Customizing a Traditional Folder

I

irona

Joined
May 24, 2016
Messages
659
So, time for a new project.

First, a little backstory: I've spent countless hours these past few weeks scouring the internet for the perfect Case traditional folding knife. It has to have CV steel, be a sturdy workhorse but not too heavy and bulky, be around 3 and a half inches long when closed (to fit in my watch pocket), and look good. I believe that I've found a knife that fits this description almost perfectly - almost. I've settled on the Case canoe, which is one of the beefier knives case makes, but looks perfect for my needs, except for looks. Now, case makes a variety of canoes, but only one of them has CV steel, which is very important as I want to develop a patina. So my solution is to hit the ol' workbench, and tear this thing apart to make it my own.

The problems with the knife are all cosmetic, and may not even be seen as problems to other people. First of all, it has this (IMO) ugly unnecessary etching on the blade. From what I can tell, someone accidentally managed to remove part of it with Frisk metal polish, so I think that I'm going to be taking this route as opposed to sandpaper and buffing. I also haven't ever worked with polish before so I'm also using this as an opportunity to learn how to use it. Second of all, the knife only comes in amber bone with CV steel. Not that I think that it looks bad or anything, but if I'm already modifying the blade I might as well go all out, plus I've had these beautiful dense wooden handle scales sitting in my shop from Blade Show last year.

Basically, I want to know if
A: Metal polish can be used to remove laser etching, and if the etching turns out to be too deep, what grit sandpaper should I go to before buffing (and is dremel buffing compound OK?)
B: How would you recommend I remove the handle scales? I have a dremel and drill and other than that just hand tools.
C: is West System G-flex epoxy (an epoxy I've heard many people here use) strong enough to use without having to pin the handle down?
D: if I do have to use pins, how should I do it? Like should I fit a piece of metal into the knife to use as an anvil against the pins as I peen them down? Do I even have to peen the pins, could I just rough them up with sandpaper and smear epoxy around them and just stick them in?

Thanks for your help, anything would be super appreciated!

Conor
 
Conor-
This is a very big job-especially if you have no experience.
A. No. If the etching is deep, you would have to block-sand with various grits to remove it. You can't successfully buff a blade with a Dremel.
B. Properly replacing scales requires almost complete disassembly. New scales should be pinned on while the knife is apart.
C. West Systems epoxy is good. It will cost you about $30, and the handles should still be pinned. If properly pinned, you don't need epoxy.
D. See above.

What you want to do requires considerable experience. Any carbon steel will patina.
My advise is to actually find a knife you like and buy it. Chances are you will ruin the knife if you try to do any of the things you mentioned.
 
I will move this to "Tinkering and Embellishment". The folks there are more experienced at this type question.


I am with Bill that this is a big project for someone with no experience. Good luck.
 
Big project. My handmade knife has no pins just some epoxy that sets in 6 minutes. Who knows if that's the correct way to have done it but it's a fixed blade and handles are still where I epoxied them on


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blade dude said:
Big project. My handmade knife has no pins just some epoxy that sets in 6 minutes. Who knows if that's the correct way to have done it but it's a fixed blade and handles are still where I epoxied them on


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Click to expand...

And they will stay there until they come off!
 
irona said:
The only way to have experience is to gain experience :D
Thanks for your help
Click to expand...
This is very true. Difficulty or a lack of experience should not be a deterrent. The only real way to learn is by doing, and learning from ones mistakes.

My advice would be to practice on a similar knife that you don't really care about. If you're going to make mistakes, it's better not to make them on a rare knife that you spent countless hours searching for, and cannot be replaced.

A Dremel with a grinding attachment can be used to grind off the heads of pins for removal. Pin punches should be used to knock the pins out and can be purchased at most hardware stores (don't use a nail, etc).

If the pins are flush with bolsters, place the knife on a piece of wood flat on it's side, locate the end of the pin, place a smaller diameter pin punch on the end of the pin and hit it lightly with a hammer until the pin emerges a little from the other side. Then carefully file the head off that end of the pin (you can cover the bolster with masking tape to avoid accidentally scratching it with the file).

Turn the knife over, and punch the pin back through the knife until it comes out a little. Then drill a hole in the piece of wood, place the protruding end of the pin down in the hole, and punch the pin all the way through and out.

This may seem like an unnecessary amount of work just to remove a pin, and you might think "Why don't I just knock the pin all the way through from one side?", well, that can work, but you will be forcing the peened end of the pin all the way though the knife, and not only can that cause damage to liners and bolsters, but it can also cause the pin to get jammed.
 
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Thanks so much! This is exactly what I was looking for. Yeah, I was going to use a test knife before doing the real thing always.

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Yes-good luck!
And, be sure and post some pictures when it's completed.
 
Conor,

Here is a link to thread where I did a WIP rebuild of a shell handle Imperial barlow. It's not the same as your knife at all, but many of the tasks covered are applicable regardless of the knife. The way I do it may not be the best or most efficient way, but it works for me. There's more than one way to skin a cat, and everyone has to find the way that's best for them.

Hopefully some of that WIP can be helpful to you. And pics, yes, we'd like to see pics of your work when done.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1316083-Making-custom-scales-for-a-barlow/page2
 
Pretty much the same process, just a different knife...
 
So, a quick update
Due to current financial reasons (as I start to hoard power tools in my new workshop), it looks like getting my hands on a Canoe will have to wait. I do, however, have a TL-29 on the way that will arrive on Thursday, which I'm very excited to restore. Taking some inspiration from you, Glennbad, and your beautiful mods, I've decided to put a hold on the Canoe and instead put my effort (and cash!) towards a modded TL-29. Using mostly hand tools (like I've always done), I think I'm going to either reprofile and put a nice full flat on the electricians blade (I'll also probably remove the liner-lock if I do that), or I'll just go for one main blade. Also an easy opening notch in the handle, probably remove the lanyard ring, I'd really like to try and pin some nickel silver bolsters on both ends of the handle, and refinish it with a satin blade and springs. I'm gonna wait for the knife to get here so I can get a better sense of what I want out of it. I'm definitely excited though!
School gets out in two weeks or so, finals start Monday of next week. I'm probably gonna have to wait until then to start, and in the meantime I'll do some more research and look into some handle scales. Speaking of which, does anyone know a good place to get scales? I was thinking either a nice natural-looking jigged bone, not like a corn on the cob pattern, and I also really like the wormwood on some of Glenn's knives.
Thanks a lot, everyone!
 
killgar said:
This is very true. Difficulty or a lack of experience should not be a deterrent. The only real way to learn is by doing, and learning from ones mistakes.

My advice would be to practice on a similar knife that you don't really care about. If you're going to make mistakes, it's better not to make them on a rare knife that you spent countless hours searching for, and cannot be replaced.

A Dremel with a grinding attachment can be used to grind off the heads of pins for removal. Pin punches should be used to knock the pins out and can be purchased at most hardware stores (don't use a nail, etc).

If the pins are flush with bolsters, place the knife on a piece of wood flat on it's side, locate the end of the pin, place a smaller diameter pin punch on the end of the pin and hit it lightly with a hammer until the pin emerges a little from the other side. Then carefully file the head off that end of the pin (you can cover the bolster with masking tape to avoid accidentally scratching it with the file).

Turn the knife over, and punch the pin back through the knife until it comes out a little. Then drill a hole in the piece of wood, place the protruding end of the pin down in the hole, and punch the pin all the way through and out.

This may seem like an unnecessary amount of work just to remove a pin, and you might think "Why don't I just knock the pin all the way through from one side?", well, that can work, but you will be forcing the peened end of the pin all the way though the knife, and not only can that cause damage to liners and bolsters, but it can also cause the pin to get jammed.
Click to expand...

Is there any specific reason for me not using a nail as a punch?
 
What he^ said.

While a nail or other similar item might work, I've learned from experience that this is definitely one of those times when it's best to use the right tool for the job.

Pin punches are hardened steel, and unlike a nail, a punch is much less likely to bend and skip causing damage to the item you're working on. Sometimes pins can be tight and it takes a few hard hits to knock them loose. Nails are designed to be hammered only once, and into something much softer. They aren't meant to be hit repeatedly with a hammer against something else hard, like a steel pin wedged tightly in a knife bolster.

I recently had to replace a pin punch that bent while trying to knock a very stubborn stainless steel pin through a stainless steel liner and bolster. A nail wouldn't have stood a chance.
 
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That's what I was afraid of. I've used nails as punches before, but on wood or barstock. I guess I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and spend the extra cash
 
Seeing as you seem to be well known for your mods, I hope you don't mind too much if I ask some questions about TL-29 modding

-any idea what the bolsters are made out of? I'm not sure if I should order nickel silver or 440 or what for pins and the addition of a bolster on the butt of the knife
-how thick are the pins?
-is there a safe way to weaken the springs?
-have you ever experimented with drilling a larger pivot hole so you could use a mosaic pin instead of one that would disappear with the bolster?
-would a hacksaw (and files, obviously) be enough to reprofile the electrician blade to a sheepsfoot? (I'm regrinding it to a full flat with a jig I made a couple years ago), I've never used a hacksaw before on metal - or should I just go with my tried-and-true dremel with metal reinforced cutoff wheels?
-how hard is nickel silver compared to steel? Can it be easily worked with hand tools?
-Lastly, how difficult is it to add bolsters to the butt of a knife? I'm up for a challenge, I'd like to get as much experience as possible out of this, but at the same time I don't want to waste $20 on material that I won't use.

Sorry if i'm bugging you, haha
any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks a bunch
 
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