I'm blown away by how negative people are being in the comments about a guy just having fun and doing a project. I thought it was a great video and had some pretty interesting mods.
I found one of those knives years ago and just tossed it in my tool box. About 7 years ago I decided to use it to baton firewood until it breaks. I use a ball peen hammer. I still use the pos every year.
I think so. I thought it was pretty easy to pickup that this is not a bush worthy knife after modding. It is something to do as a tinker or to test your own skills out with. Better than with a $80 knife imo. 😊
I bought one of these and I powder coated the whole thing matte black and sharpened it. Really I couldn't believe how good of an edge that thing took. I also have a Ka-Bar Marine fighting knife. I think I will take the Harbor Freight knife apart and reinforce the mounting of it.
Another sweet mod for this HF knife is to shorten and narrow the blade and put a spring in the hollow handle. If you build a separate impact spring charger and use a die spring you can get crazy speed and distance. The reason to start with this knife is to make a bunch of them and sell them for huge profit.
Nice beater knife for the glove box or in the truck. I wrapped one in green twine and it looks like a Rambo #1 knife. Crazy glue the blade to the handle.
Yesterday, on Fox News, it was reported that a man was arrested in New York for wearing a ski mask and being in the country illegally. The news reported that he was "trying to conceal a 14" knife in his pants." Turns out the picture of the knife was the HARBOR FREIGHT SURVIVAL KNIFE! Did anyone else see that?
In my opinion, i would not perform the acid based darkening to the blade, but leave it stock. I have found that applying the faux patina on the blade will look nice, but each time using the knife especially for camping duties, the acid coating becomes marred and eventually expose the stainless steel of the blade.
A trick I have used to make knife handles longer for a screw-on pommel is to weld a bolt to t tang and then grind t sides flat. You can make it full tang and then use epoxy, that's not going to break very easily. Nice finish.
yes its a basic knife so people please dont get bent out of shape , i have my kbar as my fav knife but i also have several of these , my mod is removed blade , reground end of blade that connects to hilt, so as to slide tang another 2 inches or so up into the aluminum handle, drilled though pin hole and resecured with solid fastener, inside the handle where tang now goes in aprox half way into hollow compartment, have drilled through handle in 2 places and through blade and pinned and filled hollow cavity about half full with jb weld type product which envelopes the blade tang in solid jb mixture about half way inthe handle now , so space cavity is about half of original for storing ferro rod, tinder, etc. leaves me with approx 6 inch blade left which is plenty, blade will never slide out , and when breaks it will be the blade will snap since it is not quality like my kbar but im pretty confident it will take quite a bit of stress to snap the blade, i plan on doing several tests on it to see how much it will take before breaking, and how much weight or pressure it takes to snap it. and when it does break then will just make it into a smaller fix bladed knife. .. i never throw away broken knives fixed blade or folders , can always repurpose into smaller knives. same goes for old sawsall blades , turn them into suvival blades.
Hey man I just found your channel and subscribed , I love it ! About the knife mods , another thing you can etch the blade with is Apple Cider vinegar or gun bluing works great. I really like the way the knife turned out , great job. Can't wait to see the next video keep up the great work.
Met Gil Hibben once or twice in Louisville, Ky. That guy could say with conviction " That's notta knife." Reach over to one of his creations, hand it to you and say " Now there's a knife. "
I thought it'd fit the moment. Hibben once remembered working on a piece when Stalone walked into his shop. I belive Hibben was the maker of some of Sly's prop weaponry in his movies. As they talked he asked how much for that particular knife. Wasn't cheap. Hibben quoted a price and Sly peeled off the price in cash and handed it Hibben. They talked a while longer and Stallone left. I believe knife Hibben was working on at the time he called a Butterfly. Handle grasp in the middle with the blades running down both sides of the fist. If you can dream it Gil can make it.
First chance I get, I will take it into the field and stress it some. I will post that video . . . my prediction: At some point, the knife will fail, but it will likely take a lot of punishment before reaching that point.
@@kurtjensen7264 the thing is that, if you want to experiment with modifying a knife, this is a great knife to donor with. If you mess it up, you are only out $10. But you can perfect techniques that you can then use on more expensive knives.
Pretty good project!!! JB Weld is pretty good stuff but I think I would have drilled a complete through hole, slathered the JB Weld to the shank, inserted the blade into the handle and then punched in a steel roll tension pin into the hole and sealed off with JB Weld--absolutely zero chance of that coming loose! You can also make your own handle dip by making a solution of 100% Silicone diluted down to dippable cosistency with VM&P Naphtha, which dries to a rubberized silicone texture. Can also be used for waterproofing cotton bedsheets to make tarps--credit to NighthawkInLight. Was your etching solution sulfuric acid drain cleaner??? 🤔 PS--The Silicone Rubberizing solution can be bottled and stored in a jar for later use. I have mine in a repurposed brown glass kombucha drink bottle.
My knife was so hard that the drilbit didn't cut. So i just epoxied the knife and screw into the handle. And then upgraded the 'survival' items to include lifeboat matches and more hooks and line, ect.
When working on attached knife handles blades are usually prtected by wrapping blade in several wrapes of tape. This does two things. Protects smith from getting cut and protects blade from scratches (like when you held down blade w clamp). Sorry, could not continue after that little fiasco. JW
@@jumpnjack8686 that was a good observation. If the blade had been higher quality, I might have thought of that. Honestly, given the cost of the knife, I didn't think about scratches. I was too focused on the process, I guess. With the next one, I will make sure to protect the blade.
@@CowboySurvival it wasn't the value of the blade i was pointing out. You commented in video about blood thinners did not want to get cut. It was about not getting cut that was important and the first of two things tapping the blade does. "protects smith from getting cut" in my original message.
This style marked the Rambo knife rage of the 80's. The handle, guard junction was weak, the blade tang not able to go beyond the hollow handle. Chris Reeves made a hollow handled knife which was worked out of a single blade blank. There were no junctures, just one piece of steel. I boycott Chinese products and hollow handled survival knives..........
was the compass N heading off about 30 or so degrees? That may match up with where the Magnetic pole is now, major pole excursion, it's skipping along at about 3.4 to 4.3 miles every 2 weeks to 4 weeks. Lately it's been accellerating. It is approaching Russia. Sextant, Sun Compass bandana, Cardinal settings, Star Chart bandana etc may be good fixes.
I once heard a search and rescue/survivalist or bushcrafter, whichever you prefer, say a sharpened rock can do everything an esee 6 or bark river bravo can, just less efficiently. And I believe that statement. Il stoll take my esee 4
I have done field test with this knife. 4 of them at 3 months apart to make sure that the breaks were not just a flaw in the knife as it was made. This product is a wanna be woodsmen life. The hole design is a piece of well, not enough that you need to waste your money. I use tops knives when in the field doing, well, anyway. U pay for what u get. Think, can u depend on ur life with this knife? Maybe if u camp out in ur back yard.
The handle is screwed onto the hilt. I found this out when i tried batoning with it. The handle started pulling off rite over the threads. I pretty much did the same thing to the knife using sheer strength golf club epoxy setting the blade in the hilt and epoxying the handle to the hilt. No more problems, solid!
What would Dad say about it? Would have liked to see how you did apply the not JB Weld stuff so to know Reminder 🎗️ about the spacer and did you drill out the set screw hole? But did like the color make over This weekend 8/10-11 can get the knife 30% off. Thanks for the video
The vid was getting a little long so I skipped the weld part on the vid. I mixed up a batch, got a long skinny syringe and squirted it in through the handle. I did not drill the screw all the way through.
@@richgenalski8639 I will assume that you are asking WHY I did not use a real pin. I felt that that would be redundant, since I used the JB weld....no real need to do both, but your point is well taken.
@@mortykatz8818 personally, I prefer leather. Also, with a long blade like this, if you are going to carry it, it must swing freely on your side so that does not obstruct the movement of your leg.
Thanks for posting this. When reattaching the blade, how about sanding the tang of the blade and adding some epoxy, then using jb weld and the set screw?
The sawtooth back it not functional because the teeth are straight. It would be a good project to use a punch to offset the teeth more like a saw blade so at least it would cut and not just make a slit and just get stuck.
I do not disagree. If anything, the "saw teeth" are more of an aggravation than anything. If it was just a right angle grind across the top, it would me more useful as a spark-er than it currently is.
Great vid! Thanks for showing how to improve quality. Not sure why all the fuss… It’s titled Mod video, not the best knife on the market… 🙄 We all know there’s expensive knifes you can buy without having to adjust it’s quality….
You may consider yourself an expert, and you may be one for all I know. But always remember this : what you consider "useless" might just be the thing that saves your life. What one person says is useless another person might think is a necessity. And not everyone is capable of affording to "upgrade" a knife as you say.
@@Rick-if5zb I assume that you are talking about the little survival packet that is supposed to fit in the handle? Your comment is not altogether clear.
Nice presentation but with all due respect, "survival" requires quality. A stainless steel knife from China with an aluminum handle (and not a full tang) is far from being quality. This may be a decent garden knife but I would not want to stake my life on it. Clearly, this is a silly and extremely CHEAP knock-off of the Buckmaster. None the less, you provide a good way to improve a junk knife.
You are correct. The knife is cheap, as I pointed out. That wasn't the point. It was a fun project. The fact that the knife was cheap meant that, if I screwed it up, it really didn't matter. It was a very fun project.
This is the very night that I keep in my car to repel boarders with. And it's just about right for that because if the police confiscated well it cost me 10 bucks. Turn the light to cheap pistol then I keep in my pocket. If the police confiscate that oh well I can buy another one. But I think you're right I wouldn't want to have to be doing any kind of outdoor woodwork with this cheapo knife for long periods of time. And who knows how long it would last. I have another knife that is Damascus steel in staghorn I would probably use that for my survival.
I turned my knife into a spear by using a old National park service wooden hiking staff that I threaded into the hollow handle, I have it next to my bed...poke poke!
What makes you think it is his "knife of choice?" It is just a project to make a video about. Once the blade is secured to the handle and water proofed with a strong epoxy, it makes a great cheap beater knife to keep in a vehicle.
LOVE the vid! Have been VERY interested in this knife and project. My thoughts are all the above plus a spear handle. Would LOVE to be able to SCREW in a long handle to the knife. Maybe a couple of them crossed up on my WALL! My WIFE will LOVE IT!!! Haw Haw!!! m
I don't mean to rain on your parade but the biggest issue is that the steel blade sets down in Cast Aluminum about 1 3/4" give or take. Chopping may be out of the question with this knife. (Actually that is a safety issue) This knife is a cutter and should not be used for anything but that. Fact is I'd be careful what you do with this knife. It's a cheap knife and should be treated as such.
@@skipjames52 no problem. I don't consider it raining at all. Note that I never claimed the knife was quality. It was just a fun project to make it "better". Because this knife is so inexpensive, it is a great knife to experiment with.
@@skipjames52 I see nothing wrong with your advice here. When I started this project, it was a challenge to see if I could make the knife aesthetically better. But you are correct, there is little that can be done with the quality.
Very pretty conversion but I hope you never have to it in anger, basically if you want a cheap knife with a rubber handle just buy a MORA which is a decent blade and has been̈ tried and tested over the years.
Let's spray on rubber coating is usually pretty weak I've tried it a number of different times and it was just not very good not something I would probably better off to wrap it with a cord or wrap it with a bicycle handlebar tape also the shank on the knife blade is really pretty short it doesn't give a lot of integrity and it looks like this is something that's going to break and fail fairly easily and the screw-in pin that you took out replacing that with JB weld I think you're better off to drill that hole completely through and put a serious rivet in there and yeah go ahead and use J-B weld to seal it up
@@richgenalski8639 probably more than tenth! It just looked like a fun thing to try....and it was! It's no different than the 100 or so who do the same video on modifying their Glock or modding their truck.
I thought plenty of those knives and modified them similar to what you did and I've actually tried the terrorism of them up oh yeah you can tear them up if you really want to but if you use them correctly they will work and they could save your tail end in a survival situation
All that work, and you put the same garbage Chinese blade back in! Take it out in the woods, or if you are close enough to the ocean, take that garbage knife, throw it as hard and far as you can! Then get a real knife! I would recommend a Mora, superb steel, and will not break the bank! They are all Swedish steel, most are solid, but some are still made with laminated steel, with a super hard steel in between two slabs of softer steel. They will take and hold an incredibly sharp edge. Unlike any of the cheap Chinese Communist produced knives!
I don't enjoy being negative, and if doing these mods is fun for you, go ahead and do them, but I'd never trust this "knife" for anything more demanding than slicing open an envelop.
only real mod for this knife would be to rework the blade to make it shorter and full tang and put on a wood handle or paracord wrap. even under light basic use it will just break where it connects to the handle, even the more expensive versions of this style always break under light basic use. would rather drop the 10 dollars on a moraknife which can take a beating even batonning even though they are not full tang. can also do nice mods to moras and the sheath and make it a nice little survival kit. if you really really want a hollow handle knife then look into the cold steel bushman as it is all 1 piece of steel, and they roll the handle up and weld the seam. though this does make both ends of the handle open still provides you with a strong hollow handle, and it only runs around 20-30 dollars on amazon. personally i would rather turn a sawzall blade into a knife and paracord wrap the handle and make a little sheath out of some pvc pipe then buy one of those "rambo" knives.
@@CowboySurvival ya hence why these gimmick knives are best left on the shelves ;). rather easy to make a knife out of a sawzall blade not sure if the existing heat treat/temper is great or needs to be re-done. metal files make good knives too, and if you avoid heating it up too much while shaping it only have to temper it as they are hardened but not tempered. nice part is if done right you end up with a blade that either has a working saw on the back, or working metal file, or could use a wood rasp for a bushcraft knife with a bonus.
Neat upgrade. Don’t let the armchair scholars get to you in the comments. Yes, it’s a cheap knife. Did you make it better? Yes, definitely. Is it the best all around survival knife. Nope, because it’s a cheap Harbor Freight knife made from cheap materials. Can you cut stuff with it? Yup. Can you skin an elephant with it? Yes, but it will likely need a lot of resharpening for the full skinning job. Will it whittle a toothpick in the back country of Alaska? You bet, but why would you take a cheap Harbor Freight knife to the back country in Alaska? I mean, seriously…. Why? Would it be good to give to a nephew to beat on things with? You bet, cause why worry about a cheap Harbor Freight knife? It is what it is and a lot of commenters seem to think you’re trying to recreate Excalibur. It’s a fun little project that has ideas that could transfer to other projects.
You are correct. The edge quality leaves a lot to be desired. However, that was a trade-off for this project. Being so inexpensive made the knife a perfect item to experiment with.
Honestly, I saw so many videos, I wanted to see if I could do some mods on it myself. I was a super fun project; made even more fun by the fact that the knife only cost $10. Remember, I am educated as an accountant! lol!
COPY OF A KNIFE MADE BY BUCK. A. FEW YEARS BACK. I HAVE A BUCK MODEL. THAT I BOUGHT. WHEN THEY CAME OUT. OTHER THAN MAKING A SANDWICH....I HAVE NO PRACTICAL USE FOR IT. !! I WOULDN'T DEPEND ON SURVIVING _IN A WALMART STORE WITH FOOD AND ALL OTHER NECESSARY ITEMS PROVIDED
NEVER NEVER RELY ON A. KNIFE. THAT DOESN'T HAVE A. FULL TANG......... WITH. ONLY. ONE EXCEPTION....AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE MAKERS. NAME......YOU CAN SEARCH FOR HIM ON. THE WEB......BUT YOU BE SURE. HIS. KNIVES. WON'T. BE. IN. THIS. PRICE RANGE. OF THIS THING !!!!!!!!!!!😂😂😂❤❤😂😢😮😊😊😢😢
Wasted none of my life. The knife "looks" great. The project was a lot of fun. Had almost 70,000 views, picked up almost 400 subscribers, and helped me get monetized. I would say that this was a VERY successful project. Now the challenge is to find another subject that can also garner a lot of interest. Also, I got lots of great suggestions for additional things to try. Why would I do all this to an expensive knife? Doing it so an inexpensive knife meant I didn't have to worry if I messed it up.
@@kellytoth760 I appreciate your pint of view. I am fully aware that the knife is low quality...that is kind of the point. This was a project to make a plain knife LOOK more appealing. In the end, the rubberizing of the handle did make a functional improvement, I think.
If you're planning on buying this knife as anything but a fun toy to play with, for God's sake don't. This is not a knife you will be able to rely upon for anything of a serious nature.
I don't know . . . If John Wick can kill three people in a bar fight with a pencil, I think I could get through a weekend camping trip with this knife . . . just sayin' (just funnin' a little . . . your point is a valid one)
For fun. For people who are just beginning with this skill set, having a simple project helps to get them started. Plus at $9.99, it doesn't matter if you screw it up.
@@snowjoe43 sorry you feel that way. Several people have noted that they don't have a particular high opinion of the knife . . . and I get it. But at $9.99 it was a perfect knife to experiment with. Think of it as "practice" for a more serious project later on.
Three minute video ran on for 18+ minutes. Way, way, way too redundant on each step. Still have a $10 knife at the end. This is the first time I've seen your videos, nothing here makes me want to explore further. Sorry
Great mods’ damn shame the knife is a dud though’ the attachment to handle is way to weak to be relied on’ but for a display piece it’s awesome’ especially your mods’ looks very similar to the first Rambo knife.
@@chrismayo4902 I agree. But working with a cheap knife to build the associated skills is the way to go I think. I would have NEVER used a high quality knife for this project. I would have been scared that I would screw ot up! lol!
@@CowboySurvival absolutely! 110% facts pal’ I also learned and perfected mods doing the same thing’ I personally think if the handle wasn’t hollow and had a full tang (would defeat the coolness factor though) it would make for a very capable blade’ just because a blade is cheap doesn’t mean it’s garbage’ I have been using 8$ 12inch Tramontina machetes for years and they will outperform 200$ machetes all day long, your skills on the mods are top notch and well thought out and you will definitely be going places’ I started out by modding Old Hickory knives into all kinds and shapes for survival and bushcraft’ my edc belt knife is even a well used modded Old Hickory kitchen knife turned into a Kephart profile with oak scales made from a piece of excess flooring with get this! Spacers made from the sides of 2 Rubbermaid trashcans one red and one black’ the possibilities are endless! Subscribed
@@CowboySurvival lmao’ I know’ before youtube I thought that I was the only one tinkering with such things’ turns out that I’m not alone and the people I have met and skills and tricks I learned you can’t get from any book, looking forward to seeing more projects come to fruition
I'm blown away by how negative people are being in the comments about a guy just having fun and doing a project. I thought it was a great video and had some pretty interesting mods.
Nothing wrong with the video, its great! But I would never ever choose that knife for a survival situation. Your life is worth much more than that!
@@ironton655 trust me....for survival, I have better equipment. I chose this one just for this project.
I found one of those knives years ago and just tossed it in my tool box. About 7 years ago I decided to use it to baton firewood until it breaks. I use a ball peen hammer. I still use the pos every year.
@@CowboySurvival I wouldn't waste money on that garbage!
I think so. I thought it was pretty easy to pickup that this is not a bush worthy knife after modding. It is something to do as a tinker or to test your own skills out with. Better than with a $80 knife imo. 😊
I removed the survival kit and found a small Harbor Freight LED flashlight fits perfectly!
Or an ounce of PETN.
I bought one of these and I powder coated the whole thing matte black and sharpened it. Really I couldn't believe how good of an edge that thing took. I also have a Ka-Bar Marine fighting knife. I think I will take the Harbor Freight knife apart and reinforce the mounting of it.
Another sweet mod for this HF knife is to shorten and narrow the blade and put a spring in the hollow handle. If you build a separate impact spring charger and use a die spring you can get crazy speed and distance. The reason to start with this knife is to make a bunch of them and sell them for huge profit.
I like the flex seal handle, Great idea.
As far as I have heard, that short sawback is used to score thick bamboo, or small limbs, so that it is easier to snap them in two with your hands.
Looks like a fun project when you're bored. Have to save that for a rainy day.
For any kind of survival knife, only a full tang and minimum 6mm blade thickness would be any use.
Nice project for a budget knife, looks much better than before. But honestly in a survival situation I'd want a Ka - Bar.
I etch my blades in pickling vinegar. They look fantastic 🇨🇦
Doesn't work on stainless steel.
Nice beater knife for the glove box or in the truck. I wrapped one in green twine and it looks like a Rambo #1 knife. Crazy glue the blade to the handle.
Yesterday, on Fox News, it was reported that a man was arrested in New York for wearing a ski mask and being in the country illegally. The news reported that he was "trying to conceal a 14" knife in his pants." Turns out the picture of the knife was the HARBOR FREIGHT SURVIVAL KNIFE! Did anyone else see that?
Hilarious?? But no I didn't see that,... looks like he didn't 'survive ', as he got caught.
@@daye8132😂
DEPORTATION OR THE ELECTRIC CHAIR
In my opinion, i would not perform the acid based darkening to the blade, but leave it stock. I have found that applying the faux patina on the blade will look nice, but each time using the knife especially for camping duties, the acid coating becomes marred and eventually expose the stainless steel of the blade.
Yep I steard up some JB weld pushed it down the handle let it dry never had a problem with the handle coming loose again
A trick I have used to make knife handles longer for a screw-on pommel is to weld a bolt to t tang and then grind t sides flat. You can make it full tang and then use epoxy, that's not going to break very easily. Nice finish.
yes its a basic knife so people please dont get bent out of shape , i have my kbar as my fav knife but i also have several of these , my mod is removed blade , reground end of blade that connects to hilt, so as to slide tang another 2 inches or so up into the aluminum handle, drilled though pin hole and resecured with solid fastener, inside the handle where tang now goes in aprox half way into hollow compartment, have drilled through handle in 2 places and through blade and pinned and filled hollow cavity about half full with jb weld type product which envelopes the blade tang in solid jb mixture about half way inthe handle now , so space cavity is about half of original for storing ferro rod, tinder, etc. leaves me with approx 6 inch blade left which is plenty, blade will never slide out , and when breaks it will be the blade will snap since it is not quality like my kbar but im pretty confident it will take quite a bit of stress to snap the blade, i plan on doing several tests on it to see how much it will take before breaking, and how much weight or pressure it takes to snap it. and when it does break then will just make it into a smaller fix bladed knife. .. i never throw away broken knives fixed blade or folders , can always repurpose into smaller knives. same goes for old sawsall blades , turn them into suvival blades.
Hey man I just found your channel and subscribed , I love it ! About the knife mods , another thing you can etch the blade with is Apple Cider vinegar or gun bluing works great. I really like the way the knife turned out , great job. Can't wait to see the next video keep up the great work.
Does the Apple cider vinegar give a different effect? Or is it similar in color?
Gun blue does not faze stainless steel. It does nothing to it.
Lookin Like A 50 Year Old Knife , But It’s Been Well Used And Taken Care Of
Met Gil Hibben once or twice in Louisville, Ky. That guy could say with conviction
" That's notta knife."
Reach over to one of his creations, hand it to you and say
" Now there's a knife. "
@@cliffowens3629 I love anecdotes like this!
I thought it'd fit the moment. Hibben once remembered working on a piece when Stalone walked into his shop. I belive Hibben was the maker of some of Sly's prop weaponry in his movies. As they talked he asked how much for that particular knife. Wasn't cheap. Hibben quoted a price and Sly peeled off the price in cash and handed it Hibben. They talked a while longer and Stallone left. I believe knife Hibben was working on at the time he called a Butterfly.
Handle grasp in the middle with the blades running down both sides of the fist.
If you can dream it Gil can make it.
Great video! I would like to see the blade being used to see how strong it is.
First chance I get, I will take it into the field and stress it some. I will post that video . . . my prediction: At some point, the knife will fail, but it will likely take a lot of punishment before reaching that point.
It’s a fun project and for a beginner just starting out it will do
Thanks. Not the greatest knife, but for a project like this, starting with a $10 knife means you can take risks with the project! lol!
I think if it was me, id check the Rockwell hardness, and see if the temper could be improved, and then color the blade with bluing.
I would change the profile of the knife point to a spear point so that the tip is more solid and less likely to break off.
Excellent suggestion!
Great knife conversion
It was fun to watch. And I’m glad you had fun. I too bought this knife. And was very disappointed in the quality.
@@kurtjensen7264 the thing is that, if you want to experiment with modifying a knife, this is a great knife to donor with. If you mess it up, you are only out $10. But you can perfect techniques that you can then use on more expensive knives.
@@CowboySurvival You and Kurt Jensen could try giving it a new Heat Treatment. Then Re Bevel and Sharpen it, like yeh said only out $10 if it fails.
Pretty good project!!! JB Weld is pretty good stuff but I think I would have drilled a complete through hole, slathered the JB Weld to the shank, inserted the blade into the handle and then punched in a steel roll tension pin into the hole and sealed off with JB Weld--absolutely zero chance of that coming loose! You can also make your own handle dip by making a solution of 100% Silicone diluted down to dippable cosistency with VM&P Naphtha, which dries to a rubberized silicone texture. Can also be used for waterproofing cotton bedsheets to make tarps--credit to NighthawkInLight. Was your etching solution sulfuric acid drain cleaner??? 🤔
PS--The Silicone Rubberizing solution can be bottled and stored in a jar for later use. I have mine in a repurposed brown glass kombucha drink bottle.
Great ideas!
My knife was so hard that the drilbit didn't cut. So i just epoxied the knife and screw into the handle. And then upgraded the 'survival' items to include lifeboat matches and more hooks and line, ect.
When working on attached knife handles blades are usually prtected by wrapping blade in several wrapes of tape. This does two things. Protects smith from getting cut and protects blade from scratches (like when you held down blade w clamp). Sorry, could not continue after that little fiasco. JW
@@jumpnjack8686 that was a good observation. If the blade had been higher quality, I might have thought of that. Honestly, given the cost of the knife, I didn't think about scratches. I was too focused on the process, I guess. With the next one, I will make sure to protect the blade.
@@CowboySurvival it wasn't the value of the blade i was pointing out. You commented in video about blood thinners did not want to get cut. It was about not getting cut that was important and the first of two things tapping the blade does. "protects smith from getting cut" in my original message.
This style marked the Rambo knife rage of the 80's. The handle, guard junction was weak, the blade tang not able to go beyond the hollow handle. Chris Reeves made a hollow handled knife which was worked out of a single blade blank. There were no junctures, just one piece of steel. I boycott Chinese products and hollow handled survival knives..........
berry berry good! m
was the compass N heading off about 30 or so degrees? That may match up with where the Magnetic pole is now, major pole excursion, it's skipping along at about 3.4 to 4.3 miles every 2 weeks to 4 weeks. Lately it's been accellerating. It is approaching Russia. Sextant, Sun Compass bandana, Cardinal settings, Star Chart bandana etc may be good fixes.
@@geraldbock1012 in this case, the needle wouldn't spin AT ALL! These button compasses are often hit-or-miss when it comes to quality.
I found that this knife makes a pretty good spear head a shaft would fit down in the handle so it does have a use just not as a knife
I once heard a search and rescue/survivalist or bushcrafter, whichever you prefer, say a sharpened rock can do everything an esee 6 or bark river bravo can, just less efficiently. And I believe that statement. Il stoll take my esee 4
I have done field test with this knife. 4 of them at 3 months apart to make sure that the breaks were not just a flaw in the knife as it was made. This product is a wanna be woodsmen life. The hole design is a piece of well, not enough that you need to waste your money. I use tops knives when in the field doing, well, anyway. U pay for what u get. Think, can u depend on ur life with this knife? Maybe if u camp out in ur back yard.
The handle is screwed onto the hilt. I found this out when i tried batoning with it. The handle started pulling off rite over the threads. I pretty much did the same thing to the knife using sheer strength golf club epoxy setting the blade in the hilt and epoxying the handle to the hilt. No more problems, solid!
It’s a great knife to modify for sure. I had a great time with mine a few years ago.
You should have used a block of wood to clamp the blade. You should grind the tang bigger and put it back together.
I just gave myself a "you should have had a V8" head slap! I didn't even THINK about using wood blocks. That is such a great suggestion. Thanks!
What would Dad say about it?
Would have liked to see how you did apply the not JB Weld stuff so to know
Reminder 🎗️ about the spacer and did you drill out the set screw hole?
But did like the color make over
This weekend 8/10-11 can get the knife 30% off.
Thanks for the video
The vid was getting a little long so I skipped the weld part on the vid. I mixed up a batch, got a long skinny syringe and squirted it in through the handle. I did not drill the screw all the way through.
By the way....Dad might say, "You did WHAT? Why?" lol!
The best modification would be a trip to the dumpster.
Looks good
what u did put a real pin to hold the blade😂
@@richgenalski8639 I will assume that you are asking WHY I did not use a real pin. I felt that that would be redundant, since I used the JB weld....no real need to do both, but your point is well taken.
What type of sheeth do you recommend
@@mortykatz8818 personally, I prefer leather. Also, with a long blade like this, if you are going to carry it, it must swing freely on your side so that does not obstruct the movement of your leg.
Buy a k bar choppy best big knife out there
Nice job!
Thanks. It was a LOT of fun doing this project.
Thanks for posting this. When reattaching the blade, how about sanding the tang of the blade and adding some epoxy, then using jb weld and the set screw?
@@negolfman that might work well.
The sawtooth back it not functional because the teeth are straight. It would be a good project to use a punch to offset the teeth more like a saw blade so at least it would cut and not just make a slit and just get stuck.
I do not disagree. If anything, the "saw teeth" are more of an aggravation than anything. If it was just a right angle grind across the top, it would me more useful as a spark-er than it currently is.
What did you do to improve the sheath?
I actually did. It do anything to the sheath. I might in a later video, but right now, that is not in my skill set.
@@CowboySurvival Looking forward to it
Great vid! Thanks for showing how to improve quality.
Not sure why all the fuss… It’s titled Mod video, not the best knife on the market… 🙄
We all know there’s expensive knifes you can buy without having to adjust it’s quality….
You may consider yourself an expert, and you may be one for all I know. But always remember this : what you consider "useless" might just be the thing that saves your life. What one person says is useless another person might think is a necessity. And not everyone is capable of affording to "upgrade" a knife as you say.
@@Rick-if5zb I assume that you are talking about the little survival packet that is supposed to fit in the handle? Your comment is not altogether clear.
It’s a $10 HF knife RICKhead 🙄-I’m sorry I forgot you were back of the line on brain day, that means STFU and make your own $10 and under channel… 😆
Looks great!
Dump your baking soda solution into your acidic solution . It neutralizes the acid into salt water .
I did a lot of tanning years ago .
Nice
Nice presentation but with all due respect, "survival" requires quality. A stainless steel knife from China with an aluminum handle (and not a full tang) is far from being quality. This may be a decent garden knife but I would not want to stake my life on it. Clearly, this is a silly and extremely CHEAP knock-off of the Buckmaster. None the less, you provide a good way to improve a junk knife.
Survival requires what you have with you. A survival knife may be a razor blade. Idk what you even mean by garden knife either.
You are correct. The knife is cheap, as I pointed out. That wasn't the point. It was a fun project. The fact that the knife was cheap meant that, if I screwed it up, it really didn't matter. It was a very fun project.
@@CowboySurvivalreally nice project!
You'd be better off using an "old hickory " butcher knife for an example and throwing together a pocket size survival kit.
This is the very night that I keep in my car to repel boarders with. And it's just about right for that because if the police confiscated well it cost me 10 bucks. Turn the light to cheap pistol then I keep in my pocket. If the police confiscate that oh well I can buy another one. But I think you're right I wouldn't want to have to be doing any kind of outdoor woodwork with this cheapo knife for long periods of time. And who knows how long it would last. I have another knife that is Damascus steel in staghorn I would probably use that for my survival.
I turned my knife into a spear by using a old National park service wooden hiking staff that I threaded into the hollow handle, I have it next to my bed...poke poke!
Be perfect for sitting in a tree waiting on a pig or deer so yeah👍
I understand this was just a fun project......but do you have a video field testing it?
No....I didn't field test it yet.
Well, I guess I got ripped off when I bought my Randal model 18. I could have just got this knife . It has all the same features.
No offense, but you can afford an Apple watch, but your knife of choice is an $8 Harbor freight knife?
What makes you think it is his "knife of choice?" It is just a project to make a video about. Once the blade is secured to the handle and water proofed with a strong epoxy, it makes a great cheap beater knife to keep in a vehicle.
Choppa k bar best
You are better off with the other model survival they have. The handle looks more like machined aluminum.
You may be correct, but this was such a fun project. And I learned a lot while doing it.
Nice job
LOVE the vid! Have been VERY interested in this knife and project. My thoughts are all the above plus a spear handle. Would LOVE to be able to SCREW in a long handle to the knife. Maybe a couple of them crossed up on my WALL! My WIFE will LOVE IT!!! Haw Haw!!! m
@@Mike-yl6hs one guy said he screwed a broom handle into the hollow handle.
The last time I looked at one of those knives the handle was attached by 4 tabs from the blade bent over inside the handle.
Interesting. I wonder if there was an older model like you describe?
@CowboySurvival There must have been, I saw the other one about 30yrs ago.
I don't mean to rain on your parade but the biggest issue is that the steel blade sets down in Cast Aluminum about 1 3/4" give or take. Chopping may be out of the question with this knife. (Actually that is a safety issue) This knife is a cutter and should not be used for anything but that. Fact is I'd be careful what you do with this knife. It's a cheap knife and should be treated as such.
@@skipjames52 no problem. I don't consider it raining at all. Note that I never claimed the knife was quality. It was just a fun project to make it "better". Because this knife is so inexpensive, it is a great knife to experiment with.
@@skipjames52 I see nothing wrong with your advice here. When I started this project, it was a challenge to see if I could make the knife aesthetically better. But you are correct, there is little that can be done with the quality.
Very pretty conversion but I hope you never have to it in anger, basically if you want a cheap knife with a rubber handle just buy a MORA which is a decent blade and has been̈ tried and tested over the years.
@@VincentSmith-i7o lol!
Let's spray on rubber coating is usually pretty weak I've tried it a number of different times and it was just not very good not something I would probably better off to wrap it with a cord or wrap it with a bicycle handlebar tape also the shank on the knife blade is really pretty short it doesn't give a lot of integrity and it looks like this is something that's going to break and fail fairly easily and the screw-in pin that you took out replacing that with JB weld I think you're better off to drill that hole completely through and put a serious rivet in there and yeah go ahead and use J-B weld to seal it up
your the 10th guy to make this video 😂
@@richgenalski8639 probably more than tenth! It just looked like a fun thing to try....and it was! It's no different than the 100 or so who do the same video on modifying their Glock or modding their truck.
I thought plenty of those knives and modified them similar to what you did and I've actually tried the terrorism of them up oh yeah you can tear them up if you really want to but if you use them correctly they will work and they could save your tail end in a survival situation
At some point, I WILL stress test this knife, but I agree with you . . . use it normally, and it will likely be sufficient. Abuse it and it will fail.
I think the matches are more useful than that cheap ace knife.
The set screw wss the manual connection the epoxy will not hold and it will fail
All that work, and you put the same garbage Chinese blade back in! Take it out in the woods, or if you are close enough to the ocean, take that garbage knife, throw it as hard and far as you can! Then get a real knife! I would recommend a Mora, superb steel, and will not break the bank! They are all Swedish steel, most are solid, but some are still made with laminated steel, with a super hard steel in between two slabs of softer steel. They will take and hold an incredibly sharp edge. Unlike any of the cheap Chinese Communist produced knives!
Put the pin back in. The chemical weld will not hold long term.
I don't enjoy being negative, and if doing these mods is fun for you, go ahead and do them, but I'd never trust this "knife" for anything more demanding than slicing open an envelop.
Before working on it, cover the edge with several layers of masking tape.
Great video! Subbing
only real mod for this knife would be to rework the blade to make it shorter and full tang and put on a wood handle or paracord wrap. even under light basic use it will just break where it connects to the handle, even the more expensive versions of this style always break under light basic use. would rather drop the 10 dollars on a moraknife which can take a beating even batonning even though they are not full tang. can also do nice mods to moras and the sheath and make it a nice little survival kit.
if you really really want a hollow handle knife then look into the cold steel bushman as it is all 1 piece of steel, and they roll the handle up and weld the seam. though this does make both ends of the handle open still provides you with a strong hollow handle, and it only runs around 20-30 dollars on amazon.
personally i would rather turn a sawzall blade into a knife and paracord wrap the handle and make a little sheath out of some pvc pipe then buy one of those "rambo" knives.
@@firearmssanctuary2448 I don't know if anyone has done that yet..... though it might be simpler to just make a knife from scratch! lol!
@@CowboySurvival ya hence why these gimmick knives are best left on the shelves ;). rather easy to make a knife out of a sawzall blade not sure if the existing heat treat/temper is great or needs to be re-done. metal files make good knives too, and if you avoid heating it up too much while shaping it only have to temper it as they are hardened but not tempered.
nice part is if done right you end up with a blade that either has a working saw on the back, or working metal file, or could use a wood rasp for a bushcraft knife with a bonus.
the teeth are for notching
Neat upgrade. Don’t let the armchair scholars get to you in the comments. Yes, it’s a cheap knife. Did you make it better? Yes, definitely. Is it the best all around survival knife. Nope, because it’s a cheap Harbor Freight knife made from cheap materials. Can you cut stuff with it? Yup. Can you skin an elephant with it? Yes, but it will likely need a lot of resharpening for the full skinning job. Will it whittle a toothpick in the back country of Alaska? You bet, but why would you take a cheap Harbor Freight knife to the back country in Alaska? I mean, seriously…. Why? Would it be good to give to a nephew to beat on things with? You bet, cause why worry about a cheap Harbor Freight knife?
It is what it is and a lot of commenters seem to think you’re trying to recreate Excalibur. It’s a fun little project that has ideas that could transfer to other projects.
Great comments! Thanks for watching.
I wonder what she thought of Kyle Rittenhouse.
Will not stay sharp at all. U cut a piece of paper gos dull
You are correct. The edge quality leaves a lot to be desired. However, that was a trade-off for this project. Being so inexpensive made the knife a perfect item to experiment with.
My question is, why would you buy a $9 knife? Quality and materials must be super questionable.
Honestly, I saw so many videos, I wanted to see if I could do some mods on it myself. I was a super fun project; made even more fun by the fact that the knife only cost $10. Remember, I am educated as an accountant! lol!
COPY OF A KNIFE MADE BY BUCK. A. FEW YEARS
BACK. I HAVE A BUCK
MODEL. THAT I BOUGHT. WHEN THEY CAME OUT.
OTHER THAN MAKING A SANDWICH....I HAVE NO
PRACTICAL USE FOR IT. !!
I WOULDN'T DEPEND ON
SURVIVING _IN A WALMART STORE WITH
FOOD AND ALL OTHER
NECESSARY ITEMS PROVIDED
NEVER NEVER RELY ON
A. KNIFE. THAT DOESN'T
HAVE A. FULL TANG.........
WITH. ONLY. ONE EXCEPTION....AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE
MAKERS. NAME......YOU
CAN SEARCH FOR HIM
ON. THE WEB......BUT YOU BE SURE. HIS. KNIVES. WON'T. BE. IN. THIS. PRICE RANGE. OF
THIS THING !!!!!!!!!!!😂😂😂❤❤😂😢😮😊😊😢😢
That still pos knife .
All this time and extra materials to accomplish what? A still low quality knife. Congrats!!! How much of your life did you waste on it?
Wasted none of my life. The knife "looks" great. The project was a lot of fun. Had almost 70,000 views, picked up almost 400 subscribers, and helped me get monetized. I would say that this was a VERY successful project. Now the challenge is to find another subject that can also garner a lot of interest. Also, I got lots of great suggestions for additional things to try. Why would I do all this to an expensive knife? Doing it so an inexpensive knife meant I didn't have to worry if I messed it up.
Starting with junk is not a good idea! you don't know what your talking about !
@@kellytoth760 I appreciate your pint of view. I am fully aware that the knife is low quality...that is kind of the point. This was a project to make a plain knife LOOK more appealing. In the end, the rubberizing of the handle did make a functional improvement, I think.
Not worth the time, sorry. Still cheap Chinese knife.
If you're planning on buying this knife as anything but a fun toy to play with, for God's sake don't. This is not a knife you will be able to rely upon for anything of a serious nature.
I don't know . . . If John Wick can kill three people in a bar fight with a pencil, I think I could get through a weekend camping trip with this knife . . . just sayin' (just funnin' a little . . . your point is a valid one)
Could just buy a better knife.
@@tomyunker3368 sure, but it wouldn't be as much fun!
You can put lipstick on a pig but when you take it to the dance you’re still dancing with a pig!
Why buy a piece of junk for a life and death situation? Buy a good knife to begin with when your life is at stake!
@@ironton655 good advice, but I bought the knife for the project. I do not use this for my actual survival tool.
Etching the blade for a logo or a Damascus look is an idea, but to just etch for the sake of etching, I have to ask why.
For fun. For people who are just beginning with this skill set, having a simple project helps to get them started. Plus at $9.99, it doesn't matter if you screw it up.
Obvious to me that you don’t know what you’re talking about!!!!!!
@@snowjoe43 sorry you feel that way. Several people have noted that they don't have a particular high opinion of the knife . . . and I get it. But at $9.99 it was a perfect knife to experiment with. Think of it as "practice" for a more serious project later on.
Three minute video ran on for 18+ minutes. Way, way, way too redundant on each step. Still have a $10 knife at the end. This is the first time I've seen your videos, nothing here makes me want to explore further. Sorry
The biggest mistake you can make with a Gordon survival knife is buying one.
Great mods’ damn shame the knife is a dud though’ the attachment to handle is way to weak to be relied on’ but for a display piece it’s awesome’ especially your mods’ looks very similar to the first Rambo knife.
@@chrismayo4902 I agree. But working with a cheap knife to build the associated skills is the way to go I think. I would have NEVER used a high quality knife for this project. I would have been scared that I would screw ot up! lol!
@@CowboySurvival absolutely! 110% facts pal’ I also learned and perfected mods doing the same thing’ I personally think if the handle wasn’t hollow and had a full tang (would defeat the coolness factor though) it would make for a very capable blade’ just because a blade is cheap doesn’t mean it’s garbage’ I have been using 8$ 12inch Tramontina machetes for years and they will outperform 200$ machetes all day long, your skills on the mods are top notch and well thought out and you will definitely be going places’ I started out by modding Old Hickory knives into all kinds and shapes for survival and bushcraft’ my edc belt knife is even a well used modded Old Hickory kitchen knife turned into a Kephart profile with oak scales made from a piece of excess flooring with get this! Spacers made from the sides of 2 Rubbermaid trashcans one red and one black’ the possibilities are endless! Subscribed
@@chrismayo4902 thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I am having so much fun with this channel, it is almost embarrassing!
@@CowboySurvival lmao’ I know’ before youtube I thought that I was the only one tinkering with such things’ turns out that I’m not alone and the people I have met and skills and tricks I learned you can’t get from any book, looking forward to seeing more projects come to fruition
the teeth are for notching