And so it begins.... (My adventures into Alox!)

[Sidhartha]

very nice!!  you are getting serious in this, congrats!

btw i really like that golden pin, it looks very cool   .

[Syph007]

very nice!!  you are getting serious in this, congrats!

btw i really like that golden pin, it looks very cool   .

lol it was all i had on hand to test fit...

[bushidomosquito]

That looks great. So much sturdier than the spacer keyring and in the Urban Pioneer it puts the keyring right in the center layer. Now you just have to rout out a hundred or so and send them to me so I can tumble polish them. 

[Sidhartha]

very nice!!  you are getting serious in this, congrats!

btw i really like that golden pin, it looks very cool   .

lol it was all i had on hand to test fit...

i have done the same a few times 

[Syph007]

That looks great. So much sturdier than the spacer keyring and in the Urban Pioneer it puts the keyring right in the center layer. Now you just have to rout out a hundred or so and send them to me so I can tumble polish them. 

Or waterjet!!   I don't have a band saw, so I have been hack sawing them to rough out, then filing to get close, then routing.  Probably about 30 minutes each, so 100 wont happen too quickly... 

[Syph007]

Happy days are here, we have colors!!!  They called just as I was leaving the office so I grabbed them on the way home.   They were out of orange dye so I ended up getting hard anodized black, red and blue!

[Gareth]

look excellent Syph.

[Sidhartha]

ooo like the red ones!

[MadPlumbarian]

ooo like the red ones!

  I like the Blue!!!  JR

[Syph007]

ooo like the red ones!

  I like the Blue!!!  JR

Ya, I'm totally happy with the blue. I was going to just get the rest all red when he said he was out of orange dye, but he saw me hesitating and they offered a discount on the blue run since I was originally wanting orange, but Im completely happy with the blue.  I'll have to start saving scales up again and get orange another time.

[jan.]

I thought that they only can do HAIII in black or dark grey?

[Syph007]

I thought that they only can do HAIII in black or dark grey?

Me too, but he tells me that his way works for color.    Maybe they arent mill spec HAIII, I dont know, but it's around 55 RC and regular anodizing is about 35 so its for sure hardened.  The non hard anodize he does is shinier, while this is duller but still quite nice I think.  I'll take a pic comparing this red to the stock vic red, its quite a bit darker.

[Syph007]

I finally got some time out in the shop to put together an HA red urban pioneer.  I love the red!!!

Since the scales were getting stripped and re-anodized anyhow, I took a few extra steps to increase the quality of my product.  If you've noticed on the inside edges of alox scales, they are actually kind of sharp. I sanded all my scales and just very gently rounded that edge which will prevent easy chipping that happens with standard alox scales from the factory. 

Since I need the center screw countersunk, i also pre-drilled those out so that the after anodizing I need to do zero drilling and the finish is left perfect.  Drilling normal colored alox scales out for this is delicate work.













I'm very happy with the red, and will for sure be running this color again.

[bushidomosquito]

Not as thrilled about the blue as I am with Vic's electric blue standard anodize but smurf that red looks good! I'd like to get my hands on a few of those for personal use. Red Alox has really grown on me and I like that shade a lot.

[Gareth]

they really do look excellent Syph.

[Syph007]

they really do look excellent Syph.

Thanks!  The red really did turn out pretty much perfect.  Here's a high res shot that I think really shows the detail.  It's a very nice matte finish.

[MultiMat]

That looks GREAT 

[Sparky415]

Lovely work and the red is very 

[bushidomosquito]

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You're "Somebody finally ordered a blue one" comment to me got me thinking and I'm going to make a prediction. Those blue scales are going to be rare and valuable someday. They aren't nearly as popular as the red. We're going to loose interest in running them especially if he can get orange going. Then we move on to Cerakote and are only doing HA in red or black and maybe orange and then we move on to our ti and G10 scales and eventually our entirely 'us' made knives and blue HA becomes a cool novelty that pops up in picture threads now and again with everyone asking where it came from.

If I were a collector I'd order every blue scale you have in a different configuration and sit on them for a few years. 

[Syph007]

The blue does look nice though, but I understand why most people favor the red.  I am curious to try OD Green scales with black tools, it might look nice.  Too many mods and not enough time!

[Sidhartha]

  very nice blue!! i liked it a lot!

[user24]

Yeah I like the blue too, I just wish it had a silver shield.

[Syph007]

Yeah I like the blue too, I just wish it had a silver shield.

It's on my list of things to test, but I think sanding the shield border and cross to expose the aluminum, then putting sealer on that will probably work.  I think..

[Lynn LeFey]

I just finished reading this thread... wow. Some gorgeous work here. I LOVE the SAKs with screws, and double-love the blue alox handle scales. The black and reds are nice. The blue is spectacular. Taken altogether, screws, anodizing, and polishing the spacers elevates an already lovely object to a true work of art. And I'm not even a raging SAK fan. I can imagine how true fans feel toward your work.

Simply awesome.

[Syph007]

I just finished reading this thread... wow. Some gorgeous work here. I LOVE the SAKs with screws, and double-love the blue alox handle scales. The black and reds are nice. The blue is spectacular. Taken altogether, screws, anodizing, and polishing the spacers elevates an already lovely object to a true work of art. And I'm not even a raging SAK fan. I can imagine how true fans feel toward your work.

Simply awesome.

Thanks Lynn.  The funny thing is, I wasn't much of a SAK fan either before I joined this site.  I only owned 1 SAK. Then I saw all the alox models which I didn't even know existed and I went a bit crazy with buying all the models.  Then I realized that the pioneer model was pretty much the base model and there weren't alot of options or scissors  , so then the modding ideas started popping up and its been a crazy modding hobby since then!   It's fun though and I still keep getting new ideas.

[nuphoria]

What she said!

This has turned out to be a really great project.

[Lynn LeFey]

Thanks Lynn.  The funny thing is, I wasn't much of a SAK fan either before I joined this site.  I only owned 1 SAK. Then I ...

'Then I'... Two dangerous words on this site. 

When >I< joined, I didn't own any SAKs. Now... 2. And I was here for the plier based MTs. 

Quote from The Godfather: 'Just when I thought i was out... They pull me back in.'

[user24]

Yeah I like the blue too, I just wish it had a silver shield.

It's on my list of things to test, but I think sanding the shield border and cross to expose the aluminum, then putting sealer on that will probably work.  I think..

When you get that done, you'll have to send one to me. For, uh, testing... 

[MultiMat]

The blue does look nice though, but I understand why most people favor the red.  I am curious to try OD Green scales with black tools, it might look nice.  Too many mods and not enough time!

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What about a traditional green scaled urban Pioneer  .
I wonder if a 2 tone would work ie black one side & red the other OR BLACK one side & GREEN on the other  .

Does your HA fella do plain old GREEN 

[Threeme2189]

As I probably said before you have done an awesome job!
Where can I sign up for the testing phase?