New to collecting... Hell of a forum you have here! *updated*

[Fixall]

Super busy weekend, so just another short update.

New knife day (for the wife at least)!

My wife typically uses a cheap Victorinox Chef knife when she cooks because she is too worried about damaging our 52100 Kramer/Zwilling and likes to do dishes all at once, rather than wash and dry a knife directly after using it. Because of these reasons, I've kind of been on the hunt for a decent, stainless steel Chef knife for her. So when she came into my man cave while I was looking at this month's Buck of the Month (which happens to be a stainless, Chef's knife) and said "I want that!", I had to pull the trigger! I'm glad I did, this thing is super nice!

The knife features; beautiful, solid West African Ebony scales, a full flat ground, full tang Sandvik 12c27 Mod blade, nickel-silver pins, and a fantastic magnetic, paper Micarta sheath! It's pretty wonderful. There were only 150 of these made, so it makes it that much more special.

The top of the bolster is a little bit sharp and might make a pinch grip less comfortable than it could be, but that's easily fixed with some sandpaper. I typically prefer a 10" Chef knife, but I think a smaller knife will be better for my wife on a day to day basis. Other than that, I can't think of anything on the knife I would change. Excellent job Buck!

Next, the scales from Mistwalker came in today.

They are great! They feel wonderful and look really nice (does anyone else constantly, accidentally put a "K" before the word "nice when they're typing on this forum, or is it just me, lol?)... Really sets the knife off in a good way in my opinion. I'm actually really surprised by how much it has improved how the knife feels in my hand. The palm swell is slightly wider than stock and it makes a bit of a difference. I really like them. If anyone is thinking about having some scales made (or plan on doing it yourself) that are stock or close to stock dimensions, I say go for it! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I was also surprised and very happy to find out that the stock sheath actually works with these scales and holds the knife very securely

And lastly, the rest of the scale material I've been waiting on have come in. I have a set of Birdseye Bocote scales, black linen Micarta scales, and a black linen Micarta block to go along with the African Blackwood that came in earlier this week.

I'm really happy with how the bocote looks, I was a little nervous about that. The Micarta looks great too (no voids that I can see) and looks to be sized perfectly to give me some room for error. This is going to be fun!

The hardware for the Grimalkin are the very last pieces I need to get started. I just found out there's a Fastenel in town so I'm going to go see if they have some hardware that can get me by. I have a surgery coming up any time now, so I'm hoping to get things underway before I'm out of commission for awhile.

I guess that's all for today! I'm going to a "wine walk" tonight and then heading out of town tomorrow for a housewarming party so have a great weekend BladeForums!

 

[ErocSD]

Those micarta scales are awesome. I need a knife like that in my life.

 

[Fixall]

So I used a coping saw to cut the Micarta plank to the lengths I need for the Grimalkin scales last night. Yea... I'll be using the belt sander to get the rough shape of the scales before I switch to hand tools, lol. It wasn't terrible using the coping saw, but you really have to embrace the slow, lol.

The scales are held together by a dollop of superglue right now. I ended up going a little overboard after the "wine walk" this weekend and put in an order for some new belts, drill bits, c clamps, f clamps, sandpaper, a countersink set, and a few other odds and ends, lol. As soon as the mounting hardware and the rest of that stuff comes in, I'll clamp or tape the knife onto the scales to drill the holes, redraw the tang on the Micarta and then start shaping.

My wife also picked my up a couple little surprises! She knows I had a lot of fun modding my Opinel No7, so she picked me up a No6 and No8 to play with! The No6 is in Bubinga and the No8 is in Ebony, both feature Sandvik 12c27M steel. Beautiful! I'll probably reprofile the blades on both of these to match the drop point on my No7... And I'll probably also sand the handles down while I'm at it... But no leather dye needed for these bad boys.

Those micarta scales are awesome. I need a knife like that in my life.

I'm really liking them. I'm going to sand them down just a little bit soon to see if I can get them to fit into flush into the stock sheath. Right now the sheath holds the knife perfectly fine and secure, but I can be a bit of a perfectionist and I'd like to get the scales as close to stock as possible. You can pick up the knife for around $30 - $35 on a regular basis and the Micarta scales are priced about the same. Will Bloomberg of Rogue Wolf Custom Knife Modifications is taking over making the scales from Kevin Castle of GKC Outfitters, but it will probably be awhile before he gets going as he's still waiting on the jigs and whatnot.

You can get a heck of a knife for under $75, including the cost of the scales... I highly recommend it if you're looking for a mini tank.

 

[Mistwalker]

Next, the scales from Mistwalker came in today.

They are great! They feel wonderful and look really nice (does anyone else constantly, accidentally put a "K" before the word "nice when they're typing on this forum, or is it just me, lol?)... Really sets the knife off in a good way in my opinion. I'm actually really surprised by how much it has improved how the knife feels in my hand. The palm swell is slightly wider than stock and it makes a bit of a difference. I really like them. If anyone is thinking about having some scales made (or plan on doing it yourself) that are stock or close to stock dimensions, I say go for it! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I was also surprised and very happy to find out that the stock sheath actually works with these scales and holds the knife very securely

Thanks for the kind words Fixall! I am gklad you are liking them. I originally wanted micarta on these after seeing that some of the Schrades do come with micarta scales. Unfortunately those models that come with micarta are made in China and micarta is not an available option on the knives manufactured in Taiwan. I did not want the micarta badly enough to sacrifice the historically consistently excellent heat treat of the Griffin Design models that have been made in Taiwan for the last 10 years, in exchange for micarta handle scales and the unfortunately hit and miss heat treat of the Chinese models. So I opted for grivory and sought out an after market scale maker for them. As it turns out, that is a lot less complicated and persnickety to do on the SCHF42 Raven and SCHF42D Mockingbird with their leather sheaths as you saw in this thread https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/schrade-schf42-raven-how-it-came-to-be.1604258/ than it is to do with the SCHF55 Blackbird with the complex nature of the hard molded multi-carry sheath the knife handle snaps into.

 

[Mistwalker]

Those micarta scales are awesome. I need a knife like that in my life.

The micarta scales do look and feel great in my opinion, and I have another set of the natural canvas scales on hand in a drawer, but they do not fit the stock sheath as they are,,,maybe with some tweaking. Plus I have been carrying one stock for the last several months in order to test it as it comes from the factory.

 

[Fixall]

The worst part about getting getting older is that the people you looked up to as a child (and continue to look up to), continue to get older too.

Just a small update because I need to unplug and clear my head for awhile. On the plus side, I should have some nice "work in progress" pics of the scales I'm working on the next time I post.

I was at the locally owned sporting goods store about an hour ago to pick up some new hammock straps and decided to see if they had any new knives in. I'm really glad I did because they just happened to have a Buck 110 with the new solid ebony scales! It's beautifully done and definitely a keeper! I'm hoping I can hang onto it throughout the years and pass it down as an heirloom.

I might sound like a broken record... But, I really LOVE that Buck partnered with Taylor. I really can't state that enough. There are a lot of scraps being used that would typically be waste. On top of that... Taylor recently made a change with how they pay for ebony. They used to pay more for the jet black ebony. The problem with that is that you have to cut down 10 - 20 ebony trees before you find one that is all black... And since the all black trees were worth so much more, the loggers would just leave the fallen, striped ebony on the ground to rot. Taylor now pays equally for ebony regardless of the color which is great for conservation of this beautiful wood. Two enthusiastic thumbs up.

Next was a nice little surprise that was waiting for me in the mailbox. I'm not sure which one of you did this, but I imagine at least 50 of you or so have my mailing address by now (and I know you're from Oregon!)... Someone decided to mail me a set of gorgeous Lace Maple Burl scales!

Thank you, whoever you are! I'll do my absolute best to put them to good use!

Thanks for the kind words Fixall! I am gklad you are liking them. I originally wanted micarta on these after seeing that some of the Schrades do come with micarta scales. Unfortunately those models that come with micarta are made in China and micarta is not an available option on the knives manufactured in Taiwan. I did not want the micarta badly enough to sacrifice the historically consistently excellent heat treat of the Griffin Design models that have been made in Taiwan for the last 10 years, in exchange for micarta handle scales and the unfortunately hit and miss heat treat of the Chinese models. So I opted for grivory and sought out an after market scale maker for them. As it turns out, that is a lot less complicated and persnickety to do on the SCHF42 Raven and SCHF42D Mockingbird with their leather sheaths as you saw in this thread https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/schrade-schf42-raven-how-it-came-to-be.1604258/ than it is to do with the SCHF55 Blackbird with the complex nature of the hard molded multi-carry sheath the knife handle snaps into.

Absolutely! Thanks for designing such a wonderful knife and also the great deal on the scales and sheath.

I think you made the right choice by forgoing the Micarta and sticking with the manufacturers in Taiwan. The steel and how it's treated is the heart and soul of the knife! If you don't have a blade that's designed very well with great steel and heat treat, what's the point of upgrading the handle?

You're correct that the knife doesn't click into the sheath 100% with the Micarta scales, but I've found that it still holds it VERY securely. I can shake sheath upside down rather vigorously and the knife still doesn't break free. I went on a little bit of a power tool buying spree over the last week so I plan on trying to touch up the scales a bit to see if I can get a better fit.

I'm loving the knife!

 

[Fixall]

I'm a bit behind on posting pics of new knives and updates, but I have another shoulder surgery tomorrow and I'm really uneasy about this one for some reason... So instead of updating this thread, I'm gonna go burn off some anxiety and smack things for awhile.

 

[bikerector]

I'm a bit behind on posting pics of new knives and updates, but I have another shoulder surgery tomorrow and I'm really uneasy about this one for some reason... So instead of updating this thread, I'm gonna go burn off some anxiety and smack things for awhile.

How do you like the froe?

 

[Fixall]

Surgery went well.

I’ll post an update when I recover with the new knives I’ve picked up and “work in progress” pics of the scales I’ve been working on.

How do you like the froe?

I really like it! I think switching to Micarta from Dymondwood was a great choice on Buck's part. It feels so nice in the hand and seems to dissipate the shock a bit better. The Buck Factory Authorized online sale is still going on so you can find one for about $115 from a BF supporting vendor, which I think is much more reasonable than the regular price of $145.

If you don't mind Dymondwood and the color red... You can find the old model of the 108 on clearance for under $75 at a couple BF supporting vendors. Great price for a big ol' hunk of 5160 with the BOS heat treat!


The only bummer was the the sheath has a nasty twist to it and when I emailed GPK, they said all of the sheaths they received were twisted They sent me some pics and offered to swap it out for one with less of a twist though (great customer service!!!), but I decided against that. In the end... I probably won't be carrying this on my belt even when I'm out in the sticks, so the sheath really isn't a big deal.

I might just see if @Makael can make me one of his beautiful sheaths for it anyways.