2 knives into 1 – CRKT m21-04/04g

My first real EDC knife was the m21-04. I purchased it used at a pawn shop, it was already well loved/old when I got it and then I carried it for almost a decade until the secondary lock broke during hard use. Then about a year ago I found an m21-04g on sale at bass pro.

I was happy to have another one, but unfortunately you can't find them offered in aluminum scales any more. Slowly it ended up on my display with my old reliable m21.

I had previously had idea of merging the 2 to have the old scales, with the new blade + lock mechanism just to kind of keep part of the original with me as its a bit sentimental now. But got discouraged after the first failed attempt a while back.

The thing is, the newer g10 models have slightly different tolerances, different components and washers. The handle internal structure was basically different. So while it might seem kind of easy to do as they look identical, it actually took quite a few builds and tear downs to figure out the right size combination for the washers as well in an order that allowed for the blade to be centered, no play while using mixed parts. I tried directly just swapping the blade to the older handle, it didn't function properly.

Well last night I figured out the sweet spot, and I really love the black blade with the gray aluminum scales. I've never actually seen one in that combination so I think its a bit unique, and now its like having a brand new factory version of my old reliable workhorse.