TL-29 mods thread... Let's put 'em here

[doglegg]

I like it the way it is. That turned out beautiful.

[Reverand]

Great work! Did you make all new bolsters, or just the rear ones?
So many of your knives now look like they are factory-made! I really enjoy seeing your work.
As far as a shield... a bar or propeller shield might look nice on it. Otherwise, I think it probably looks better without one. But, that is just my opinion.

[jerryd6818]

Still debating whether it needs a shield/badge or not. Klein tools electrician knife, screwdriver removed, hand made nickel silver bolsters and pins installed, stainless steel pivot pin (trying something new), and smooth red bone handles. There’s a slight shade difference in the red handles but they’re close enough.
F3028DA8-969C-4CE0-86D7-599EBAEB37FB.jpeg

WOW!!

[glennbad]

Still debating whether it needs a shield/badge or not. Klein tools electrician knife, screwdriver removed, hand made nickel silver bolsters and pins installed, stainless steel pivot pin (trying something new), and smooth red bone handles. There’s a slight shade difference in the red handles but they’re close enough.
F3028DA8-969C-4CE0-86D7-599EBAEB37FB.jpeg

That's a dandy! Looks great the way it is, but IF you wanted to put a shield on it, I'd go with a bar shield.

[Jeffinn]

Great work! Did you make all new bolsters, or just the rear ones?
So many of your knives now look like they are factory-made! I really enjoy seeing your work.
As far as a shield... a bar or propeller shield might look nice on it. Otherwise, I think it probably looks better without one. But, that is just my opinion.

I just added the rear ones.
Jeff

[orvet]

I'm cooking up a little surprise for y'all
I hope to have it done this week, but I keep hitting snags and have to go back a few steps and re-engineer things.


Stay tuned.

[Meridian_Mike]

I'm cooking up a little surprise for y'all
I hope to have it done this week, but I keep hitting snags and have to go back a few steps and re-engineer things.


Stay tuned.

Man... I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS SURPRISE!
NOW... stop all this teasin' and go get that joker DONE!
LOL.....

[royal0014]

I have neglected to add my own to this thread. ...
Long-line Camillus that glennbad did his screwdriver mod to,
and new pants. Sorry, but I can not remember what the scales are ....

Perhaps Glenn can recall .....

[jerryd6818]

Chris, the handles are pretty. That's what they are.

[Meridian_Mike]

Very nice looking TL you have there Chris. And, I agree, what ever they are made of, the handles are NICE!!

[royal0014]

Aw, shucks fellers .... Thanks ...
But Mr Glenn deserves all the praise !

[orvet]

I posted a while back that I was doing another TL-29; I have a box full of TL-29 parts and I went through them and selected the parts I needed to make a TL-29 mod. In the box was one liner with a long bolster soldered to it. I used it and made another one. That gave me the idea of working the bolsters and grooving them and doing some fancy work on them. I also wanted to make it a Wharncliffe blade and I have parts and pieces of two or three M Klein Hawkbill Lineman’s knives.

I made the second bolster, soldered it on the liner and did all the file work except for the front groove. As I was sanding it down I found a pit in the front bolster right below the pen hole. It was close enough in line with the pin hole that I didn’t worry about it. When the knife was assembled, the pin was peened and the knife ready for the final touches. Then I started a new groove that remove the hole beneath the pin and went on up through the pin itself, very similar to the rat tail bolsters often found on old Hawkbill pruning knives. Since these bolsters are much thinner than the old style Hawkbill I didn’t make the groove nearly as deep, but it was strategically placed and deep enough to remove the pit as if it never existed. I had not planned on doing another groove there but I think it worked out nicely.

This is a practice knife and there were many problems associated with it.
When you mix up a box of random TL-29 parts from various makers and you grab the parts you need and put together a knife, don’t be surprised at some of the parts to fit!

I ran into a problem with the back spring; there are some, which have different rocker pin hole placement, some of the springs are taller than others, and some were so short they wouldn’t reach the edge of the liners.

Another problem was the blade. It’s used up far enough that it’s thick, so I had to thin it down. I think the blade dynamics on this one leaves little bit to be desired.

The third thing I don’t like about this knife is that the first two grooves are not parallel to the edge of the bolster.

I may put a regular spear blade in this or I may reprofile a spear blade into a Wharncliffe.

One of these days I will probably finish this knife or use of myself in the shop. I’m not fond of the blade that is in it, so that I will probably change.

Just thought you guys might like to see what I had attempted.
Maybe this will give you guys an idea.

[Reverand]

I agree about the blade profile - it looks to have been worn down too far, but I love the rest of it. Those bolsters and handles are gorgeous!

[Meridian_Mike]

GREAT job Dale! I LOVE the color of the stag..... That is right there in what I really like!! BEAUTIFUL.

These TL-29s are the perfect platform for a one blade design.
A+++ on the bolster treatment.
Man.... she sure did turn out nice and thin too......

Top notch!! Strictly TOP NOTCH!!

Your surprise was well worth the wait!!

2 thumbs up my friend!

[doglegg]

I'm with you on the blade but on all the rest I think it looks awfully good.

[glennbad]

The blade looks great when it's closed...

Seriously though, I liked how you stuck with the project in spite of all the hurdles. We all have projects like this one that challenge us all the way, and we hate to give up on them.

Over all, a nice result!

[Jeffinn]

Just finished this one with charcoal black handles and nickel silver rear bolsters. Shield inlay wasn't quite as smooth as I would have liked but its acceptable.
I'm still working on inlaying shields. It feels like I'm getting better but still have room to improve.

[Meridian_Mike]

WOW Jeff... That is a VERY NICE looking knife! A real beauty!!
Excellent execution all around.

2 thumbs up my friend!!

[doglegg]

Very classic clean lines on that one Jeff, Very slender. A touch of elegance to it.

[rustyoldknife]

Great Looking Knife! Your skills continue to impress.

[Reverand]

I love the look of that knife, Jeff! So classic!

[Doc B]

Nice knives guys!
I've got a couple to play with...just haven't decided what to do with them. Enjoying seeing you guys inventiveness and results!

[glennbad]

That's pretty darn sexy!

[orvet]

Nice work Jeff. I love the clean lines!

[Meridian_Mike]

I'm not at all happy with this one. It does work.... BUT
It was a bigger POS than I thought. The rust went DEEP!
I ruined ANOTHER set of Culpepper scales trying to get them to meet the bolsters better.
I noticed that the mark side rear bolster has a crooked edge.
I took a piece of deer antler and made myself some "it will have to do" covers.
(The problem with deer is Mississippi is this..... the antlers are so crooked that it it HARD to find a place straight enough to cut out a slab.
After that episode, the scales didn't fit like I wanted.
I have learned one thing while doing this knife..... P..A..T..I..E..N..C..E.
(You don't know how many times I had to count to TEN to keep from throwing this one across the room.)
This isn't my last TL-29....
One important lesson here. Start with one that has better BONES!

tada