I have to say, I don't even care for the guard. With that out of the way, I could see it costing more to be "reinforced" or to attach a separate guard. I don't even know how it would work to cut out the knife blank to reinforce the guard. Since (to my understanding) the Res C handles are jammed on to the tang of the knife, would it even be possible to "slip" the handle over reinforcement?