Help with S T R E T C H

[JspyEDC]

Seems that nearly 50% of the time, one of my STRETCH's (SS/Kraton or CF ZDP) ends up in my pocket as my carry of the day. I guess the size, blade shape or whatever is the reason.... it finds it's way into my pocket more than any other Spydie I have.

Anyway, I love my CE SS version, particularly when dressed in jeans, but the Kraton seems to catch on the denim and I have a tough time removing it from the pocket. Since I love SS knives in general, I do not want to have completely different scales put on my Stretch... Is it possible to have some place like SFSW to remove the Kraton and do some stone inserts within the Stainless scales?

[tonydahose]

Hey Jess , alot of places can do tha sort of thing...Brad or Steve to name a few on here....i am sure that sfsw can as well with whatever material you would like (i was thinking of the dinasuar bone or tooth that Paul has in one of his kiwis would look great) or you can even try it yourself with some exotic wood if you have a few woodworking skils. all you need is some epoxy, sandpaper and a few hand tools.

[The Deacon]

Not sure Jess. Imagine they could do onlays like they do on SS Delicas and such, but less sure whether they'd want to try doing inlays. It's a pretty complex outline and I can tell you the "landing pads" in the middle make fitting inlays a really tough job. Fella that did mine in micarta had a really hard time of it. And stone is a lot less forgiving to work with. If I were to consider going that route again, I'd get someone to grind down or cut out the pads first. Alternative might be some kind of plastic material that could be poured into the cavities and allowed to harden.

[tonydahose]

i guess i was wrong...i thought it would be flat under the inserts..i am guessing there is a lil curvature to them as well? so whatever is put in its place needs to be somewhat flexible or contoured to fit exactly? right?

[cobrajoe]

Some people have considered putting in some sort of epoxy to fill the inserts. That should flow to every corner and never pull away from the sides/back.

I don't know of anyone who has tried though.

[The Deacon]

i guess i was wrong...i thought it would be flat under the inserts..i am guessing there is a lil curvature to them as well? so whatever is put in its place needs to be somewhat flexible or contoured to fit exactly? right?Tony, the bottom of the recess is flat. The "problem" is the outline is almost totally a series of curves compounded by those oval "landing pads" Spyderco put in for the clip...


http://www.paulberetta.com/images/knives/stretch_right.jpg

Great idea with the Kraton inserts, but definitely complicates fitting a new insert into the recess without leaving gaps somewhere. And, from what I've heard, it's next to impossbile to get the Kraton out in one piece to use as a template. Drilling or milling them out wouldn't make the job a piece of cake, but it would be at least a bit easier.

[tonydahose]

And, from what I've heard, it's next to impossbile to get the Kraton out in one piece to use as a template. .

i would have just thought to try putting a pice of paper tightly stretched over it and running a pencil across or if that didnt work because of the curves then some clay like substance (the blue stuff teachers use to keep posters up but are still pliable at the end of the year is what i was thinking...) filling in the recesses, pulling it out and using a sharpie over the top and then stamping that on a piece of paper. i guess if it was that simple somebody else would have done it already...:p

[jimbo@stn24]

Speaking from experience, and ineptitude, it is a difficult job as Deacon has already posted. I went the route of grinding out the pads and it was still a bear of a job to get the inlay to fit with all of the different curves. After about 200 try fits I got the micarta to fit to where it just looks crappy.:( And no I won't post a picture.

Hats off to the man that did the inlay on Deacons Stretch, there is some talent and patience in that work.

[tonydahose]

looks like it is one of those things that looks simple on paper and is a PITA to actually do.

[JspyEDC]

thanks for all the great help/suggestions....

Maybe I should make a real effort to enjoy Kraton more!

Deacon, who did your canvas micarta work? That turned out beautiful..

[The Deacon]

thanks for all the great help/suggestions....

Maybe I should make a real effort to enjoy Kraton more!

Deacon, who did your canvas micarta work? That turned out beautiful..Chase Axinn of CHAX Knives (http://www.chaxknives.com/).

[scout]

I mixed deer antler dust and epoxy and filled in mine. It worked out great and even gets grippy when wet!

[The Deacon]

I mixed deer antler dust and epoxy and filled in mine. It worked out great and even gets grippy when wet!This post is worthless without pictures. ;) I for one would love to see how it turned out. :D