Bent Blade : Is a fix possible?

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VorpelSword

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I have aquired a rar-ish pocket knife issued to the 10th mountain Division in WW-II. The defying feature of this model is that there is a fifth tool, a Phillips Head bit to let them adjust ski bindings.

Overall, this knife is in pretty good shape for an over 80 article. However, the main blade deviates some. . . .enough so that it interferes with the movement to closure for tools at the other end. The closed blade can be manipulated slightly to allow them to close to a normal position.

The deviation originates t the choil or tang. It is visible when closed and open. I would like to straighten out this bend, if only enough to allow functionality of all tools.

My first notion is to put the blde entirely into a vise and applying lateral force to the handle.

Any suggestions on how to do this without really screwing up the knife?
 
Uhhhh…. Have you ever watched Forged In Fire? This is the part where the judges all cringe waiting for the inevitable “pink” when the blade breaks.
Not usually productive attempting to bend tempered metal.
 
Before undertaking the work, understand that there will be some risk involved. However, it's my experience that usually if a blade got a certain way cold, it can be corrected cold. I would ONLY attempt a very gentle correction, and would lock the blade in a vise with some non-marring jaw pads and apply some GENTLE and CAREFUL leverage to it to see if it can be nudged back just enough that it won't cause issues in closure. If too much force is used not only could the blade snap, but you could deform the liner or pivot, so it's about clamping well to localize where the leverage is influencing the piece, and to not use any more force than needed, and gently at that.
 
You don't necessarily need a cheater on it. Chances are manual force is sufficient.
 
Is it one of these by Ulster?

1vRW96q.jpeg


Not mine, just curious to see the pattern.
 
I've got one of those somewhere with a Boy Scouts shield and pearlescent champagne-colored celluloid scales. Drop point main blade and has the same kind of Phillips head screwdriver, though one of the flanges of the bit is shattered off.
 
Some manufacturers anneal the tang / ricasso portion of the blade after heat-treating & tempering to facilitate 'crinking', i.e., bending the blade a tiny bit to allow it to fit into the handle without contacting adjacent blades. Case does this, for one example. So, if the bend is at the tang / ricasso, gently tweaking it back into alignment may not be as risky. The image below is a frame grab from a 'How It's Made' video featuring Case's manufacturing process. The image is 'before' and 'after' the annealing of the ricasso portion.
TNhiSGG.png
 
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oldmanwilly said:
Is it one of these by Ulster?
Click to expand...
Y4es. I have one of ech. The knife in the middle is the one I have with a with the skewed main blade. Knivs with the Phillips head tool were issued to the 10th Mountain Divisio's Ski troops early in WW-II. They are over 80 years old now and many were used hard. Most examples that I have seen pictures of show blades resharpened down to a pen knife profile while others show that the tip was broken and reground. Mine seems to be in relatively good shape except for the deviated main blade.

That the main blade on mine was bent rather than snapped leaves me hopeful that it can be returned to near normal condition.
 
I would like to hear from anyone with a deeper knowlede of these 10 Mountain Division knives as I have a specific but obscure question about a variant tool.
 
his past weekend I put the blade into a vice, recasso-deep and put lateral pressure on the handle.

Blade did not break.

Now all tools open and close properly!

However, there is no question that this 80+ year old knife has been used hard. I will not be using it (much). In my possession, this will be kept as a valued artifact of WW-II and a link with a legendary combat unit.
 
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I foundf it interesting to compare thied blade arrangement on this kn ife with the current Boy Scout pocket folder that also has a Phillips head bit.

The 10th MountainDivision's knife is petite overall and has the Phillips head bit jambe alongside the can opener and awl punch at the shackle end. The Phillips head bit almost looks like it was dded to an existing production knife as an afterthought. The tip of the main blade, when folded, has to fit in with three tools. This probably worked fine when new, but if the main blade is jusyt a little off-kilter it adversly interacts with the awl and can opener.

On the other hand, the BSA knife is heftier overall. The spear point blade is slightly larger.The Philips head bit only shares space with the can opener, while the main blade is located between the awl and bottle opener. There is no secondary knife blade. This is a better configuration for the same number of tools.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Some manufacturers anneal the tang / ricasso portion of the blade after heat-treating & tempering to facilitate 'crinking', i.e., bending the blade a tiny bit to allow it to fit into the handle without contacting adjacent blades. Case does this, for one example. So, if the bend is at the tang / ricasso, gently tweaking it back into alignment may not be as risky. The image below is a frame grab from a 'How It's Made' video featuring Case's manufacturing process. The image is 'before' and 'after' the annealing of the ricasso portion.
TNhiSGG.png
Click to expand...
The discolored area extends way farther forward than seems ideal to me. Doesn't anyone else make frequent use of that part of the blade?
 
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