"Improving" my cheap pocket knife ...

I normally carry a Spyderco (have several), but I could not resist trying out the Kershaw Thermite.


Extremely sharp out of the box, but blade was not centered, I did not like the blade assist (specially at closing time - hated to "work" to close it), and it was just plain heavy!


Since it is such a low cost knife, I did not feel bad about experimenting a little


Bone-stock, compared to my Milie:

























Of course when removing the assist "spring", one must drill so that the liner lock can "bite" into the blade and keep it closed:





Align mill as best as possible:








I got lucky position-wise, but the first attempt was a little too shallow:











So I had to re-align again, and try once more:








Now I have full engagement on the detent ball. First open, then fully closed:










My next mod was the enlarge the area to engage the lock - purely ergonomic reasons:





Much better now:







But that leaves a hole since that area of the scale was hollow (for the assist spring). So I am using 2-part epoxy to fill that void, and also to make a one piece (along with the steel liner) for the next operation:











I had two do it in two sessions:







Now I can proceed to make the holes to take weight off:













I also did an internal cut on the scale opposite to the lock, which is hidden from the outside:





Cleaned up the edges:

















But it was still not "quite" light enough:





So I made up some Titanium spacers to replace the plastic piece between the two scales:















Had to make a custom sleeve since my chuck won't hold stock that thin:











Then drill and trim each of the 3x spacers:











Still have a little bit of epoxy to clean up on the bottom scale, but this is how the spacers look in place:


















And yes, it is lighter in weight now:







Still need to do some work on that pocket clip - don't like it too much.

Nice job. :thumbsup:

patients of a saint i'd say. nice wip photos.

Love the project! Upgrading a mediocre knife like that is great.

-Ron

Nice pics and nice knives...

One thing though, if you think your knives are cheap, you're going to flip when you see mine... The local hardware store sells these for $1.99 each. I love them and buy another each time I go there (a couple times a week). They function very well and the blades are strong and sharp. The one kept in my pocket gets used a dozen times a day. I've been tempted to make better scales for them but that would surely mean they'd end-up in irretrievably lost at the bottom of a bilge...




Ray

Good point Ray - "cheap" knife is a relative thing )

The Kershaw Thermite is "based" on a Hinderer knife that costs $300+, so to get many of the basic features for $24 (on Amazon), that is pretty good.

Very cool modification! I've always had an obsession with knifes, but never learned how to properly sharpen one until fairly recently. I always use a Lightening OTF knife when I'm in the shop. Unfortunately not legal in most states, but as a utility knife at home...fair game! The automatic in/out sure makes it convenient for one-handed use.

I wanted a little bit more grip in the back spine, so using a round head end mill, I grooved the back side:











Still at 3.9oz - not much removed to make a difference, but much better grip now.

I always like your projects and write ups.
:thumbzup:

Thank you. I have similar plans for the second one I bought, so this first one is the "test bed" for the mods