Can't open my Vintage Canoe Need Help!!

joepa150 said:
Did you just have to pay to ship it to them?
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I paid just to ship it to them, but I'm not sure how what works. Mine appeared to be warranty work, but they did a little extra. They may or may not do the same for you. I think they will make it right though. It appears to be a warranty issue.

When I sent the knife, I was willing to pay for the repairs. But, I didn't have too.
 
You pay to ship it, and they pay to ship it back. If it is a "pinching rivet" problem, there is a way to side-tap it looser but it should be done by a pro.
 
on_the_edge said:
A piece of cloth around the blade and then pulling it open with a small pair of pliers is the quick one-time solution. For the longer term, it will need oil and movement back and forth to loosen it up. You do not have to close it all the way; just pinch the blade with your fingers and move it back and forth from fully open to almost closed. It will likely take some time to loosen up, but it will eventually get there. Of course, once you can open it with your thumbnail/fingernail, then you need to use it on a regular basis.
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+1 with Chris's recommendation.
 
I used grit sandpaper to lightly sand the corrosion off the inside of brass liner and some of the side of that (tang?) comes in contact with the brass liner. Rinsed it out and reoiled. I believe I made the problem worse. I probably should have used a finer grit sandpaper than 400 but that is all I had. It did take off some of the rust though.,

Tomorrow I am going to get a higher grit. Maybe 2000? Hopefully this will smooth out the roughness I just made.
 
I think now that you have sanded ( I wouldn't have done this ), you should soak the knife in a bath of Mineral oil, before we go too much into this - Charlie was pretty spot on with his advice as well, if its a rivet problem-leave it to the experts.
Anyway.. soak the knife in Mineral oil-throw your sandpaper away-you are going to ruin your knife!!!
Leave the knife to soak for a week, take it out, and work both blades like crazy with the oil getting in everywhere.....

re-soak the knife for a day and night-again take it out and work those blades back and forth..

Next step, used warm to near hot tap water and dishwashing liquid....squirt d/washing liquid into joints...again work those blades like crazy, then hold the knife joints under the soft running tap, and wash that d/washing liquid out...repeat this exercise using the d/washing liquid.

After this take your knife out to your garage and use compressed air and air gun to blow out all the water out of the joints of your knife....

Grab a can of WD40 ( because this repels water )and spray liberally into the joints, and work them back and forth like crazy.....

Use your air gun again to get out all the WD40 you can, go grab your Mineral oil ( Baby oil ) and a few drops into each joint...again work this into the joint- you will soon see the oil coming out along the back springs - this should let you know your oils in well and truly.

Now this sounds like a real hassle to do, but if you are in any way suspect about a joint-if this process doesn't make it better ( because it has done to most of my seized knives - a huge percentage of them) then your joint is questionable, you then would go down the track of which Charlie has said.

Again, don't use your sandpaper - if you follow this method, you are only cleaning, done properly you can only better your knife, using sandpaper - you will only ruin your knife.

Good luck.
 
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You really need to stop and send it to Case. If a little oil and a little working the joint doesn't work, something mechanical is wrong. Let Case fix it.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
You really need to stop and send it to Case. If a little oil and a little working the joint doesn't work, something mechanical is wrong. Let Case fix it.
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do you think they will notice that I sanded with 400 grit? I can visible see the scratch pattern.
 
joepa150 said:
do you think they will notice that I sanded with 400 grit? I can visible see the scratch pattern.
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Well, when if they take it appart to repair, they will see it no matter what you do (short of taking it appart yourself) as it will be "prettier" than the rest of the brass. Since you already sanded it, I'd be prepared to pay for fixing it. I wouldn't be surprised if they just fixed it though. Do what you want, but it doesn't sound like things are getting better. It's probably best to let someone who works on knives to look at it.
 
Got my Canoe back yesterday. Total time was about 3 weeks. I was surprised to see it on my doorstep. Case's customer service over the phone stated that my father should have brought it in 30 years ago when he first noticed the problem and that it would not fall under warranty.

Let me just say that the knife is much easier to open now and they polished it up. It looks almost brand new! They also included a metal knife opener so I don't break my nails BUT I don't even need it now. BTW I only had to pay to ship it to them.

Great job Case! Awesome customer service.

The only problem now is that since it is vintage and looking all pretty, I don't know if I want to actually use it now :)
 
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Thirty isn't that old for a knife, drop that bad boy in your pocket. If it could talk it would probably thank you for the chance to finally cut something. That's what it was made for after all.
 
PaulBosley said:
Thirty isn't that old for a knife, drop that bad boy in your pocket. If it could talk it would probably thank you for the chance to finally cut something. That's what it was made for after all.
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what do you mean knives don't talk? ...hmmm, maybe I have been at this knifeknut hobby for too long :D
 
I'd handle the troublesome blade by opening it about 1/3 of the way, and letting it sit that way for a day or two. Then, lube it up and work the joint, it should lighten the pull.
 
fatcorgi said:
what do you mean knives don't talk? ...hmmm, maybe I have been at this knifeknut hobby for too long :D
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You are correct sir they DO walk and talk I can hear an ebony Ben Hogan bare head calling my name right now. I stand corrected. I still think he should take the canoe out once in while
 
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