Spyderco Forums

Hello everyone and welcome to the thread I postponed for way too long !

Here, you'll find stuff I made. Only in relation to Spyderco of course (the rest is on instagram, when I force myself to upload ).

It started with Mule Team handles but it quickly has evolved into many things. I started making my own knives with the goal of making folders once I'll own the right tooling for what I'll ask myself to make a "good folder".
I'm making custom scales for Spydercos, repair broken blades.... And I might or might not start to regrind Spydercos too, as well as experiment with heavy customization ( "Chop" mods, stonewash/blackwash, crazy grinding patterns, etc.)

My name is Robin H., and that's why my maker's mark is RHK. I found out that the acronym is being used in the USA, but not in Europe (and with a different meaning, obviously). My father is a photographer that focuses on nature and uses a lot of white, a lot of his most known photos are really reminescent of Japanese art. He has a signature seal he uses to sign his pictures. I totally got inspired from it to create my mark.



Here's an example of his work. No FX, he's using overexposure for the white background, and knows how to handle a butterfly in order for it to stay calm and be pretty :



I don't know why I'm making this thread on my birthday, but the people I'm the most close too here pushed me many times to do so (thanks guys!). I guess the 20th of January is as good a day as any.

Happy Birthday Robin …so glad you started this thread and I can’t wait to see more of your work

First knife related creation was the restoration of an old knife that was in the family of a friend for several generation. It's nothing special when it comes to materials or construction, but it is significant for them.



Then, directly on to the Mules, Xplorer helped me a lot with his thread in the Mule Team subforum, and with his advices.

My first one was a gift for my father, and the second one was for me. 2 MagnaCut Mules, knives that have been used a lot since then !





I came back to correct my mistakes on both handles recently, and take better pictures. But I think it'd be cheating to show more recent work, as I improve each time.

I then worked on the SRS13/SUS405 Mule. I'm not proud of that one, I'll come back to it one day too. The ergonomics are so good, but I went too far in the rough shaping stage, I don't like it's overall curves.



After that, I made other stuff before making a new Mule, and it kinda marks a shift in quality, because of simple experience. I made every Mule with a 1x30" combo belt grinder and half broken drill press (I thought it was an unprecise tool, until a friend told me mine was broken).

By the way, all the Mule Team handles were fashioned with Stabilized Elder Box Burl, including this RWL34 and then REX76 and AEB-L
On this RWL34, I started to really feel comfortable with my tools and knew the shape I wanted to give my handle, it helped a lot to go further in details and finition.




Then, it's time for my personal favorite, this CPM-REX76 Mule. It was the first time I had such a feeling when finishing a project. I had the feeling of having done everything I could and to be completely satisfied with my work. I never felt it that much. And that says a lot, for me . There's purple G10 liners here, even if we can't see them on both pictures

Then, I made an AEB-L Mule for a forum member, which I really thank for the trust and appreciation of my work !
Since I had two and planned to make one for myself, I let him choose his favorite.
I sadly did not take "good" pictures of them, but here's two videos :





The next Mule Team should be 52100 and vintage micarta, in a new shape and rough finish, or same shape and high gloss polish (or K294, or M398, I'm late...).

I wanted to start easy with custom scales, so I went with the Chokwe and made a contoured carbon fiber show scale for it. Satisfied from the result, I made the set for the Watu in the same material 3 sets later



Since my Chokwexperiment worked, I went directly for my favorite one. Linered Native 5 got the treatment. I used Ziricote wood because I instantly fell in love with the patterns it can offer. Now that I've worked more natural woods I know that it's not the hardest, by far, but it is very cool to work with.


PS : Fun fact about carbon fiber : It's awful to dig a lockbar relief with a wood chisel. Took my hours. I knew I had to change method in the future, and I did

SaltyCaribbeanDfly wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 20, 2024 6:10 am

Happy Birthday Robin …so glad you started this thread and I can’t wait to see more of your work

Thanks Salty ! I hope it will meet your expectations

Then, it's micartime ! It took me a first set to realize I did not love the high polish on most micartas, and that the low grit finish was good, but not it yet.





With the Tenacious, I found how to expose the canvas and have this comfy yet grippy feeling in hand. The first set is like shown right up, but after that it is the new finish. I haven't looked back yet. I can't show every set of scales I've made but I've made at least 8 for the Tenacious (and 6 for the GB2).





I also started having fun with backspacers. This one was made from beige & mokka paper micarta

I found out that some french suppliers had fat carbon materials products. So, I dove right in with some Jungle Wear Watu scales and Arctic Storm Smock scales

Outstanding Robin ! I wish I could say I had a favorite but love them all . The Chokwe / Watu CF solid scales really changes the personality of the pair . I like how you have experimented with different mediums . Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful day ! Buddy Dad

Beautiful work Robin!!

Oh wow, well done Robin!
This thread is a nice gift, thank you for this and Happy Birthday! :)

I guess you'll need proper grinding equipment if you plan to touch the blades as well, but I wonder if you've been using any power tools for the scales or just rasps and sandpaper?
We're in the process of moving to a new house with a small workshop, and this is exactly what I'd like to try my hands at. I wish I'll be able to come close your work, this is really good looking. Bravo!

Next step: making custom leather and kydex sheaths? :)

Cheers,
François.

Thanks my friend, I promise, the more recent stuff will get uploaded here too! And the most exciting is yet to come, including some Ziricote Mini Manix scales for a close friends of ours

Amazing work, you are very talented my friend

Thanks Salty, I try to get "better" each time. But people tend to ask me for the same thing they liked when they first saw it, so there's some repetition, which i try to avoid on this thread

I might not be in good chronological order but the goal is to spam pictures so that we're up to date with 2024.
Next is a CruCarta PM2 a friend of my father fell in love with. His son is enamored with north american culture and knives. His dad thought a customized US knife would be a great gift for his 20th birthday.

Here's the gift in question, with some Space Coral SS fat carbon. Worst type of carbon I've had to work with ! The fibers are all going perpendicular to the surface, it goes everywhere, even through thick clothes and it irritates a lot. But the results are just so good they can't be captured by my poor photographing skills

Coming back to my favorite material, wood . A certain member from the forum, who happens to like the Mini Manix, inspired me to try making a set for the Manix 2.
It's when you dig lockbar relief slots and CBBL slots that you wish you had a mill .

Ramonade wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 28, 2024 9:45 am

Coming back to my favorite material, wood . A certain member from the forum, who happens to like the Mini Manix, inspired me to try making a set for the Manix 2.
It's when you dig lockbar relief slots and CBBL slots that you wish you had a mill .

Ha ha ha ha ah ! I’m sure Mr. Certain Forum Member is going to love these scales ! Beautiful Robin ! Buddy Dan

Manixguy@1994 wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 28, 2024 10:00 am

Ramonade wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 28, 2024 9:45 am

Coming back to my favorite material, wood . A certain member from the forum, who happens to like the Mini Manix, inspired me to try making a set for the Manix 2.
It's when you dig lockbar relief slots and CBBL slots that you wish you had a mill .

Ha ha ha ha ah ! I’m sure Mr. Certain Forum Member is going to love these scales ! Beautiful Robin ! Buddy Dan

Oh i like them alright…
I like them so much i already placed an order…

Robin, these are all AMAZING!!!