Kydex "wave" opener/zip-tie alternative

[Noa Isumi]

So many of us love Emerson Waves and wish we could open others in a similar manner.  We are all familiar with zip-tie mods both with and without nuts. But what if you dont want to remove your thumb stud?
My Recon1XL has been edc for months now, and while its size is awsome it does not quick draw by any means that I've found. In fact it is probably my slowest single blade and even some MT/SAK can beat it. So I decided to make a wave for it.
This project was done with some scrap Kydex I had, ST300, shears, and a lighter for heat. That bic  is also why its a little burned. I simply heated the kydex, folded it to fit, drilled the hole with the awl and did a lot of trial and error fitting.
 The design is simply a tab that folds over the spine of the knife and is held in place by the origonal thumb stud which it is hot pressed to fit on to. This could be made a lot better if I had felt like digging out my kydex press and tools. That obviously isn't happening.

The V2 was suposed to be slimmer and cleaner in appearance.I tried using some diffrent tools on this one. Some worked, some didnt. It however was too short to open reliably, and ultimately snapped.
So I put the V1 back on and adjusted it some more till I was happy. As crude as this one is, it works quite well. I found the hight gives it a more solid opening which is a must with the triad locks strong backspring.

This will probably remain in my EDC until Christmas at the least as I am not planning any trade outs till the end of the year. I will still use the thumb stud most of the time but now I have a faster option too.

Sorry for multiple edits, every time I read this I find more typos.

[Noa Isumi]

More v1

And the start of v2

I should explain  the pic of the throwing knife and the croc...I was using them as straight edge tools to press the spine ridge on V2 while the mini pry bar matches the Recon in thickness.

[Noa Isumi]

More V2

[Noa Isumi]

Busted v2 and v1 re attached final

[sLaughterMed]

Looks good actually, not a bad execution at all. It's a great solution for those who dont love spydie holes

[Noa Isumi]

Drawing; V3 machined and file fit stack, no hot form. I probably won't get to try and build this one till later this weekend.

With other solid materials and or 3D printing it would be possible to do the two halves as solid pieces instead of stacked layers the way I have drawn. The sides d don't have to be even either it could be all stacked on one side with a cover plate for the other.

I doubt  this could be mass-produced easily due to differences in the spine to thumb stud height and thumb stud to handle scale spacing on different models of knives as well as variances in size and shape of the thermostat itself. All of these issues would cause it to need fitting to each different model of knife. The end user would have to do final fitting themselves, which is not ideal.

But it's that custom touch that makes it a fun project for the hobbyist and for us.

[Noa Isumi]

Brainstorming session of other options and ideas:

Solid one-piece machined with cross hole and screw or pin that replaces tumb stud directly mounting opener in place of the factory thumb stud

Three-piece consisting of two side plates at 1 spine plate that tab locked together; spine plate has holes for set screws that clamp down on spinrapplying pressure to lock the whole thing together.

Possible use oval hole tapered at the bottom similar to an alligator wrench like shape to allow for it to naturally seat against varying sizes of thumb studs when pressure is applied to  set screws

Use of set screws on spine of all models to reduce shifting and rattling.

Extension tab hook or angle of front to leverage anchor for opening.

And to answer anyone's questions whether I'm actually thinking of manufacturing something like this the answer is no.
This thread is simply to organize my thoughts and share this mod and related ideas with others in this community.

[SteelRaven]

Have you tried Tuf glide with your Triad locked folders?

[Noa Isumi]

No, I generally use either Hopes9 gun oil, or RemOil spray on my gear.

If your question is in reguards to my "slow draw" comments, they have nothing to do with the mechanics of the knife. Remember this is the XL version, 5.5in blade & 6.75in closed. It is a big knife, and thats what I love about it. The size also limits your draw, regardless of if you use the clip or not.
 If you draw from the tail of the knife you have to transition grip to even reach the thumb stud, let alown rotate it the almost 2in of travel to open. The other option is to grab it by the pivot; digging your hand deep in your pocket to grab it, or carry it tip down so the pivot is on top.
While any of these are fine under normal circumstances, what happens when you're stressed? All that fiddling can be an issue.

I came up with this idea after trying the old "toss, draw and chop/stab" trick. Needless to say unless the knife was already out of pocket, and in hand my pizza box oponents won every time. This trick was something I already knew I could do it with other blades. Funny how a little bit of fun can show you something you'd overlooked.

Cold Steel does put anangled opening tab on thier more expensive mega-folders like the Rajah (pic2), Talwar, etc. but not on the cheaper Recon1XL or VoyagerXL. This tab looks like it could be used as a wave, but I dont own one so I will defer to anyone that does.

[SteelRaven]

I own the Rajah 2 and you're right...it's a BIG HEAVY thing....I actually am considering a belt sheath as off as that may sound! WAVING that honker takes practice, and it doesn't help that I'm the size of your average Ghurkha and have huge mitts! So there's that I guess...

I use it as an outdoor blade...other stuff is available for SD.

I thought you could remove the "stubby" little thumb studs all together. If you could do this, I would just fabricate a more useful thumb stud and drill and tap for desired fasteners...if I had a shop to do that. I've got voyagers that could stand that update for sure.

There was a company a while back that made a thumb stud that affixed with a simple set screw for spines as thick as a BUCK 110. May work on some CS, IDK??

The Tuf Glide stays put after drying and slicked up my folders like snake snot on a glass doorknob it takes 90% or denatured alcohol to wash it off...the dry lube left behind doesn't migrate or evaporate and it takes very little to get it moving. They also make a grease that has the same features, but it stays wet.

Rem oil won't cut it for me. BALLISTOL is better there IMHO, it's not as bad to evaporate etc,  and I worked for a gunsmith so the smell of HOPPES is a rough thing for me.

Those two  are personal gripes..they really don't mean much in the light of this.

[SteelRaven]

 

I own the Rajah 2 and you're right...it's a BIG HEAVY thing....I actually am considering a belt sheath as off as that may sound!

WAVING that honker takes practice, and it doesn't help that I'm the size of your average Ghurkha and have huge mitts! So there's that I guess...

The tang of the blade was like a millimeter proud at the spot just behind the locking knotch and it REALLY SLOWED IT UP BAD!
So I just put a tad of toothpaste in the action and worked it, added a few drops of water if it dried out, rinsed and lubed it up.

This micro polished it! Helped just enough to notice without changing much as far as safety tolerances etc.

I use it as an outdoor blade...other stuff is available for SD.

I thought you could remove the "stubby" little thumb studs all together. If you could do this, I would just fabricate a more useful thumb stud and drill and tap for desired fasteners...if I had a shop to do that. I've got voyagers that could stand that update for sure.

There was a company a while back that made a thumb stud that affixed with a simple set screw for spines as thick as a BUCK 110. May work on some CS, IDK??

The Tuf Glide stays put after drying and slicked up my folders like snake snot on a glass doorknob it takes 90% or denatured alcohol to wash it off...the dry lube left behind doesn't migrate or evaporate and it takes very little to get it moving. They also make a grease that has the same features, but it stays wet.

Rem oil won't cut it for me. BALLISTOL is better there IMHO, it's not as bad to evaporate etc,  and I worked for a gunsmith so the smell of HOPPES is a rough thing for me.

Those two  are personal gripes..they really don't mean much in the light of this.

Can you deep grab it in your pocket, rip draw and inertia flip it open without any stud? A slicker lube might help get it going that way too. My Voyager XLs were slow like that, but they're not Triads except for the new clip point...