologies again for hijacking the thread!

Hijack away my friend. We're talking about the same general thing anyway. :thumbup:

Also...I couldn't help but mess with it. That things begs for just a tiny bit of personalization.

 

[VermontEdge]

Hijack away my friend. We're talking about the same general thing anyway. :thumbup:

Also...I couldn't help but mess with it. That things begs for just a tiny bit of personalization.

Totally. I guess by "mess with" I meant disassemble just for the heck of it, or to clean it even if I can clean it fine without taking it apart. The temptation for a custom scale might just be too great, though.

Did you find that it went back together easily? I've read mixed things.

 

[BilboBaggins]

Totally. I guess by "mess with" I meant disassemble just for the heck of it, or to clean it even if I can clean it fine without taking it apart. The temptation for a custom scale might just be too great, though.

Did you find that it went back together easily? I've read mixed things.

Took a bit of patience to get the blade dead center again without over-tightening the 2 pivot screws. I feel like I might have gone a little too far on one side but those things were really tight when I disassembled it (even accounting for the thread lock). I was actually pretty careful when pulling out the lanyard tube to not completely separate the two halves of the knife. I really didn't want to figure out which side the larger end of the ball bearing ring was supposed to face. Finally, I totally get your anticipation for the southard. I was crazy wound up about getting mine. See exhibit "A": http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ink-I-can-wait?highlight=don't+think+can+wait

 

[VermontEdge]

Took a bit of patience to get the blade dead center again without over-tightening the 2 pivot screws. I feel like I might have gone a little too far on one side but those things were really tight when I disassembled it (even accounting for the thread lock). I was actually pretty careful when pulling out the lanyard tube to not completely separate the two halves of the knife. I really didn't want to figure out which side the larger end of the ball bearing ring was supposed to face. Finally, I totally get your anticipation for the southard. I was crazy wound up about getting mine. See exhibit "A": http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ink-I-can-wait?highlight=don't+think+can+wait

Well, we're definitely kindred spirits in that regard! Thanks again for the advice about tinkering and for making me feel slightly less crazy.

 

[wiredbeans]

Thanks to wiredbeans encouragement...went ahead and did it up. New CF scale, over-travel stop, and a deep pocket clip

Bravo! You did good bro! Looks like a $500 mid tech now.
Do share where you score the CF scale, do they have lightning strike CF in multiple color? Wood?
Now, the scale being thinner is both the lock side and presentation side same thickness now? At least visually? That's the only pet peeve I have with Southard.

 

[BilboBaggins]

Bravo! You did good bro! Looks like a $500 mid tech now.
Do share where you score the CF scale, do they have lightning strike CF in multiple color? Wood?
Now, the scale being thinner is both the lock side and presentation side same thickness now? At least visually? That's the only pet peeve I have with Southard.

Thanks again wiredbeans. Really appreciate the encouragement. Got me to take a little leap of faith. Picked up the scale from Gatorscales. He only does them in CF for certain knives. No lightning strike, but he does do a nice twill pattern. Cannot emphasize enough how nice his work is. It fits as if he had my knife. Even has some slight jimping ridges on top that match up perfectly with the ones in the TI. My pictures don't do his work justice. Scale is very thin and makes the sides very, very close to being the same thickness. Scale side is ever so slightly wider, but if you didn't like the look of the thicker vs. thinner side this would fix it for you. He also sells a grinded down lanyard tube if you want to still have one (obviously with the thinner scale the factory one is too big). I'm not a lanyard guy and I actually prefer the look of the knife without it. Very, very happy with it.

 

[wiredbeans]

You are most welcome! And..... Welcome to the dark side there's no stopping now,... I'll be watching your post for intervention help lol