This week's Cold Steel Project

[M14sRock]

I love Cold Steel knives, but HATE rubber handles. So I change them out.

Here are two that I started the other night. One is a San Mai 3 Master Hunter, the other is a Carbon V Master Hunter.

The Stainless San Mai will get black linen Micarta.
The Carbon V will get wood. I had a set of nice “Winewood” scales in the handle parts box. I am unfamiliar with Winewood, so decided to use brass pins to help secure the scales, in the event the wood was so oily that the epoxy had trouble bonding the wood together. Turns out it was no problem.

The San Mai gets a brass thing hole and a natural Micarta security pin. I also decided to use a brass guard on the San Mai, which is a first. I have several in the parts bin, but never fitted one before.

The Carbon V gets brass pins, a natural Micarta thong hole.

First step is to get the rubber handles off. NOT easy. I use a razor blade down the back then manhandle it off. Then the brass thing hole tube gets Dremeled off.

The handle scales get routered out and trued up. Then they are fitted at the front. The insides get roughed up to better take the epoxy.

The tang of the knife gets roughed up as well, for the same reason.

Then the handles and tangs gets de-greased.

One handle side gets drilled for the thong hole tubing, and any pins. Then the epoxy gets mixed. Sometimes I use a bonding medium in the epoxy, but not always. These got no extra materials added to the epoxy.

The handles get attached and clamped. I let them cure for at least 24 hours.

After they cure, the shaping begins. I use a small hand saw, rasps, files, belt sander, die grinder, Dremel tool, and various grits of sandpaper.

The brass guard was fitted with jewelers files and was pretty easy to do.

The raw materials.


The guard after filing and fitting.


The San Mai 3 blade. Laminated stainless steel.


Blade taped off for safety.


Handle being removed.


Tang and old thong tubing.


Micarta routered out and roughed up, tang roughed up.


Micarta routered out..


Winewood with pins and tube. Pins will be ground away.


Both knives with raw handles installed.


San Mai almost done.


San Mai handle, almost done.


San Mai handle, almost done, other side.


I will do a little more more on the brass guard tomorrow.

The Micarta can be finished in many ways. This is the raw Micarta after being sanded with fine grit cloth sand paper. It can be polished to a high sheen, but I like the slightly rougher texture of the sanded Micarta, so will probably leave it this way.

I may do a little work on the Micarta this weekend, but this feels perfect in my hand.

The San Mai 3 came with a kydex sheath, but with the guard added it will no longer fit the kydex, so it is in the cordura sheath from the Carbon V, which will get the kydex.

The second knife will be finished this weekend. So stand by.

*Update* Finished up both knives yesterday.

Removed a little of the belly from the Micarta handle on the San Mai 3 and re-shaped the brass guard. The belly of the handle was a little fat and it feels way better now. The guard was sort of a rounded corner rectangle before, and now it is more of a tear drop.

Finished the wood work on the Winewood. It feels really great.

Re-shaping the brass guard allows it to fit the kydex sheath, too.





The line you see around the middle of the Micarta is from the blue tape I masked the guard off with. It will go away as I handle it.[/quote]

[Bundu Ric]

Nicely done,

[HoggerNaut]

That is very nicely done!

[M14sRock]

Thanks, guys.

[Pivo]

Wow, M14, you are a handy/crafty man!
Very cool... I am considering what to do with my CS Shanghai Shadow. It has a good blade, but terrible plastic grip(?!)

[M14sRock]

Wow, M14, you are a handy/crafty man!
Very cool... I am considering what to do with my CS Shanghai Shadow. It has a good blade, but terrible plastic grip(?!)

Thanks. I was thinking about wrapping one of the CS plastic knives with paracord or dipped or painted in epoxy. Maybe that would work for you?

[HdV]

Very very nice, IMHO, you made it better than it was.

[Geoff Carter]

Very nice work M14!

[Llen]

That was very interesting, thanks for the report. Well done.

[marthinus]

Nice work!