blade riding a little high on a slip joint???

S

samblam

Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
143
is there a way to get this down, the tip of the knife sticks up just a tiny bit, and i was wondering if there is a way to modify or alter the knife to get the blade to set just a little bit lower to hide the tip, while it is closed.
thanks
sam
 
You can file the down the kick...slowly...removing small amounts of metal at a time until the tip comes down. Check frequently to see what progress you're making as you can't put the metal back on if you've taken too much off. :)
 
A tiny bit of filing can make a big difference in tip height.
Check often.
I lowered the kick on a Great Eastern knife and surprised myself on how little filing needed to be done.
 
I had the same problem with a new Case Peanut I recently received. Filed on the kick and got it down below the top of the handle as it should have been.
 
i did alot of reading about making knives last night and got to talk with an old timer that my dad knows from work who is about as knife crazy as they come, and learned alot about fitting blades, he told me to get a very fine metal file and to make half strokes on the kick one at a time checking the height of the tip after every individual half stroke of the file, he said one half stroke would prolly do the trick. he also told me to put a couple of layers of duct tape over the cutting edge of the blade to protect it from a slip of the file.

thanks
sam
 
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Is the kick the point out to the right in this photo? Jammpa said he filed the kick of the knife I got from him in a give away a while back and I just got this new 6318CV and the sheepsfoot sits quite a bit higher than I'd like. Thought I might get brave and try to lower it a bit.
 
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Yep...just to the right of blade markings. The "point" rests on the back spring when closed which prevents the blade edge from hitting the back spring.

WA Martin said:
View attachment 239535

Is the kick the point out to the right in this photo? Jammpa said he filed the kick of the knife I got form him in a give away a while back and I just got this new 6318CV and the sheepsfoot sits quite a bit higher than I'd like. Thought I might get brave and try to lower it a bit.
Click to expand...
 
One usually only files the kick to lower a point that sits proud of the bolsters and can poke you.
Doesn't look like that would be a problem with that sheepsfoot.
The purpose of the kick is to keep the edge from contacting the back spring.

I'd only want to file the kick if I was getting stuck by the point.
YMMV and all that jazz
:D
 
I have sanded the kick on two GEC made Scharade pioneer's to make the clip point blade drop a bit. One I did with my belt sander (taped the blade well, and bolsters.....then very very carefully with a worn belt).

The second one I did by hand.
 
WA Martin said:
View attachment 239535

Is the kick the point out to the right in this photo? Jammpa said he filed the kick of the knife I got from him in a give away a while back and I just got this new 6318CV and the sheepsfoot sits quite a bit higher than I'd like. Thought I might get brave and try to lower it a bit.
Click to expand...

Whoa, whoa, whoa!! It's been my experience that with some cattle knives but especially with some stockman knives that when the sheepfoot blade is the blade that is fitted to rest in between the two other blades when all blades are at rest (closed) that the sheepfoot blade rides high -- sometimes above the frame itself. In the case of this type of fit-up, the fact that the point and edge of the knive rides above the frame is not a problem (at least for me) as there is no danger of catching the edge or point of the blade when it is closed. The Case 3318 stockmans that I have are a good example of this. If I were to file the kicks of these particular knives to get them to ride in the frame at rest, their spring would sit well below (way below actually) the frame thus ruining the appearance of the knives and possibly their funtionality.
 
WA Martin said:
View attachment 239535

Is the kick the point out to the right in this photo? Jammpa said he filed the kick of the knife I got from him in a give away a while back and I just got this new 6318CV and the sheepsfoot sits quite a bit higher than I'd like. Thought I might get brave and try to lower it a bit.
Click to expand...

Modoc ED said:
Whoa, whoa, whoa!! It's been my experience that with some cattle knives but especially with some stockman knives that when the sheepfoot blade is the blade that is fitted to rest in between the two other blades when all blades are at rest (closed) that the sheepfoot blade rides high -- sometimes above the frame itself. In the case of this type of fit-up, the fact that the point and edge of the knive rides above the frame is not a problem (at least for me) as there is no danger of catching the edge or point of the blade when it is closed. The Case 3318 stockmans that I have are a good example of this. If I were to file the kicks of these particular knives to get them to ride in the frame at rest, their spring would sit well below (way below actually) the frame thus ruining the appearance of the knives and possibly their funtionality.
Click to expand...

It's sort of hit-or-miss, sometimes. I filed down the kick on the sheepsfoot blade of my Queen Cattle King stockman, using a Dremel. It sat VERY high from the factory, and I took about 1/16" or so off the kick, which dropped the spine about 1/8", as measured above the spine on the clip blade. The spine of the sheepsfoot is now flush with the spine of the clip blade, and the nail nick is still accessible behind the spey. The spring for the sheepsfoot didn't recede noticeably at all, maybe a couple of hairs' width. It's barely perceptible, unless you run a thumbnail over it. It's shallow enough, that it could be sanded flush with a few passes on wet/dry paper. I think I have a pic or two of the finished results, I'll post 'em up (maybe take a couple more).

I would advise going about it very slowly (I did), checking very often for the spring drop and also for edges getting too close to the backspring. AND don't forget to watch the nail nick, so you don't end up blocking it behind another blade.

Edit: Here are a few shots of the finished results:

Comparing the filed kick on the sheepsfoot, left, with the factory kick on the spey, right (which is essentially the same height of the sheepsfoot's kick, before it was filed down).

The sheepsfoot's spring is the lower of the two seen here:


Again, the sheepsfoot's spring is seen below the clip's spring, on the right. Compare to the other (left) end of the same backspring, for the spey's factory set:
 
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There is some evidence that sheepsfoot blades ride high on purpose, in order to be pinched open while wearing gloves (without having to use the nail nick). For the general user, however, the high-riding blade can make the knife uncomfortable in the hand while using the other blades, and may even make it harder to pocket. I file the kicks on all of my sheepsfoot blades for those reasons. It may lower the spring a little, but for a user comfort is more important.

Frosty
 
Frostyfingers said:
There is some evidence that sheepsfoot blades ride high on purpose, in order to be pinched open while wearing gloves (without having to use the nail nick). For the general user, however, the high-riding blade can make the knife uncomfortable in the hand while using the other blades, and may even make it harder to pocket. I file the kicks on all of my sheepsfoot blades for those reasons. It may lower the spring a little, but for a user comfort is more important.

Frosty
Click to expand...

I've heard of this too. At first glance it seems logical. But, after posting my reply yesterday, I looked at some of my other stockman knives (Case '75 patterns, Buck 307, Eye Brand 425DS, and others). I noticed, even at the factory-set height, those are difficult or impossible to pinch open anyway, gloves or not. Still not enough clearance to get leverage, without using the nail nick. I think the sheepsfoot would have to be set VERY HIGH, to pinch open with gloves on. In most of my examples, the clearance above the spey is pretty large, but the clip blade still is too close, on the back side of the sheepsfoot. The Queen Cattle King posted earlier was by far the highest-set sheepsfoot, which is why I selected it for grinding down the kick.

I do have an '85 Bulldog 'Cattle King' stockman, in a wide cigar pattern handle. It does have the sheepsfoot set at sufficient height to pinch open. There's a good 1/4" of vertical blade height and 1/2" or more lengthwise, to grab onto, forward of the 'hump' in the clip's spine. Maybe(?) it distinguishes the real difference between so-called 'cattle knives' and the run-of-the-mill 'stockman' pattern seen most often now.

Here's a pic of a few of my large stockman knives, with the above-mentioned Queen at the left, after I'd filed the kick on the sheepsfoot. The others are 'stock', and still don't show much relief for the sheepsfoot above the clip blade.

Also, added two pics of my Bulldog 'Cattle King' alongside the Queen, illustrating difference in 'pinchable' relief of the sheepsfoot blade:
 
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The sheepsfoot on my stockman in quite pinchable. Looking at it, I don't think a little filing/sanding would affect the spring at all. I will just have to be careful not to sink it to where I can't get to the nail nick. Simply a matter of taste, I prefer the sheepsfoot to settle in a little more for a more flush/streamlined fit.
 
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