blade "seating"

R

rprocter

BANNED
Joined
Jan 19, 2007
Messages
6,872
i have a 4 1/4 inch old H. BOKER & CO's IMPROVED CUTLERY stockman ? it's in rough shape and blades are worn thin from sharpening. as i read Mr. Levine's book, this knife is pre 1917. i would like to restore it somewhat. the main problem is the large blade will not seat down fully so the tip sticks up above the handle by about 1/4 in. when closed, and cannot be pushed down with moderate force applied. the spring is strong, it locks open well and there are no visible obstructions in liners or around tang. the action is smooth.
i'm a total novice here so all help will be appreciated. thanks, roland
 
Perhaps there is some gunk built up after years of use that will not allow it to close all the way ?
Since it is so old I do not know what to recommend but I would think some WD40 or similiar in the pivot might loosen any rust or gunk and perhaps allow it to close correctly.
 
Sounds to me like in the process of keeping the knife sharp over the years, the belly has been brought up to the point where the tip is no long below the scales when closed. Kind of like if you try to fix a snapped tip by sharpening along the edge of the blade and not the spine.

Without pics, I couldn't give you much of an opinion, ut it sounds to me like some sanding/grinding along the spine will take that tip down for you. Of course, I'm not a professional, but that is my opinion.
 
This is one of the reasons that properly-built knives have a "kick." The kick keeps the edge off of the backspring and it can be dressed down with a file to adjust the blade.
The kick is the tang of the blade just behind the edge-the part that sticks down below the edge.
Bill
 
i should have added that the woman i bought it from said it did close correctly until a fellow looking at it, opened the main blade and since then it no longer goes down fully. it is the original tip that is still present and sticking up, as if there is a solid piece of something between the tang and spring ? note -- it is not "spongy" but solid in this not fully closed position.
does this extra info help any ? thanks, roland
 
Unless there is something in the knife that's not supposed to be there, the lady is mistaken.
Bill
 
It is possible that something - a grain of sand, a bit of lint, sesame seed, whatever - has gotten wedged between the blade tang and the backspring. I have had this happen a couple of times, and depending on what it is, it can be a real pain to dig out. I used a dental pick, a bright light and a lot of patience the last time I had a grain of sand wedge in there like that.
 
The only other thing I can think of, is that one of the scale (handle) pins might be sticking into the blade well- preventing the blade closing fully.
Bill
 
If the spring is flush, that seems to indicate the blade is seating fully, i.e. the kick is contacting the spring. Dressing down the kick should lower the point into the handle IF that is the case. I can't be certain of that without seeing the knife.

I have adjusted quite a few knives that way, usually when someone else has snapped a tip and ground the edge up to the spine, although a few were just worn from use and sharpening. Good luck ;)
 
i filed the kick down to the blade. the tip still sticks up ~ 1-2 mm. and i need to open the spey blade to reach the nail nick to open main blade. i'm re-bevelling to 18 degress (further wearing away blades), but it will be fun to carry in a belt sheath on occassion to add to it's already long yet unknown history. this is my first tinkering with a knife, so am learning and enjoying it.
thanks for the help. roland
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top