Post Your Native Series Knife Mods and Inspire Others

[Karl_H]

I thought it would be a good idea to create a thread to share mods on Native series knives that others might be able to draw inspiration from to make their own mods.

I am open to changing the scope of the thread. For now, let's limit the discussion to the following models:
- Lil' Native
- Native 5
- Shaman
- Native Chief

Post any changes that you have made to the knife that you think others might find useful, including but not limited to:
- Blade mods (including edge geometry)
- Lock mods
- Scale mods
- Clip / carry mods

[Karl_H]

I will start with my Native 5 mods.

Here ere are the photos of my modded Native 5.







Aesthetically, it may not look as good as an unmodded Native 5, but it is now much more comfortable to use in every way (hammer with choil, hammer w/o choil, saber with choil, saber w/o choil, pinch grip, precision grip, reverse hammer grip, chest lever grip).

I removed the spoon pocket clip and don't plan on replacing it. The knife fits perfectly in the fifth pocket of my pants (tip down is my preference). No need for a clip or pouch.

A list main scale mods are:
(1) ramps from the pivot to the blade tang
(2) removing scale material behind the choil to make arc of the curve match that of my finger and create enough space for a full 4 finger grip behind the choil
(3) flattening the "palm swell" bump
(4) rounding all of the edges
(6) sanding down the bidirectional texture.

Note: "Finish" was done with 60 grit sand paper. Further discussion of scale mods can be found at viewtopic.php?f=2&t=89845

I reprofiled the edge of the Rex 45 blade to 13 deg per side, which is as low as I could go with the KME system that I own. No issues with chipping or rolling thus far.

[knifemovieguy]

This happened 3 years ago after vinegar forced patina. Probably alien existence proof.

[vivi]

Rex45 Chief



Black clip because they look better.




Contoured the scales a bit because they felt too squared off from factory.




Forced patina with vinegar.



Gave is a coarser edge finish.

Can't see it but I also polished up the internals making the action extra smooth.

Karl, funny seeing you mod the palm swell that way. Back in the day I had the original Native, and I modded the palm swell to resemble what the Native 5's look like.

You took it one step further!

Doing that mod helped me get a full grip behind the choil, so I'm sure yours does a good job too.

[Karl_H]

Forced patina with vinegar.

Gave is a coarser edge finish.

Can't see it but I also polished up the internals making the action extra smooth.

Nice work! I didn't have much interest in forcing a patina on my REX45 blade, but your photos have inspired me to give it a shot.

[The Deacon]

An early Native 5, originally G-10, customized for me by fellow forumite Gull Wing with scales of Mexican Ebony.

[aquaseafoamshaman]

Cerberus Worker Shaman

[Matus]

I am considering to do a blade & handle chop on my Rex 45 Chief, but I am not quite there yet.

[JRinFL]

Paul, that Mexican Ebony is stunning.

[Airlsee]

An early Native 5, originally G-10, customized for me by fellow forumite Gull Wing with scales of Mexican Ebony.

Your images are not showing up...I don't know if that's just me.

[The Deacon]

Your images are not showing up...I don't know if that's just me.

Sorry about that, I suspect you're using Google Chrome as your browser and it doesn't like links to sites that do not have https URLs. In that case, you might be able to get them to show by right mouse clicking on the word "image" and selecting "Open image in new tab" from the menu that pops up.

[Airlsee]

Your images are not showing up...I don't know if that's just me.

Sorry about that, I suspect you're using Google Chrome as your browser and it doesn't like links to sites that do not have https URLs. In that case, you might be able to get them to show by right mouse clicking on the word "image" and selecting "Open image in new tab" from the menu that pops up.

That works, thanks! I'm using Edge, but it's chromium based. I really like those scales!

[bbturbodad]

Nothing too extreme, just some aftermarket clips, a few reprofiled edges, and a set of micarta scales on the Rex 45 Lil' Native.

[jpm2]

[PeaceInOurTime]

That's interesting! Do you happen to have a pic of it closed?

[Bolster]

(2) removing scale material behind the choil to make arc of the curve match that of my finger and create enough space for a full 4 finger grip behind the choil
(3) flattening the "palm swell" bump
(4) rounding all of the edges

Karl, I am a big fan of your mods.

I really understand #2, making the radius of the guard match your finger radius. That's a big thing for me too. (7/16" finger radius for me.) I raised the radius issue in a post some time ago and NOBODY was sympathetic with it, so it must be just you and me, pal.

See: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=89207

If you look at the mods I made to my backpacking Mule you'll notice I did the same exact thing: Decrease the radius of the guard curve. Makes a major comfort difference for me and it effectively "lengthens" the handle by allowing your finger to grip closer to the blade.

#3 also. I did same flattening of the "pregnant cow" shape of my backpacking mule. No discrespect to pregnancy or cows, I like them both. Just sayin' I don't need so much palm swell. I don't have a huge hollow in the palm of my hand that needs filling.

#4 I also did to my Mule, but then, it's a mule, with no rounded edge whatsoever.

So: What method did you use to modify the arc/radius of the guard?

[Zive]

If Bob Terzuola designed a Native...

[Bolster]

I don't own a Native, and that's partly for the reasons that Karl modified out of his Native. If I had a Karl'd Native I'd be more interested. Still doesn't beat the Caly3 for me, so I'll probably stand pat, but I *do like* Karl's mods.

[Abyss_Fish]

Had a Native Salt with a G10 body and an mxg clip for ages, but I kept having trouble with rust on the backspacer so I ditched it for a siren.

Love the Native though and I’ve had many of them, I’ll likely pick another up if the right new G10 model comes along.

[rabbitanarchy14]

my old mods

Ok so this is the first time doing this so please bear with me. The life of my lil native. I have not used it rough by any means, but it has been grinded, sanded, soaked, dremeled and a few other things. When I first received my lil native I was happy with it. It felt comfortable in the hand, it was a great size and weight. As I used it however if became apparent that I needed to make a few changes for me. I firstly didn’t care for how squared the edges of the scales were, so I sanded them down and made a decent bevel on the edges, so it was nice and smooth. I started with 800 grit wet but later went to 320 as it was faster.
Message_1551282547981.jpg
Used it a month or so then I wanted more changes, so I made the groove where your middle finger would go, wider and deeper. It did help with opening it. I also did this with 320 grit wet. I also flat sanded the scale so it was much smoother. While it was apart I sanded the inside edges of the scales too just so it didn’t have anymore sharp edges. When I did buy it the action was a tad gritty so I polished the liners, bronze washers and the tang with 2000 grit sand paper wet. It is like glass. I even tried a new lube, the Benchmade bluelube. It seems to do very well.
20191001_095105.jpg
I liked those mods so far and it did annoy me that the blade would hit my finger when closing. So out came the Dremel and I sanded down the ricasso so it would not hit my finger, while there I also added a sharpening choil. It made sharpening easier. At this time I did also drop the edge from a 40 degree inclusive to 30 degrees. Looks amazing and it slices so much better now.
20191001_095239.jpg
These mods did well for me for another month or so. Well as I was using it a lot more I found that I would turn my knife sideways while cutting and the back binger choil would be in the way. So I went online to see how I could fix this and it came to me while looking at the vrango that I did not even need it there. So once again the Dremel came back out and I ground it down so it sat almost flat across the handle. This mod I did render before I did any cutting.
Render with a line across the scale.
lil 100.jpg
After I did take the finger nub off I fine sanded all the edges with 2000 grit wet so it was even, and looks great.
All Together I Probably have 40 hours into it. If I get another in a sprint it will be easier and faster to get there though.
I like s30v. I did have to use the diamond SM rods to reprofile it.
I have enjoyed the experience and have learned much through it.
20191001_095033.jpg
20191001_095136.jpg

i did give this knife to my buddy who kept asking me to do one for him.