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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Cold Steel GI Tanto handle re-wrapping guide

The handle re-wrapping was a part of a bigger project, where I removed the top guard of the knife and applied some camo pattern on the blade (ala Extrema Ratio style).


The original handle wrap looked like this:






Removing the original wrap:


After that I removed the leather cover of the handle to expose the holes for fixing the new paracord. First I drove the paracord through the hole close to the end of the handle, then keeping equal lengths each side I used the other hole close to the blade as you can see in the pictures:


I fixed the leather on the handle with double sided adhesive tape:



Then I clamped the knife in a vice and pulled both of the strings to the same side. After that I started the wrapping putting one twist per side while keeping the strings thight:



It sounds a bit confusing but it's easier to do than to describe. When I reached the end of the handle I made a simple knot and melted the end of the cords. It's definitely not the most elegant method, but it works well.

The end result:




Let me know what you think about the result.

Isti










9 comments:

  1. Looks good. Awesome job! I'm doing mine next...

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  2. Thanks!
    Don't forget to show the result! :)

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  3. Looks like the navy style sea camo. It looks good with tanto shape....

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  4. It was inspired by the pattern of the Extrema Ratio knives. :)

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  5. Thanks for this awesome tutorial. My GI Tanto came with the polypropylene scales but I didn't want to worry about screwing around with the little allen bolts that hold them in place so I opted for the P-chord setup. Turned out great! Now I think I'm going to grind down the top quillon guard like yours. http://s14.postimage.org/4pz2yrd8h/tanto.jpg

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  6. Nice job! Don't forget to post pics of the final result too! :)
    Did your GI Tanto come with the new secure-ex sheath?

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  7. What paint/color did you use on your blade for the camo? My GI Tanto has the plastic scales but I am thinking of wrapping mine now.

    /dave
    gaslightdave2013@gmail.com

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  8. Hi
    I used an ordinary garden - patio furniture spray paint for the stripes.
    Post a pic when you finish your project.
    Good luck for the modding.

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