Blade Repair… what approach ?

D

Drum4fun

Joined
Mar 21, 2018
Messages
371
So, found at the swap meet
this a.m….. Klein Tool Co. , Japan
Model # 44037. I gave $5. Good
functioning tool that a prior owner
appears to have modified the blade.
I brought it home, cleaned & lubed
and wanted to give some thought to
addressing the blade. How would
you approach blade cosmetics and
condition if it belonged to you ?
Thanks , Charles
https://imgur.com/a/GC5zu7s
 
If you have skill it could be saved. I’d start by filing it judiciously, then 80 grit through 400 grit paper with a backer. Not hard just takes patience.
 
Personally I think this one is too far gone.
Technically you could still get a functional knife out of it, but it would take some pretty darn impressive skills to end up with something that doesn't look weird.
I'm not saying you shouldn't try and that it's not worth it if you simply want a functional cutting tool, you should go for it if you want to and I'll be interested in seeing what you end up with.

If it were me I'd cut the blade off into a sheeps foot just before the nail nick, that would make a pretty good work bench knife.
 
Whew, that knife has seen some things! The handle is nice though and the blade still has a nice chunk of good steel. If I were in your position I might think about making it the first knife I've sent off for a regrind. David Mary David Mary does regrinds blade shape changes. You could ask him what he thinks.
 
Drum4fun said:
How would
you approach blade cosmetics and
condition if it belonged to you ?
Thanks , Charles
Click to expand...
I would remove the nail nick entirely and turn it into a Spanish-style clip point. Maybe not as extreme as this, but you get the idea:

09utWpy.jpg


It would still look odd, but it would be fun to do. It might be what the original owner was attempting…
 
Some ... " people" ... should be kept a minimum of five thousand-five hundred-fifty-five point five miles from the nearest Dremel or other rotary tool, and bench grinders ... Whoever butchered that poor Klein, for example ... 😳☹️😡

I don't know if filing the "swedges" to flatten/level and even them out is worth the effort, taking into consideration how much of the blade was lost to the grinder from "sharpening".

Get an inexpensive used offshore TAYLOR/BTI Old Timer 7OT (or a Uncle Henry LB7) with a decent blade and perform a blade swap?
That is probably what I would do, if it were mine. As far as I know, Klein isn't a "collectable" brand.

From experience I can tell you Taylor and BTI gave/give their 7CR17MoV "440A equivalent" (note quotes) blades a good heat treat.
I never had a problem with the offshore 7OT I have, or the LB7 I had and gave to a friend who needed a good knife for his his job as broadcast tower antenna installer. (I also gave him the LM Wingman I had. I'm told he is still using them both 7 or 8 years later, at any rate.)
 
Dremel with the disc sanding bit will shape gently if ya got skills.
 
Thank you all for the multiple
approaches submitted. Exactly
what I was looking for . I think
my first step will be to bring out
my Sharpie and draw out a variety
of profiles on the blade and see
which appeals to my eye, and what
the blade can give me. Then I will
break out the various grit sandpaper
and files. Should be fun, a challenge
and possibly have a functional
outcome. More to follow. Thanks again.
 
Have fun with your project. At worst, you could throw it in your toolbox and use it to scrape gaskets or poke around things you would normally not use a knife for.
 
All valid options. If you want to experiment, I would grind shallow crescent swedges on both sides from the end of the flat spine to the point. This assumes that the blade is pinchable, so the nail nick can be ground off. I would polish this swedge to the same finish as the upper part of the blade.
 
Fun project for the garage! The lad who went at it previously was bad at jenga:)
If mine I'd use the dremels sanding cylinder and work on the profile first. So that means restoring the point and the basic outline.

Then switch to thinning out the sides to the point, blending them in as you go. Have a mind to dip it in water intermittently so as to not ruin the temper.

Wet and dry/wd40 for finish and then sharpen her up. Always a nice challenge to restore some aesthetic to something that's been butchered.
 
sitflyer said:
I would just toss that into the trash bin and get a new Buck 110.
Click to expand...
I'd probably rather have a 110 as well, but all things considered I've heard this Klein "sportsmans knife " was a pretty good knife.
They no longer source these due to cost and now offer a knife made by Bear & Sons, yes they could no longer afford to import this one from Japan so they had to switch to a knife made here in the USA.
 
First thing that came to my mind when I saw the pics was "uhm, let's just hope that previous owner did this to purposes other than stabbing". I might be wrong, but this kind of home made "double edge" is usually done with not the best intentions.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I'd probably rather have a 110 as well, but all things considered I've heard this Klein "sportsmans knife " was a pretty good knife.
They no longer source these due to cost and now offer a knife made by Bear & Sons, yes they could no longer afford to import this one from Japan so they had to switch to a knife made here in the USA.
Click to expand...
After looking at the pics again, the blade is worn down into the thicker part of the primary grind, it will still take an edge and would probably work well as a tool box beater knife. Something good to have around for cutting open bags of mulch or manure when garden chores are required.
 
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