Backspring Transplant?

[afishhunter]

I have a four blade 1962 - 1979 Ulster BSA Scout knife on the way.
I am told it has a lazy main blade, which I take to mean the backspring is weak.

I'm thinking of getting a new made Marbles copy of the Army Utility/Camp knife, and transplanting the main blade spring from the Marbles to the Ulster.

Will it interchange? What size pin will I need? Is this a job for a pro or something that can be done by a moron/idiot (me) with less than zero knife building experience?

Yes, I'll try cleaning and lube first. I ain't that big of idiot/moron/fool.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

The 'lazy' main blade might just be due to heavy wear in the pivot contact surfaces, on both the blade tang and the end of the spring. On very old traditional pocketknives like that, it's pretty common. The symptoms of such wear will usually be a sunken spring (below flush w/the liners) and weak snap or none at all. If the tang on the blade is heavily worn, it reduces it's radius and thereby 'sinks' the spring end, taking some tension out of it. So, replacing the spring by itself, if even possible or practical, might not fix it anyway. I'd think there'd be difficulties in mating all the contact surfaces between the existing blade and a new spring from a different knife anyway, even if there's no wear at all.

Might wait to see what it looks like when you receive it, and post some pics here for clarity of what's going on. Should get some more specific tips for a fix, that way.


David

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Either way, it's not a job for the home repairman.

 

[Ernie1980]

Taking apart a slipjoint knife is tricky and should only be done by someone who knows what they are doing. Like you said, Try cleaning and oiling it first and see if that makes the knife useable.