I got a rare treat over the week-end. I had the chance to clean-up, slightly modify, & sharpen a knife I’d made 5 yrs ago. Once I gift them .. I rarely see them again.

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One of my brothers is left handed & I made him a left handed auto about 5 years ago. My Mom is 80 now & my brother & his wife brought my Mom down for the week-end. It’s an 8 hour drive ..so.. no small undertaking for my mother. The biggest treat was seeing family .. it was a GREAT week end !!!

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I asked my brother to bring the MIKOV down & indicated I’d take it apart, clean it, & sharpen it for him while he was here. I’ve put together a few MIKOV’s ..but.. this is the only one where I’ve used threaded fasteners through-out. It is also the only left handed auto I've made. MIKOV’s have a symmetric design. So changing one from right handed to left handed is just a matter of flipping the leverlock mechanism to the opposite side ..&.. redoing the scales to reflect that move. It was also an ideal time to introduce threaded fasteners.

The larger hole for the center of the backspring & the larger hole @ the butt end of the knife are set up for 4-40 threaded fasteners. I tapped the leverlock side of the frame .. pictured on the left. I clearanced the backspring & the right side of the frame for the 4-40 threaded fasteners. I tapped all the other holes for 2-56 threaded fasteners. I used a standard 1/8” threaded (2-56) hardened stainless pivot pin. The 2-56 threaded fasteners require a Torx T-8 while the 4-40 threaded fasteners require a Torx T-10.

My brother now performs quite a bit of maintenance on the family farm .. where my mother still resides. I figured a drop point would be more useful in that environment than the original spearpoint the knife came with. So .. I dropped the point a bit & lowered the spine ever so little. I believe the result will be more useful in the environment in which it is now used. For comparison .. I have an unassembled kit .. for myself. Of all the ones I’ve constructed .. I’ve yet to make one for myself. Before dropping the point .. the blade in my brother's was also a spearpoint .. identical to the lower one.

The kit I put my brothers together from I obtained about 6 years ago. At that time .. the kits were simply a collection of the required parts straight from the factory ..just.. unassembled. They have since gained in popularity & MIKOV now makes a “kit” version of their autos. My current unassembled kit was purchased in 2015. They’ve changed the stamping such that mine will clearly be assembled from a “KIT”. Also, the “CZECH REPUBLIC” stamping is a bit weaker on mine.

I do hope everyone had a safe & fun week-end.

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Enjoy

D ale