New Svord Mini-Peasant. Short Review and Mods

[gustophersmob]

Well, for awhile now I had been pondering getting a friction folder, primarily based on the low cost option of the Svord Peasant.  The idea of such a simple folding knife, with few parts, appeals to me on some level.  I really trend to minimalism and simplicity in most things.

I was a bit hesitant though, even with the low cost, based on most reviews saying that the Peasant's level of finish was quite poor.  I'm used to even my cheap knives being phenomenal, thanks to the spoiling of Victorinox and Mora.

I eventually convinced myself it was worth a shot, especially because there are a lot of interesting mods out there, and I thought it could be a fun project. So, I finally decided to bite the bullet and get one.  I ordered mine from Baryonyx knife co, which is where I also get my Moras.  I'm not associated with them, but they are very good and I highly recommend them.

When it arrived, my first impressions confirmed what all the reviews had said.  Neither handle scale was a perfect match in shape to the other, the finish on the wood was less than pretty, and it was quite obvious that it was built to a price.  (The first pic below shows what it looked like when I got it, except I had started to reshape the skinny end.)  The blade, however, cut like a light saber, so I saw the potential with just a little work. Needless to say, it did not remain in its factory state for long...

Based on looking at many Peasant mods done by others, I quickly decided that I wanted to add a finger choil.  I also found that I liked the feel in hand better if the blade folded out of the skinny side of the handle.  This meant I had to add an 1/8" brass stop pin on the other side, which was probably the trickiest part getting everything to line up and drill correctly. I also has some copper sheeting, and decided to make some simple copper scale liners for a bit of visual flair. I also made a copper washer out of a penny to keep the opposite end from squeezing together too much. I finished it off by rubbing the handles with linseed oil.

Pic #1 attached shows it basically stock, except I had started to sand the skinny end when I remembered I wanted a before pic. The rest of the pics show various angles of the finished project.

I'm quite pleased wit the results.  With only a few hours in it, it has transformed the knife.  I was initially kind of disappointed I couldn't get the choil shape quite perfectly circular, but then I decided strict perfection seemed like it would violate the spirit of the Peasant knife (good excuse, huh?!?). I am looking forward to developing a natural patina on the blade from use.

I plan on reporting back as I use it and discover its uses and limitations.

[gustophersmob]

Couple more pics showing the liners and washer.

[Sparky415]

Good job and nice ideas 

[gustophersmob]

Good job and nice ideas 

Thanks! I basically just cobbled together things I saw others do on the web.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

That looks much better now mate

And I'm copying the lanyard idea too

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[enki_ck]

Very nicely done.

Looks like an interesting project. I might try something along those lines myself.

[zoidberg]

Drilling a hidden stop pin isn't much fun.
Sweet looking mod you've done there.
Interested to hear how it works out for you.

[gustophersmob]

Thanks, all! 

So far I've had some fun whittling a bit with it, though nothing serious.  I went back tonight and smoothed the back of the blade a bit where my thumb rests.  The thinness of the blade makes it a bit tiring for long whittling sessions.

So far, though, I'm very pleased with how this turned out.  It is a no nonsense knife, and a fun way to do a bit of modding with out being out too much $$$ if it gets messed up.

[zoidberg]

Is there a reason for the reversed fastener?

Just noticed the blade stamp is different than on the one I did for Kirky.

[gustophersmob]

Is there a reason for the reversed fastener?

Just noticed the blade stamp is different than on the one I did for Kirky.

The countersinks in each handle were different depths, so i put the female side of the chicago screw in the one that was most sunk.  My thinking was that since I added thickness with the liners, that I wanted as much of the female (thicker) side to go through as possible so the pivot point would be stronger.  Doing it this way allowed it to go all the way through one scale, the liner, blade, next liner and a bit into the other wooden handle.  Hopefully that made sense 

I noticed the mini's seem to have a different mark than the full size, but I don't know if it is a new stamp in general, or just a different one for the smaller blade.

[gustophersmob]

Wanted to bump this with a bit of an update.

Shortly after I finished this mod last year, a friend of mine was in town visiting and saw it and really liked it.  I ended up gifting it to him for his birthday a few weeks later.

He and his family moved to Central America a few years back, and I was interested in seeing how a carbon steel knife with unfinished wood handles would hold up in such a humid and rugged environment.

Just the other day, he sent me this quick email:

"[...] That freaking awesome knife. I've carved everything from toys to tree limbs to goat hooves to primitive tools with it. I really can't begin to describe how tough, practical, and sharp that knife is. Infinitely more than any other knife I've ever owned."

So, I guess that is as good an endorsement as any!

[Aloha]

I love when I gift a tool and the person totally falls for it.  Nice to hear he's getting lots of use from it. 

[Gareth]

Well it doesn't get much better than that I'd say.

[zoidberg]

Good to hear and thank you for the update. 

[Outsider]

That's certainly a sterling endorsement!