Modifying Latama Walt's Classic

[Debbum]

I recently bought a NOS Walt's Classic 11" stiletto, and while I like the bayonet grind, I find that I greatly prefer the look and practicality of flat ground blades, especially with a swedge.

Can anyone recommend any reputable knife makers/modifiers that could do a regrind on it? This thing was expensive and I *REALLY* don't want to ruin it. I'm not big on reselling knives so that's a non-issue, please don't bother trying to dissuade me.

[Madmarco]

You could contact Bill De Shivs, Muskratman, or a few other makers on this forum, Deb, I would think any of those guys could help you.
to AAPK, and good luck!

[jw517]

I don’t think that is possible. Get a new blade or have a smith make one.

[1OldTreeClimber]

You could contact Bill De Shivs, Muskratman, or a few other makers on this forum, Deb, I would think any of those guys could help you.
to AAPK, and good luck!

I've tried that route.,no response.

[Debbum]

No response from any of those guys?

[jw517]

I think you would be disappointed without a new blade. It’s easier to start new than alter that one.

[Debbum]

That is an interesting thought, definitely not something I had considered. I have a feeling that would be a more significant undertaking though, with disassembly, fabricating a new blade with the appropriate dimensions, etc.

That said, are you aware of anyone who does re-blades on stilettos?

[Debbum]

You could contact Bill De Shivs, Muskratman, or a few other makers on this forum, Deb, I would think any of those guys could help you.
to AAPK, and good luck!

Thank you for the suggestions, also!

[Killgar]

If you could find someone to regrind the blade, it might be possible to do it without removing it from the handle. But the person doing the regrind would need to be very careful not to overheat the blade and ruin the heat treatment/temper of the blade in the process. If they did overheat the blade, they would then need to remove the blade (remove the pivot pin) and perform a new heat treatment. Either way it would be no small task.

And then there's this- Frank Beltrame (who makes knives for Walt) probably didn't make that knife with the intentions of it ever being used to cut things. As a result, the blade might not have a proper heat treat for cutting to begin with. So even if it were successfully reground without overheating, it might not take a decent cutting edge, or hold an edge for very long.

Whether someone was willing to do a regrind (and possibly a re-heat treatment), or whether they were willing to make a new blade from scratch, either way it would likely cost you as much, if not more than a new stiletto with a flat ground blade. Making a new blade from scratch, doing the necessary custom fitting, and doing the heat treat/temper would be particularly expensive (I imagine at least a few hundred dollars).

[jw517]

Killgar knows best!

[Debbum]

And then there's this- Frank Beltrame (who makes knives for Walt) probably didn't make that knife with the intentions of it ever being used to cut things. As a result, the blade might not have a proper heat treat for cutting to begin with. So even if it were successfully reground without overheating, it might not take a decent cutting edge, or hold an edge for very long.

I have read about stiletto blades sometimes not being hardened, fortunately that hasn't appeared to be the case with my $100 cheapo Beltrame or the Walt's classic. The cheaper one in particular I've actually gotten a lot of use out of, but I did have to sharpen it myself on one of those Work Sharp guided sharpener thingies at first. So far, it's held up well to cutting boxes and baling twine, and cutting/breaking zip ties and those plastic tie downs that come off of pallets. Also used it to cut the T-Bone out of a few steaks, and the bone did not turn the edge when I cut across it at an angle - which has happened to me before on my Victorinox SAK. Anyway, not exactly "hard use" but it seems suitable for my purposes!

The Walt's is a more recent acquisition but it sharpened up fine, edge is just a bit more obtuse that I prefer. It's even less practical as an EDC choice but it is just so neat I can't help myself... so I'll know soon enough, ha!

[Killgar]

Killgar knows best!

HA! More like a busted clock, I'm right only twice a day.

Maybe.

[Bill DeShivs]

The blades in Walt's knives are real 440-C, and they are darned hard. Generally, they can't be cut well with a file.

[Madmarco]

You could contact Bill De Shivs, Muskratman, or a few other makers on this forum, Deb, I would think any of those guys could help you.
to AAPK, and good luck!

Thank you for the suggestions, also!

These mechanics are swamped with work, Deb, so it's not unusual they'd take time to reply to messages or emails, with that being so, I would go to their websites and use their "Contact Me" feature to message them directly.

About 2 yrs. ago, I had an 11" John Nowill & Sons auto conversion made and sold by Rubens "Chad" Blades while he was with Roadsideimports.com , that had it's blade lost by USPS cuz it was sent to me in 2 separate packages, which was how they sent autos to restricted countries. I tried all avenues with RSI to find it, but ultimately needed to send the handle to our own Muskratman so he could build a new dagger blade for it, and he did a great job.

I had to wait about 4 months from sending it to receiving it back, but it was well worth it since otherwise I'd have been stuck with an expensive paperweight, kindda like your current situation. www.muskratmanknives.com , it's safe!

[Debbum]

The blades in Walt's knives are real 440-C, and they are darned hard. Generally, they can't be cut well with a file.

Sharpening the sucker was an absolute bear, I certainly believe that!

[wiseguy]

With a false edge on the bayonet it doesn’t seem like regrinding it would have favorable results, might be better to just pick up a knife with the blade you like.

[Bill DeShivs]

This is the kind of work that i used to refer to Tank Fisher. Unfortunately, he left us recently.