Customized

Whats up doc?

Posted on February 25, 2021 by akadventurer

I kinda unmodified the main blade in this Rough Rider doctors knife. When I got it was the earlier time in my life when I was experimenting with using wharncliffe blades… (later stopping, then going back again after several years)

I’d modified both pen blades in this to wharnies.

Which is almost as pointless as two pen blades… not sure why I did both. I’d also ground both to convex no secondary bevel edges, something else I was using a lot then. (This was around 2006, 2007 ish…)

I just made the main blade back into a pen, and dropped the kick to get the tip below the liners. The convex I left. Dont use that much anymore, but can’t see a problem with it either.

Categories: Customized, EDC, Folder Tinkering, knives, Pocket knives

Schmachtenberg Bros. Sleeveboard cleanup.

Posted on February 24, 2021 by akadventurer

Finally did something with the blades in this Schmachtenberg Bros. sleeveboard I got last summer.

Before;

Squared the ragged end off the broken main, and rounded the back corner off so its not sharp to hold anymore.

Sharpened the pen blade too, and dropped its tip so its below the liners. Could have left it a higher tip, and dropped the kick, but that would have made it impossible to open without cutting a relief in the scale/liner, and I didn’t want to do that on this one, wanted the frame shape left alone.

Categories: Customized, EDC, Folder Tinkering, knives, Modifications, old tools, Pocket knives, Repairs, Vintage

Damascus and Copper Bear MGC Trapper, part 7!

Posted on February 23, 2021 by akadventurer

This knife has a looong history of mods with me. I first got it in late 2005, or early 2006. I think in 2006.

It was the fist traditional pocket knife that I really carried a Lot and worked a Lot. We started building our garage tgat summer and I remember the lighting fast cuts it made opening cement bags… A highly abrasive task that never seemed to phase it.

It is made by Bear MGC, Now Bear and Sons. Its a Damascus steel 4.125″ 2 blade trapper. It was built with brass liners, nickel silver bolsters, and thick swell center burnt stag bone handles.

Within a week I’d ground the stag down to smooth “normal” profile, and retoasted them a light caramel.

Within a couple years, I’d taken it apart to rehandle it in sonething else.

About 10 years later, I had gotten back to it after purchasing another like it that I did in moose stag.

At that pointvid picked out materials, etc along the way, knew what I wanted to do, had just never had the time or gumption to do it.

Finally in 2015, I decided what the heck, and did it.

The saga of that build can be seen here;

https://ak-adventurer.net/2015/12/02/slim-damascus-trapper-started/

https://ak-adventurer.net/2015/12/04/damascus-trapper-update-2/

https://ak-adventurer.net/2015/12/11/bear-damascus-trapper-part-3/

https://ak-adventurer.net/2015/12/11/bear-damascus-trapper-part-4/

https://ak-adventurer.net/2015/12/11/bear-damascus-trapper-part-5/

https://ak-adventurer.net/2015/12/13/bear-damascus-trapper-part-6/

I think I’ve carried it five times since I built it like that. Used less. When I did it, I left it Really thick toward the back, for a tapered fatter grip, which I thought I’d like.

It was OK to grip, but not great, and turned out horrendous to pocket.

The best couple pics at the end of the above posts, that show what I ended up not liking, are these I think.

Aaaannnnddd… where I started this time;

I carefully sawed slots in the “pins”(corby bolts!), cranked them apart, and took the sucker apart. Thankfully I had a hatred for glueing knife scales on, so no trouble there.

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Cut and filed the uneven bolsters the same length(damn close)

evened the scales lengths, made spacers for the gap, made/modified pins(bolts) to fit, thinned the scales out.

Looks like I missed pics of cutting, stacking, and installing the fiber spacers. That was tedious but i got them a tight fit.

Before;

During, attached together to match the profile, thicknesses easier, blue tape the super glue that together.

After;

Got into some porosity… semi super glue filled after I was done.

Top bolt was the same as the lower when I started, had to lathe them so the shanks were longer. Half this hardware was in the knife when I took it apart. The other half was pirces Id screwed up the first time around that I had to mod/fix.

Made a short brass spacer from a loveless bolt set even shorter for a corby bolt I had that wasn’t long enough to reach through the second liner… spacer is threaded so when its all cranked together its the same support and grip as the corby shaft being longer..

Assembled and had actually sanded the scales too short from the spacers(freaking fine sanding to fit the angles) so I came up with a secret weapon, and filled the gaps.. color even works ok with these scales.

We’ll see how durable it turns out to be.

Assembled and ground the corbys off, still no epoxy in it in case I want to have it apart again someday. (Not likely!!!)

Finish sanded and thinned it some more, hand sanded everything @220, and buffed lightly…

Need a clean buffing wheel, will set that up and buff the bolsters to high gloss… someday. 😉

But for now, she’s done again! Its a lot cleaner of a build now, and friendlier in hand and pocket.

I like it a lot better!! Its a much better grip, still thicker than a single blade trapper would be, it feels like a slightly thick two blade folder, or a thin fixed blade. And it basically disappears in pocket too.

Maybe after about 15 years, I might get to carry it again. 🙂

(Wood filler is the thin tan lines between the bone scales and the first red spacer)

Categories: Adventure Metal Works, copper, Custom, Customized, EDC, Fabrication, Folder Tinkering, knives, Modifications, Pocket knives, Repairs, Sentimental

About that Muskrat.

Posted on July 26, 2020 by akadventurer

Yeah, backup blades of the same type aren’t my thing. I’m more for multiple blades in different styles, for different tasks.
I can see how it would be, as these were originally meant as a skinning blade. Use it till dull, swap blades and keep going without having to change your way of doing things to compensate for a different blade. But I don’t do that kind of repetitive work that warrants a direct replacement blade.
So, yeah.

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Ended up with a nice lambsfoot profile. And just about the same length of edge as is on the sheepsfoot in the stockman.

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Usually I do the back or pile side blade for this, but the curve of the frame leaves more access to the nail nick on the front/mark side blade, than if does the other. So I did the front. The main blade used will be the straight edge anyway… Might as well make it the mark side blade, usually considered the “main” blade side.

Slight swedging and blend of spine edges.

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Might touch the “peak” on the spine a bit to straighten the overall look of the blade. Then again I might forget. It doesn’t really need it.

Categories: Case Knives, Cowboy, Customized, EDC, Field gear, Grail Item, knives, Life-Philosophy, Modifications, Pocket knives, Re-purpose, Theory/Thoughts, tool mods, Traditional

Do I? Or Don’t I?

Posted on July 20, 2020 by akadventurer

“What?” you ask?

Why, Bob the 2nd blade on my new mini Muskrat into a wharnie/sheepsfoot/lambs foot profile, of course!

With the big muskrat I did.

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With the blade I’d want in it if I could build one(no, can’t, I’m not that good).

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So the issues are I’ll either end up with a long pointy wharnie, or sheepsfoot, because the nail knicks are so far forward on these blades…

Unless I crop it into the knick (not ideal) or behind the knick… better but then I’d have to cut a new knick… something I suck at. Been there fraked that up before. Several times…

But I’d really like the shorter stiffer profile blade.

Then again there is the argument tp leave it alone altogether since right now i carry and use the CRKT minimalist all the time anyway. Thats the blade I’d gain by the mod.

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But what do I need two long clip points for, too?

Soooo….

any input?

Ideas?

Categories: Case Knives, Custom, Customized, EDC, knives, Modifications, No-pain-no-gain, Pocket knives, Theory/Thoughts

Holy Slip-It, Batman!

Posted on January 10, 2020 by akadventurer

Anyone remember these things?

I don’t. Generally before my time I think. I’ve seen them for sale, once, a decade or so ago in the SMKW catalog. Had never seen them there before that, nor since. I’m told they wee common 30 to 40 years ago, or there abouts.

Huh? Oh, what is it, you say?

It’s a knife. Called a Slip-it.

Cool design, simple and cheap, usually given away as promotional/advertising freebies.

You pull up one end of the inner bar, the other end hinges on the tail of the blade. Then slide the blade out, and press the (now)flipped inner piece back down. Friction keeps it down in both open and closed positions.

This one came from a yard sale when I was a kid. I was 8 to 10, somewhere in there. I picked it up (closed) looked it over, didn’t know what it was, set if down.

Dad came along, picked it up, opened it, closed it, went hmm, and the lady running the sale said, oh, you can just have that.

I tried to connive that I’d seen it first, but neither one of them would go for it since I’d put it back… Hey, it was worth a try! 😉 lol.

So, why the post, and the funky comic reference title?

The retractable 3/8″ blade on the mini utility knife I have been carrying is greag for a lot of things, but is really lacking in slitting letters open.

When I reached for a longer blade, I saw this little guy on the shelf, and a light bulb went on.

I’ve never used it much since its been mine(about 8 years). It’s cool, but it’s such a thin blade. Like really thin. Like utility knife thin. But utility knife blades are wider, shorter, and more stable. And disposable if you break it.

And let’s face it, as much as knives are not pry bars, even those of us that are extremely careful tend to have lateral pressure on a blade about 1 in every 5 cuts. Just how it is with a working blade!

I like and use small blades, but not this thin, while this long. Just don’t want to bend or snap the sucker off.

But as a household knife, I figured what risk is there? Opening mail, packaged foods, light crafts tasks like cutting twine or trimming leather is the hardest use it’d get.

And since this week I’d been carrying a household knife, as posted a couple days ago, I suddenly saw a use for this lil ole guy.

And the Holy part you ask?

Thats simple.

It should be spelled Holey or hole-y.

‘Cause I drilled a hole in it.

😀

They don’t come with the split ring, or a place for one. For my current concept of home carry, it needed a bail/key ring/lanyard loop/whatever you want to call it.

Put it in the back end, where there was already a divot in the plastic. It looks like it was hot pressed there to keep the two handle halves together. Doesn’t seem to have loosened the parts any though.

How it spent the day, with its new friends, in my pocket;

Categories: Alaska-Life, Customized, Daily-cary-log, EDC, Home Life, key-chains, knives, Modifications, old tools, Pocket knives, Vintage

A little tweak to a litle carry.

Posted on January 7, 2020 by akadventurer

Normally unless I’m in the basement shop working, I don’t carry(EDC) at home, in the house. Theres too much stuff lying within reach if I need anything, and my loafing pants tend to be uncomfortable with anything in the pockets.

But here lately I’ve been loafing in jeans, and thus had better pockets, so I’ve been dropping this into one.

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