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6" leverletto clean-up for EDC

I have a longstanding, deep-rooted, almost inherent interest in autos. After dissecting every locking approach I can find .. I've been specifically attracted to the leverlock design for its inherent safety.

I've MIKOV's , Microtech Mikov clone's , AKC's , ...... , all a little large for EDC. I wanted something that wasn't so large as to attract attention. The one's I have are sweet ..but.. not small.

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Toward that end, I acquired this generic leverletto .. a small 6" lever locking stiletto.

Sweet as-is ..but.. not for EDC. The finger guards make pocket carry .. a struggle .. at best. I suppose they could prevent your hand from slipping up onto the blade when one is stabbing an impenetrable object ..but really.. not an immediate concern for me. What they really present in my situation are pocket catches .. the snag upon both pocket insertion & extraction. I find that dysfunctional in an EDC. That's my first modification.

I found the activating lever almost impossible to fold open when held in a comfortable standard manner. Enough force was required that I had to either rotate the knife body 90 degrees & force the lever to the left with my thumb ..or.. use an extra hand. Again, not acceptable in an EDC application. That's my second modification.

Also, I figured I'd lower the bolster height on the side opposite the lever to something closer to the stag. Again, a pocket snag & unacceptable for an EDC. Not very comfortable in the hand either.

At the 9 o'clock position of the lever .. at the square end .. at the rotating end .. I introduced a slight radius. It was originally a sharp crisp 90 degree edge .. making it unnecessarily difficult to open. Again, I introduced a SLIGHT radius @ that point. Then .. I polished it.

The upright portion of the bolster rose a substantial distance above the stag. I both lowered the height & radiused the resultant edges .. on the side opposite the lever.

This is used as the fulcrum on the lever side .. I just radiused the edges there.

I removed the factory shear marks form the lever .. radiused the edges a bit .. and added some polish.

The result was far more pocket friendly.

An attractive addition to the EDC rotation.

Tags: lever, leverletto, lock

3 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on May 1, 2015 at 22:57

The condensed version.

Permalink Reply by john6553 on May 1, 2015 at 23:02

That knife it's not a leverletto. Your knife is a Hubertus leverlock. The Leverletto was designed by Bill DeShivs and made by AKC in Italy. You can purchase a 6 inch lever lock with no "S" at 3knives.com. You can go to BillDeShivs.com to see the real thing or 3knives.com

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on January 10, 2017 at 12:21

This is actually an inexpensive knock-off, John.

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The build quality is such that it performs admirably as an EDC.

The cost is such that I have no hesitations modifying it, i.e. I'm not devaluing a collector's item.

The blade steel is most assuredly not the ANSI recipe for D2 .. it's more likely a close Chinese equivalent.

In sharpening & daily use .. it is VERY close to Queen's PHD2.

Enjoy

D ale

john6553 said:

That knife it's not a leverletto. Your knife is a Hubertus leverlock. The Leverletto was designed by Bill DeShivs and made by AKC in Italy. You can purchase a 6 inch lever lock with no "S" at 3knives.com. You can go to BillDeShivs.com to see the real thing or 3knives.com

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on January 10, 2017 at 13:58

I did another one of these.

The first one I made for personal EDC survived just over a year & a half of daily heavy use before the spring broke.

It's currently being repaired. However .. I wanted another .. now.

I've REALLY come to appreciate the one handed opening.

In daily use .. I have something in the other hand & would really rather not set it down to open a knife to open it.

SO0oo .. switchblades .. I love 'em !!!

^^^^ . As received . ^^^^

^^^^ . Modified .. finger guards removed . ^^^^

^^^^ . Pile Side . ^^^^

^^^^^ . NOTE: It is NOT a Hubertus . ^^^^

^^^^ ............. It's a $45.oo knock-off ............. ^^^^

The original knife is not friendly for pocket carry primarily because of the finger guards. They tend to catch on the pocket while the knife is being extracted. I find them far more pocket friendly with out the finger guards. Just my opinion.

I removed the finger guards with a 0.187" (3/16) 4-flute end mill. The same could be accomplished with a Dremel cut-off wheel. I suggest clamping the leverlock in a secure fixed position. A position which readily exposes the finger guard to be removed. The finger guard is brass. SO0o .. it's soft. The liner is hardened stainless. SO0o .. it's not. Just remove the exposed brass that comprises the guard. And .. just get close .. to the liner. A combination of filing & sanding will remove any remaining finger guard material. Now .. the closer to the liner you get .. the less hand sanding you'll be doing. But .. don't gouge the liner. There's no easy fix for the resultant .. gouge, dent, curse, divet, ... You'll also risk chipping an end-mill. SO0o .. just figure on doing some hand filing / sanding to finish it out.

The scale material is a bone stag. It's seriously OK. My complaint is .. they do not come matched. The ones I've gotten to date ..more often than not.. have one really nice scale & one just average scale.

The jiggeg or simulated file work ..is.. so-so. I state "jigged or simulated" because it's performed by a machine. The depth of the individual cuts is not consistent. In one of six .. the alignment of the cuts varied .. pile side vs mark side .. by a half a notch. That is the worst I've witnessed & is the knife I've posted today. It has zero effect upon the knife's function. Of the 6 or so I've sourced .. it is generally the depth of the individual notches that are inconsistent. Given .. it's a machine operation .. one would expect consistency. However .. a dirty jig or fixture ..or.. a drive for speed / high volume output .. could explain the observed inconsistencies. In one case .. the one pictured today .. the knife would genuinely be more attractive with out the machined "filework".

These are not show pieces. The fit-n-finish .. while not bad .. is not at S&M's level. The blade steel alone is worth the purchase price. The blades are not always centered .. this one is. The leverlock design has a tendency to bow the one liner & force the blade to the pile side.

As EDC's .. these are absolutely wonderful knives! I'm not sharpening it every night .. it's more like .. weekly. The lock mechanism is ..imo.. the safest I've seen for an auto. The 3.6" OAL closed lets it hide in the pocket. The 2.5" blade (2.25" cutting edge) has been all I've needed for everyday life.

The quality of the build & of the blade steel is such that I sourced a few as basis for projects. These are destined for family members & close friends.

The bottom middle knife is the one I EDC'd for a bit over a year & a half before the spring broke. The scales are well matched. The machined filework is reasonably consistent. The blade steel has proven itself.