A Question for Trapper Makers

Chris Crawford

Chris Crawford

Joined
Apr 14, 2001
Messages
380
I've been working on a trapper, and I've run into a little problem. I emailed this question to Don Morrow, who makes beautiful trappers by the way, but I wanted to ask it here also.

I’ve already made the blades, springs, and liners for the trapper that I’m working on. I’ve fitted up each blade and spring set so that the spring returns to the same position when the blade is opened, closed, and in the half stop position. When I put the knife together to test it I noticed the first real problem. The backs of my blades did not line up even with each other in the half stop and closed position. I ground them so that they matched when the knife was opened, but had not considered that they would fall out of alignment in the other positions.

What steps are required to make the backs of the blade match up in all three positions? Logically I would assume that the tangs of the blades and the ends of the springs have to be identical. What method do you use to achieve this? I usually use files to finish out the tang area, but I don’t believe I could file two tangs out by hand identically. I do have a small milling machine which I’ve not used so far on slipjoints, but it is available.

Thanks -chris

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Chris Crawford Knives

 
I don't make trappers Chris, but the question has about a hundred solutions. If it were me, I'd pin both blades together on your mill crossslide and clamp a straight edge that would allow both backs to rest against it at the proper angle.

Use a cutter to true them up together. It would take a little setup time but would be bombproof.
 
Both tangs do not necessarily have to be identical.
If they are misaligned pretty bad, then you need to figure out the lowest position (below flush with the scales) either spring will go. You'll have to make everything match that lowest position, by either filing the tangs or springs, or both. If one spring protrudes above flush in one position, then it's a simple matter of filing that one.

If you really do want everything to be identical, one tip is to super glue the blades together on a pin. As long as you can file flat (without making the surfaces slanted or rounded) it's like working one piece of steel,- so no worring about things getting out of alignment when you change position in your vice. Some gentle heat with a torch will release the glue.

If one spring just sits a little bit lower than the other in the closed position, I'll mention one little trick used by the factories. You can use a punch to squish the spring a little, so that you spread a lump of metal up to engage the kick sooner. I don't particularly like doing this, but it's one way to salvage things without making new pieces from scratch.
 
Thanks for the help and advice. I've applied some of the things suggested here and got the knife finished. I ended up glueing the blades together and milling the top of the tangs even. I then ground a little at a time off the half-stop area until the half-stop position matched the opened position. I did the same to the bottom of the tang so that the closed position also matched the other two positions. Here is a picture of the finished knife. Thanks again for the help. -chris

Image_Knife.asp


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Chris Crawford Knives

 
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