A growing number of collectors customize their automatic knives by changing scales, bolsters, blades, doing fileworks, ... Wether you're a guru or just a wannabe knife modder, this is the place to discuss it!
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Well I messed up during the pinning process on my mikov and wrecked one side of my ebony scale I made :S
I also learned that ebony is a really hard wood to work with. It dulled one of my hacksaw blades lol. Beautiful wood though deep black, the wood dust was a fine black powder, reminded me of coal dust.
Here is the other scale side
Anyways , so I guess I am going to have to use my spare maple i had sitting around.
I am thinking of buying screws instead of pins, well see if i can find screws small enough
anyway personally i like the maple better! mr missaman just sent me some nice slabs....
as far as screws go - i wanted to go that way one time - and the small screws were no problem to find, but the very small taps are a beeeaatch to get your hands on, then they are very expensive and super fragile...
Small taps are expensive and brittle
One trick is to drill the hole in a drill press, then put the tap in the chuck and MANUALLY turn it while applying a little down-force on the handle of the press This keeps things VERY straight Micro-Mark has a fairly good selection of small taps. [Here's a start, check under hand tools for more]. http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.as ... t&ID=60316
i have that small hand drill bits , not the taps fot it though
I was thinking more those double screws where one screws into the other one
the maple will be a lot easier to work with, I think i need to find someone to mooch an hour time on a jigsaw and a planer
i did everything by hand with the ebony , and it took freaking forever
lol might make a visit back to my old highschool ( yes im only 20 and look 16 , so it might work
Last edited by ktonix on Thu May 20, 2004 9:22 am, edited 2 times in total.
You have my sympathy, you were doing such a nice job and then that happened. I've not used ebony for anything, but I've used maple for a lot of things large and small and it seems very predictable at least for me. It is a "hardwood" but not as hard as ebony. I like using maple. It will take some stain if needed. I get my maple from the firewood pile. It's not kiln dried, just air dried. I bring it in the house and let it air dry for a few months then I use it. Sometimes it will split but most times it is ok. You could use a microwave oven to dry it if you have time. Good luck on the maple.
Just a question, since I don't have a kit yet. Are holes in the the liners on the underside (blade/spring side) chamfered or just bored straight through? Is there enough meat that one could assemble the handle material with screws running through the liner, then into the scale material from underneath and still have the head flush? Just a thought.
The drill press+tap idea is an excellent one. I first read about it when I was preparing to try my hand at assembling a flintlock kit (never happened).
I think you will have better luck with the maple. Though hardwood, it is not a "brittle" wood, and there should be a smidgen more play in the wood to take up the pressure of the rivets. Maple takes a nice flame grain with a propane torch. Practice on a scrap pieced first if you try this though!
Something I was thinking of. If one had access to a good mig welder, it would be pretty easy to tack weld a small, fine stainless steel nut onto the handle, then run a matching screw into it from the topside of the scale. This is probably just as much work as tapping the scales, but what it would do is allow for a bit more meat for the threads. I suppose one could silver solder as well.
It looks like I'll have to get several kits to try different methods
The knife in question is a Mikov which I have encountered the same considerations. The scale material has to be evaluated as to the use of the knife and how you want to secure it. If it is to be light use and I want MOP scales I use epoxy and hidden pins but with screws on both ends. I would also consider using a titanium liner under the MOP because the Mikov will flex when operated. The newer Mikov's have thicker liners which will help with the flexing and make for more screw purchase. I am waiting for one of the newer models in a parts or kit model. If it is for hard use and I am using more forgiving scales I use screws and pivot barrels. I also have a problem with very small screw taps, even manually turning the drill press chuck, so I use larger screws. Normally the screw heads are bigger that I like, so I screw them into the end of a tapped brass rod chucked in a drill and file down the heads. You really don't need a great deal of screw head shoulder sticking out to hold on the scales.
The Mikov back spring has an important 3/32" pin hole that may be enlarged but you have to be careful because it is close to the edge. The bottom pin can be replaced by a screw, and I use SS tubing inside so the "kicker" spring can fulcrum off of it without messing the screw threads.
I have also used a pivot barrel on the bottom end, but then had to modify the "kicker" spring notch for the larger size.
The two toughest scale material I have used is wooly mammoth and teak from a old sailboat dating to the 1920's. I think the teak has fossilized as much as the mammoth.
I have been through most scale material and have come around full circle to looking for some really nice wood material. Anyone found any outstanding wood material out there? I have looked at many of the sites supplying wood, but wood just does not take a good picture(or is it the photographer). I will have to rely on someone else suggesting something.
Keep cutting.
I used epoxy to secure the scales.
I intended to screw them from below but didn't bother in the end.
A secret pivot pin was used and the liners are still real tight.
2 barrel fixings mean i can take it apart.
It was an EDC for a while and had a lot of flickin n' clickin and it's still going strong.
Cheers
RB
to the thicker liner idea , well it wouldnt be too hard to make your own . but thats a whole different story that i might look into later about making my own knifes
I really can't see why the ebony split. It's a hard, but forgiving wood. Before you try the second set, figure out what caused this. I doubt it was from the liner flexing.
As far as pretty wood- kingwood is beautiful. The grain is small enough that it works well for scales.
Bill
I went looking into the reason why the wood broke and it was all my fault
, I guess when i filed the top of the scale so it would fit more flush with the liner , i threw the hole i drilled a fraction off and I guess that fraction mattered when I was pinning it. As i said , my fault not the wood , the wood was beautiful and strong Im just an inexperience noob because I have never done anything like this. Lesson learned , drill the holes
after the fitting
Hi ktonix;neat project,as a rule,scale material doesn't split until the very last pin is set.The greater the effort in the scale the greater the certainty of disaster I have had much experience in this regard.
If you are close to a Lee Valley store check out their selection of exotic hardwoods in 1/4 and 3/8 thickness.I especially like the purpleheart and have used it on linerlocks.Although it is not stabilized I find less seasonal shift than with domestic woods,perhaps due to its natural oil content.They sell the aniline wood dyes in powder form,great for enhancing striped or birdseye maple.
They also handle domed escutcheon pins,brass,in 2 different gauges.Cut to length and drawn up gently from the backside,risk of splitting is reduced..Now,if they would just resume selling that A2 again,I'd be happy.
Good luck,Diggaway
Don't feel bad we all learn from our mistakes and i still make them. I was trying to modify a Mikov for swing guards and now i have a Mikov with a holy blade.
What kind of hammer are you using. Have a couple of 4 and 6oz. ball/peen hammers that are great for pinning.
BTW guys- Old Bill uses 1 oz. and 1-1/2 oz. hammers. Maybe yours are too big. The largest hammer in my shop is 8 oz.!
try http://www.micromark.com for jeweler's hammers.
Bill
This keeps things VERY straight 
Micro-Mark has a fairly good selection of small taps. [Here's a start, check under hand tools for more].
I was trying to modify a Mikov for swing guards and now i have a Mikov with a holy blade.