All About Pocket Knives

Hey all , decided after 40 years of looking at this broken ugly orange knife to mod it up for my sons 18th in Dec. Broke down and excess baggage removed . re-shaped the frame , found a sear/ button and spring & modified them to work , added genuine Schrade top bolsters( to keep in the theme) and made steel bottom bolsters . He asked me to use Walnut for the handle so that's a go I`m thinking about torx screwing the handles on to keep it seviceable and covering the spring pin .... where can I find lil itty bitty screws and a tap for this ?

Looks like it is coming along great, can't wait to see it finished. I have a few autos on the bench to try and play around with, haven't got up the nerve yet.

Nice work!

Have you tried your local hardware store?

JJ, this looks like it may be a good source. They have Torx pan-head screws from #2-56 on up. Just follow the bouncing ball and drill on down from here: http://www.aarons6-lobescrews.com/Torx-Screws.htm
Minimum quantity is 10 and they sell in multiples thereof.


Amazon has a 2-56 tap and drill set. I'm sure they have other sizes available. http://www.amazon.com/Du-Bro-360-2-56-T ... B0006O4GYG

2-56 may not be the size you have in mind but this will get you started. Good luck. Keep us posted.

Thanks , my son wants nothing to do with screws and honestly I wasn't thrilled with the idea so it will get pinned the spring pin will be covered dispite its potential for a service issue and will not be peened , it`ll be held in with the handle that way just the back would need to be removed to pull the pin if the spring snapped ...... moving rite along

Got the T.V. in the shed watching the games and working on my knife ( lifes good ! ) todays progress , just need to pin the handles and a little touchup here & there Not the prettiest knife but sure better than what I started with ......I've seen a lot of the orange knives done but not like this , i hope you guys like it

Not a criticism, just wondering what your thought process was when you left the edges on the lower bolsters sharp.

It looks a 1000% better than the original. I like it.

I was looking at this picture and didn't like them rounded off , i may put a slight bevel on it but not quite sure . If you have a suggestion I'd like to here it

jerryd6818 wrote:Not a criticism, just wondering what your thought process was when you left the edges on the lower bolsters sharp.

It looks a 1000% better than the original. I like it.

JJ that's kind of a personal choice don'tcha think? Since it's for your son, maybe you should ask him. Who cares what we folks think. I was just being nosey buddy.

Of course its up to me but honestly that was the biggest hurdle for this mod , the transition from the rounded top bolster to the bottoms .... i had almost made top bolsters that were " blocky" like the bottoms but got lazy and figured I'd put on some original Schrade auto tops . Again the rounded look on this style bottom bolster looks ...... soft and understated , i really would like to hear any ideas .... I'm cool with constructive criticism.

Update ! My son asked me to slim the knife down and re-do the bolsters (DONE !) drilling for pinning the bit glanced off the backspacer and wondered hogging out the hole a bit ::doh::Moving forward and just when I thought I "had it made" .....i cracked the front handle time to start drinking

That sucks about the cracked cover.

I'm sure you will whip that back into shape though.

I notice there is no lock on your mod, but I like what you did semi-recessing the release button.

Welcome to the wonderful world of wrenching on American autos

That sucks though

Ya it sucks , I just cracked # 2 as well , you must have the patience of a Monk I`ll give another try later and by the grace of God maybe it will get done !

muskrat man wrote:Welcome to the wonderful world of wrenching on American autos

That sucks though

I have found pinning further back from the edge of the wood scales if possible will stop it from cracking.
A good epoxy between the liner and scales will also help so you don't need to pin as tight.
Clean liners and surface of scale to be glued with acetone before gluing and clamp overnight.
Works every time for me.

All Done ! Custom bottom bolsters and bail , modded sear,spring and frame and Walnut handles from scrap from the front doors to my house .....my sons 18th is dec 3rd and he will have his knife Hope y`all enjoyed the post as much as i did modding this broken orange POS that was sitting on my desk for over 35 years

Wiseguy, amazing job!!

That looks great! Very inspiring for me.

Thanks for the nice comments Gents , if you decide to do one similar double check you handle pin layout to either clear or pierce that back spacer and you should be home free

Nice work wiseguy! I like the bolsters! I did a Camillus some time back. Scales are Manzanita! Randy

I remember when you did that one #goldpan , it made me think Anyway , my son totally digs the knife

Thanks for sharing this process with us. I enjoyed being allowed to follow your progress and the end result was nicer than I could have imagined. Excellent work!

Started another one , these MC-1 mods are fun for me and satisfy the soul...tore it down & pulled off all the unnecessary parts since its gonna be a single blade EDC. I started to Re- shaped the frame & got it ready for top bolsters.

Great work in the end result is very impressive.

Thanks Dale. Here's what's going on for handle covers, it`s a stabilized Maple with blue Shock , I may do a little file work up the back spacer as well.