54 y.o. Clasp Knife Stiff Open/Close

B

bama_lou

Joined
Jun 15, 2004
Messages
710
I recently got a 1951-dated British Military Clasp Knife, ever since I saw it in an old survival manual I knew I wanted one of those.

lew-71710.jpg

(Thanks to www.1sks.com)

The blades are supposed to be carbon steel, marlin spike and the combo-tool, liners as well. I got it in excellent condition. Except for the very stiff opening (which is my problem), the blades walk and talk like it was produced recently.
No pitting, oxidation or rust of any kind.

Former owner said he applied some gun cleaner to the blades to hinder oxidation. He also mentioned that when he got the knife, it was caked with a grease of some sort, cosmoline is what he mentioned. Cosmoline, if I recall is akin to vaseline being a similar petroleum product, only it has a richer consistency.

Upon examining the knife for any undesirables, I proceeded to clean the liners and the insides using a clean pipe cleaner. Gooey and with the strong smell of what probably is cosmoline, that's what the cleaner absorbed. I checked the pivots and boy, oh boy. Thick grease was impeding the motion. It's not gritty, like old slipjoints can feel like, rather, it is stiff to open but it closes with authority.

I decided to run the knife under the faucet with hot water running and work the knife to loosen some of the grease. It did not work, instead my undeserving index finger was nicked twice. I ceased the whole operation and since I washed it already, I just applied fresh motor oil to the knife and all metal parts, wrapped it in cloth and hid it in the drawer.

Now my question is, what do I use to dissolve the cosmoline? I might try alcohol, acetone, or Simple Green but it might damage what I presume is bakelite handles of the knife. Any suggestions and expert knowledge? Thank you in advance.
 
bama_lou said:
INow my question is, what do I use to dissolve the cosmoline? I might try alcohol, acetone, or Simple Green but it might damage what I presume is bakelite handles of the knife. Any suggestions and expert knowledge? Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

Uh oh... Cosmoline is notoriously difficult to remove and typically requires a lot of elbow grease. At least in this case it's on a relatively small area.

The standard treatment is solvents and scrubbing. It's really hard to say what is and isn't safe for old plastics. Maybe you could start with a degreaser for firearms and make sure it's safe for plastics?

A good idea is to apply whatever product you're using to a small area of the plastic to make sure it doesn't cause damage. I know, this isn't a perfect solution but it's standard advice when working with unknown cleaner + surface combinations.
 
I've been told to use diesel fuel.

Not being a redneck myself, I'm skeptical. ;)

When I picked one of these up from Ragnar a year or so back, it was still covered with the cosmoline from storage. I ended up cleaning it out with a lot of time and a lot of paper towels. (Incidentally, it's easily my second-favorite knot tying tool)

_Either_ sit down for a lot of work removing the stuff by hand, _or_ go to a gun forum (like glocktalk.com) and ask around in an "old gun" room. Those guys see lots more cosmoline than knife people do, and it's usually worked down into moving parts that're much more complex than a knife pivot.

Also, I weakened the can-opener blade slightly by leaving the knife in a half-opened position for about a week (checking it regularly to make sure it wasn't over-loosening). It's still stiff as hell, but it no longer tries to rip my fingernails off. :)
 
Now that I did some research, the consensus on forums regarding antique and old rifles is to use brake cleaner to dissolve the cosmoline. I know this stuff is particularly nasty, so I have to find a way to shield the plastic scales.

...although some recommended good old fashioned sunshine to melt the cosmoline. :(
 
is is this?
3pcbritarmybex.jpg


in which case the current product info is
3 Piece Army Clasp Knife.
Stainless Steel Blades.
Bexoid Scales.

Will this be the same plastic as was used when yours was made? Will it make a difference? I'm in contact with the makers so could find out.
 
Mine is a 1951 model and my research went as far as mentioning that the plastic used was bakelite, IIRC used also for the old rotating dial telephones of the knife's time. Although they could be wrong, of course.

I think Joseph Rodgers and/or Sheffield are the current producers?
Thanks very much for the help. I am very eager to start restoration of the knife and all info will be welcome.
 
bama_lou said:
I think Joseph Rodgers and/or Sheffield are the current producers?
Click to expand...
the pic I put up is from the Jadams&Co site. I know rodgers do make some army folding knives but I thought that they did the all stainless ones.
 
I have one of the all stainless versions, I've had it for years, and it is still a real task to open the blades -- except for the marlin spike, that opens easily. :) I sharpened the knife blade once, very hard, didn't help much, and I've since redone it on the Sharpmaker, which helped a lot. TOUGH knife.
 
The old classic way to remove cosmoline is by soaking in gasoline. That is hard on the plastic. I would just try a light lubricating oil like 3-in-1 or a gun oil. I would apply a little using a pipe cleaner rather than really soaking it. I would apply a little, wait a few hours, then work the action, sop up as much oil as I could and repeat a few times. This should clean the action and get rid of rough spots and corrosion in the action.
 
Do not use gunscrubber or any similar product to remove that cosmoline. That's okay for all metal parts, but with plastics unless you already KNOW that it's resistant best not to tempt the devil. Best bet I think is to try to dissolve it in some kind of petroleum solvent, try kerosene or WD40, Hoppes #9 I "think" will be okay. I haven't seen it attack any plastic in all my years of using it, whether or not it will touch the cosmoline I dunno.
 
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