I am finally at the end of a long and somewhat frustrating journey to make my Hogue Deka V2 look... different.
More images (and, yes... I'm a lefty)
I'm not making this post as a road-map to follow, but rather as an account of the challenges, pitfalls and possible solutions one would encounter if should they decide to walk this path.
The beginning, wasn't so bad. I heard some buzz about the Hogue Deka V2, absolutely loved the blade shape and the axis lock and bought one (https://www.smkw.com/hogue-deka-able-wharn-blue). I immediately found I didn't like the scales and the blacked out hardware on the satin silver blade just... bugged me. The scales were easy enough to fix. The rest was a bit of a challenge.
Instead of a blow-by-blow, here are the parts I wound up buying and some of the steps I took to "make them work". I read somewhere that "some Benchmade parts work on the Deka", so there are a lot of Benchmade parts on the list and this list only represents items (or parts of kits) that are currently on the knife. There were other parts/kits ordered, of course.
This is a list of parts/kits that I purchased. None were sent to me for any reason other than I gave up my money and waited for items to arrive in my mailbox.
1) Scales and Backspacer:
Scales - https://originalgoat.com/collection...cts/expanded-xl-aluminum-scales-hogue-deka-v2
Backspacer - https://originalgoat.com/collection...products/backspacer-xl-aluminum-hogue-deka-v2
These "dropped in" as you'd expect from a company like Original Goat. Got the XL as I gouged my palm fiddling with the Deka wearing it's original scales.
2) Scale screws:
https://www.amazon.com/TEAMWILL-Titanium-Benchmade-Bugout-Shipping/dp/B08RBL4D36
Bought this set to have silver screws for the scales and to try the pivot. The pivot was too small. The screws worked though they're T6 screws and not T8s, so if you want to preserve the "T8-ness" of your hardware, look elsewhere.
3) Lock bar:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1187494172/axis-lockbar-for-benchmade-full-size
I found a poster, on Reddit IIRC, that said they made "a 940 lock bar" from "an Etsy seller" work on their Deka. I found that a number of individuals had tried the Glow Rhino axis lock bars with varying degrees of success. Based on all of that, I ordered both the axis lock bars for both the Benchmade 940 (and related models) and the Benchmade 551. The axis lock for the 551, listed above, fit.
4) Pivot:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1347147697/mini-griptilian-555-556-557-titanium
A lot of modified Deka's I've seen forgo swapping out this part, but I just didn't want a black pivot. Since the Benchmade Bugout pivot was "too small" and I'd read/heard that Benchmade only had 2 diameters of pivot barrels I took a leap of faith on a Griptilian. Ahh... just the right diameter! BUT... too long by close to 3mm. I thought about cooking up spacers of some kind to eat up the gap, but figured the pivot would stand a bit too proud of the scales. Found a local machine shop to shorten-up the pivot and cut the threads deeper so it would actually screw together. Another option, if you can find someone that actually makes the parts themselves would be to see if that someone would modify a Griptilian pivot to fit a Deka. Even if you were to find someone that does that, I wouldn't be overly confident that the pivot would fit diameter wise. I feel pretty fortunate that this one fit and I was able to find a machinist willing to even attempt to modify a titanium piece. I mean, the Deka isn't made by Benchmade... is it?
5) Thumbstud:
https://glowrhino.com/products/tritium-benchmade-thumbstud?variant=42103356817622
I read in numerous places that the Glow Rhino Benchmade thumbstud would work on a Deka, so I confidently ordered one. Well... kinda "yes" and kinda "no". The diameter of the factory thumbstud, and therefore the hole in the blade, is very nearly the diameter of the Glow Rhino Benchmade thumbstud itself with the "outer shoulder" of the thumbstud being just a little bit larger than the hole. The ideal solution would have been to make a spacer of some kind that "took up the space" between the portion of the thumbstud that passes through the blade and the larger hole in the blade. Not having the tools, know-how, nor desire to pull that off I instead cut teflon tape into multiple very narrow strips and built up the diameter of the thumbstud *just enough* to center into the hole in the blade. I then applied Loctite to the threads and cranked it down. It appears to be holding so far, but very much not an "ideal solution".
6) Pivot alignment tool:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/802588665/pivot-alignment-tool-for-axis-lock
While not "necessary" this did make working with the Deka a lot easier, especially as I switched pivots repeatedly trying to figure out what I would ultimately do. The "big end" works on the Deka as many reviewers, and I, will attest.
So, in the end I got to where I was heading.
Was it "worth it" from a financial outlay standpoint? Not really... it's no more serviceable now than it originally was and I spent quite a bit just "trying stuff". That said, at least it looks like I want it to now and it still "works".
Would I do it again? No. There's very little aftermarket support, at this point, for the Deka outside of the excellent scales made by Original Goat. You are beginning a long and fraught journey if you try to do what I did. I would advise you either tolerate the Deka in it's current form (since maybe some aftermarket support will spring up, but I wouldn't hold my breath
) or, IMHO, just get a Benchmade of some persuasion and modify till your heart's content.
I do not consider myself an expert undertaking a task like this and maybe there's someone out in the world that knows a more sure path from a stock Deka to "where you want to be". This is just an account of my experience.
Even though they're not listed here, my thanks to any and all posters on the many knife resources (including BladeForums.com) available on the web that acted as guideposts along the way.
More images (and, yes... I'm a lefty)
I'm not making this post as a road-map to follow, but rather as an account of the challenges, pitfalls and possible solutions one would encounter if should they decide to walk this path.
The beginning, wasn't so bad. I heard some buzz about the Hogue Deka V2, absolutely loved the blade shape and the axis lock and bought one (https://www.smkw.com/hogue-deka-able-wharn-blue). I immediately found I didn't like the scales and the blacked out hardware on the satin silver blade just... bugged me. The scales were easy enough to fix. The rest was a bit of a challenge.
Instead of a blow-by-blow, here are the parts I wound up buying and some of the steps I took to "make them work". I read somewhere that "some Benchmade parts work on the Deka", so there are a lot of Benchmade parts on the list and this list only represents items (or parts of kits) that are currently on the knife. There were other parts/kits ordered, of course.
This is a list of parts/kits that I purchased. None were sent to me for any reason other than I gave up my money and waited for items to arrive in my mailbox.
1) Scales and Backspacer:
Scales - https://originalgoat.com/collection...cts/expanded-xl-aluminum-scales-hogue-deka-v2
Backspacer - https://originalgoat.com/collection...products/backspacer-xl-aluminum-hogue-deka-v2
These "dropped in" as you'd expect from a company like Original Goat. Got the XL as I gouged my palm fiddling with the Deka wearing it's original scales.
2) Scale screws:
https://www.amazon.com/TEAMWILL-Titanium-Benchmade-Bugout-Shipping/dp/B08RBL4D36
Bought this set to have silver screws for the scales and to try the pivot. The pivot was too small. The screws worked though they're T6 screws and not T8s, so if you want to preserve the "T8-ness" of your hardware, look elsewhere.
3) Lock bar:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1187494172/axis-lockbar-for-benchmade-full-size
I found a poster, on Reddit IIRC, that said they made "a 940 lock bar" from "an Etsy seller" work on their Deka. I found that a number of individuals had tried the Glow Rhino axis lock bars with varying degrees of success. Based on all of that, I ordered both the axis lock bars for both the Benchmade 940 (and related models) and the Benchmade 551. The axis lock for the 551, listed above, fit.
4) Pivot:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1347147697/mini-griptilian-555-556-557-titanium
A lot of modified Deka's I've seen forgo swapping out this part, but I just didn't want a black pivot. Since the Benchmade Bugout pivot was "too small" and I'd read/heard that Benchmade only had 2 diameters of pivot barrels I took a leap of faith on a Griptilian. Ahh... just the right diameter! BUT... too long by close to 3mm. I thought about cooking up spacers of some kind to eat up the gap, but figured the pivot would stand a bit too proud of the scales. Found a local machine shop to shorten-up the pivot and cut the threads deeper so it would actually screw together. Another option, if you can find someone that actually makes the parts themselves would be to see if that someone would modify a Griptilian pivot to fit a Deka. Even if you were to find someone that does that, I wouldn't be overly confident that the pivot would fit diameter wise. I feel pretty fortunate that this one fit and I was able to find a machinist willing to even attempt to modify a titanium piece. I mean, the Deka isn't made by Benchmade... is it?
5) Thumbstud:
https://glowrhino.com/products/tritium-benchmade-thumbstud?variant=42103356817622
I read in numerous places that the Glow Rhino Benchmade thumbstud would work on a Deka, so I confidently ordered one. Well... kinda "yes" and kinda "no". The diameter of the factory thumbstud, and therefore the hole in the blade, is very nearly the diameter of the Glow Rhino Benchmade thumbstud itself with the "outer shoulder" of the thumbstud being just a little bit larger than the hole. The ideal solution would have been to make a spacer of some kind that "took up the space" between the portion of the thumbstud that passes through the blade and the larger hole in the blade. Not having the tools, know-how, nor desire to pull that off I instead cut teflon tape into multiple very narrow strips and built up the diameter of the thumbstud *just enough* to center into the hole in the blade. I then applied Loctite to the threads and cranked it down. It appears to be holding so far, but very much not an "ideal solution".
6) Pivot alignment tool:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/802588665/pivot-alignment-tool-for-axis-lock
While not "necessary" this did make working with the Deka a lot easier, especially as I switched pivots repeatedly trying to figure out what I would ultimately do. The "big end" works on the Deka as many reviewers, and I, will attest.
So, in the end I got to where I was heading.
Was it "worth it" from a financial outlay standpoint? Not really... it's no more serviceable now than it originally was and I spent quite a bit just "trying stuff". That said, at least it looks like I want it to now and it still "works".
Would I do it again? No. There's very little aftermarket support, at this point, for the Deka outside of the excellent scales made by Original Goat. You are beginning a long and fraught journey if you try to do what I did. I would advise you either tolerate the Deka in it's current form (since maybe some aftermarket support will spring up, but I wouldn't hold my breath
) or, IMHO, just get a Benchmade of some persuasion and modify till your heart's content. I do not consider myself an expert undertaking a task like this and maybe there's someone out in the world that knows a more sure path from a stock Deka to "where you want to be". This is just an account of my experience.
Even though they're not listed here, my thanks to any and all posters on the many knife resources (including BladeForums.com) available on the web that acted as guideposts along the way.
