ESEE IZULA-II Scales by NickLandis

Last crawled date: 4 years, 1 month ago

The ESEE IZULA-II is famous for being sold without scales so buyers can customize to their choosing, or to use a paracord wrap. I typically used a paracord wrap, but wanted to try out designing 3D printable scales.
Parts Needed
2x M3x10 Machine Screws.
I used the ones from this case. You should be able to use any M3x10 screw but for the record my screws were ~12mm long, with a head depth of ~2mm, a thread diameter of ~3mm and a head diameter of ~5.35mm.
2x M3-0.5 Nuts
Again I used the ones from the case, and they should be the same for whatever you buy, but for the record my nuts were 5.5mm wide measured from parallel sides, or ~6.2mm measured tip to tip.
Design Process
So I don't 8really* know what I'm doing, so no guarantee this is the best method, but this is what I did, in case someone wants to recreate the process.
1) Trace the outline
Using the pen tool in Photoshop I traced around an image I had of the knife. I have uploaded the .psd file in case you would like to refine the sketch. I didn't bother carving out the grimping ridges, and it's not perfect but it came out alright. I then filled in the outline with paint bucket and exported as a .png (uploaded as well).
2) Convert to vector image
Using Inkscape I converted the .png into a vector image and saved as a .svg file. I have uploaded a copy.
3) Design in Fusion360
So I had issues scaling the file to the size of the knife. I couldn't figure out how to scale the .svg I imported after uploading, so I ended up having to upload it, measure it to find out how much I needed to scale it, close that one and upload a new one scaled at the right size. It worked okay but if anyone has a better method please let me know. After that I just drew two lines across the body and extruded out the scale and the middle section. I fileted the scale body at a 5.00mm radius. I have uploaded a copy of my Fusion360 Project.
4) Drill out the holes
So I probably should have done this in Fusion360 to make customization a little easier in the future, but I am still limited in my skills. So since I only needed to deal with basic shapes from here on out I switched to Microsoft 3D Builder. I subtracted out a cylinder for each screw hole, each screw head, and each nut. I've uploaded "IZULA-II Scales - pre cut version.3mf" which should allow for easier adjustments.
Customization
I would love to try and add some cool features to the scales. Not sure when I'll get around to it but I'm thinking some low-poly geometric shapes, knurling, or other embossing could be cool. I'd love to see other people remix this into a cool new design.