Unexpected benefit of wave mod *now with photos*

B

Bill1170

Joined
Dec 20, 2007
Messages
1,907
I modified my blue Endura 4 FFG to be a waved opener. I did this by carefully drilling a 1/4" hole slightly forward of the Spyderhole, then cutting off the spine of the blade from the bottom of this new hole to the tip. The resulting blade is pointier, less wide, and more importantly less thick at the new spine.

Today at church I had to break down some large boxes and I was amazed at the difference I felt cutting heavy corrugated cardboard. The reduced thickness makes it very much easier to slice stiff material, and I was blown away by the huge difference that the thickness reduction made in the effort required. It was as easy as using my FFG Delica, which slices cardboard better than any other (stock) locking folder I own.

Tonight I measured the blades with a digital caliper.The Endura's new spine thickness just forward of the wave hook is 2.2 mm, which is almost exactly the spine thickness just in front of the Spyderhole on a FFG Delica. One take-away from this experiment is that a stock FFG Delica will slice cardboard better than a stock FFG Endura. For power and wrist comfort you will naturally do your long cuts with the part of the blade closer to the handle, so the thinner blade wins.

BTW, a saber ground Delica is 2.5 mm at the spine just forward of the hole. The FFG Endura was 2.85 mm at the same place before the wave mod. I love my Para 2, but it is even thicker, so harder to use on heavy cardboard.

Geometry FTW!

Here are links to the photos requested by some of you:

https://files.me.com/wbrennen/1czjue
https://files.me.com/wbrennen/6emk1x
 
Last edited:
Similar to your experiences, I have found that the BM 943 is an unexpectedly great slicer, especially for thick cardboard. Although the grind is fairly short, the distal taper coupled with a re-beveling makes the 943 slice through things effortlessly.

The result, however, is that there is less steel on the knife blade--making it less good at resisting lateral stresses.
 
Cynic2701 said:
Similar to your experiences, I have found that the BM 943 is an unexpectedly great slicer, especially for thick cardboard. Although the grind is fairly short, the distal taper coupled with a re-beveling makes the 943 slice through things effortlessly.

The result, however, is that there is less steel on the knife blade--making it less good at resisting lateral stresses.
Click to expand...

Very true, I love this feature about the knife. It carries so slim in the pocket but slices like a Spyderco FFG leaf blade.
 
Bill1170 said:
I modified my blue Endura 4 FFG to be a waved opener. I did this by carefully drilling a 1/4" hole slightly forward of the Spyderhole, then cutting off the spine of the blade from the bottom of this new hole to the tip. The resulting blade is pointier, less wide, and more importantly less thick at the new spine.

Today at church I had to break down some large boxes and I was amazed at the difference I felt cutting heavy corrugated cardboard. The reduced thickness makes it very much easier to slice stiff material, and I was blown away by the huge difference that the thickness reduction made in the effort required. It was as easy as using my FFG Delica, which slices cardboard better than any other (stock) locking folder I own.

Tonight I measured the blades with a digital caliper.The Endura's new spine thickness just forward of the wave hook is 2.2 mm, which is almost exactly the spine thickness just in front of the Spyderhole on a FFG Delica. One take-away from this experiment is that a stock FFG Delica will slice cardboard better than a stock FFG Endura. For power and wrist comfort you will naturally do your long cuts with the part of the blade closer to the handle, so the thinner blade wins.

BTW, a saber ground Delica is 2.5 mm at the spine just forward of the hole. The FFG Endura was 2.85 mm at the same place before the wave mod. I love my Para 2, but it is even thicker, so harder to use on heavy cardboard.

Geometry FTW!
Click to expand...
how about a picture???
 
Another thing, VG-10 can be drilled with a solid carbide die bit, but it is tricky to do. Ideally the hole is backed up with steel to avoid breakout when the bit comes through. Use a drill press with very low speed and plenty of cutting oil. To get the hole straight, which is to say perpendicular to the centerline of the blade, the FFG blade has to be clamped to a ramp half the angle of the primary grind.

I did this same mod to my SE Pacific Salt and it was much easier for two reasons. One, the knife is saber ground, so clamping the flat is simple. Second, H-1 cuts like butter under carbide tooling. Cobalt bits won't cut it, however. The VG-10 is much harder at the spine than the H-1 is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top