Plier head comparisons and observations (photo heavy)

[surfdaworld]

After getting bitten by a sharp corner on the plier head of my Kick, I took a closer look at the similarities between the heads on a few models and was intrigued by what I found.  Here are the models I looked at:




First off, I noticed that although the Kick and the ST300 lack the blade safety lock of the Wave and Surge, they kept the same plier head design with the 'wedge' on the rear portion of the head which is intended to engage the blade safety lock mechanism:


However, there is a distinct difference in the head of the Kick versus the rest.  In the photos below, you'll see that there are distinctly sharp edges and corners on the Kick head from the milling process, while the Wave, Surge, and ST300 all have slightly rounded corners almost as if the heads were cast instead of milled:






Is this just a minor difference on my specific Kick in the way it was milled, or is there something inherently different about the manufacturing process on these heads (or this particular vintage of plier head?)

[Poncho65]

Great pics surf I thought all the heads were cast and then ground down to spec Also if you turn the Kick sideways you will see that it has a flat side compared to the other LM of the same period This is a design element carried over from the SideClip to allow it to fit in a smaller set of handles This could account from the sharper edge Thanks again for sharing the pics

[surfdaworld]

I missed that! Great observation---I can absolutely see the flat side now that you pointed it out. That would account for at least some of the more aggressive milling on the Kick.
With all that wasted width in the handles, I'm thinking there might be some distinct modding possibilities for this one.....perhaps a pair of scissors?

[gerleatherberman]

I believe some members in the mod section have added PST 2 scissors to the Kick. Also found on the OG Wave and Flair(Pulse has similar scissors, but they are designed for a lock and not slip joint).

[Poncho65]

We had a member here several years ago (Spoonrobot) who modded a Kick with a very excellent amount of tools (from both the Blast and Fuse I believe) , he made it bladeless because it fit for his job ( I think he was a line chef at the time ) So they are very moddable