I panic-bought several CS knives recently, especially the drop forged line since I figured GSM would drop them like a hot rock in the not too distant future. One that I bought was the old style Drop Forged Bowie with the 6.75" blade vs. the now 9" blade and faux handle inserts. One of the things I despise about the Bowie (and the Survivalist for that matter) is the upper guard. It really limits the usefulness of the blade in my mind. The chances I need a fighting knife are somewhere between Slim and None - and Slim left town.
Anyway, I started by cutting the despised upper guard off. I then - poorly - wrapped the blade with blue tape and painted the handle, including the now uncoated steel where the upper guard used to be. I then cord wrapped the handle; this was sorely needed because the handle is far too small for my large-ish hands.
Pics of the mods; my first cord wrap, so please be gentle.
It still fits the Secure-Ex sheath, but the loop snap won't fit over it any more; that's OK, I plan to remove all the nylon belt loops on my CS blades and attach them Tek-loks.
One thing I could use help on is: A better knot for the end of the cord wrap (see first pic). That square knot has and will come loose and I'd like to use a better knot. Suggestions?
I was able to use the knife this afternoon for making some tinder for a campfire. It was actually now usable without the upper guard. The knife cut the wood nicely and with little effort Sorry, no pics.
Thanks for looking!
ETA: This is what the CS Drop Forged Bowie looks like unmolested:
Anyway, I started by cutting the despised upper guard off. I then - poorly - wrapped the blade with blue tape and painted the handle, including the now uncoated steel where the upper guard used to be. I then cord wrapped the handle; this was sorely needed because the handle is far too small for my large-ish hands.
Pics of the mods; my first cord wrap, so please be gentle.
It still fits the Secure-Ex sheath, but the loop snap won't fit over it any more; that's OK, I plan to remove all the nylon belt loops on my CS blades and attach them Tek-loks.
One thing I could use help on is: A better knot for the end of the cord wrap (see first pic). That square knot has and will come loose and I'd like to use a better knot. Suggestions?
I was able to use the knife this afternoon for making some tinder for a campfire. It was actually now usable without the upper guard. The knife cut the wood nicely and with little effort Sorry, no pics.
Thanks for looking!
ETA: This is what the CS Drop Forged Bowie looks like unmolested:
