Did you ever have to file your kick down on your traditional?

Kleingra said:
Before and after shots of my Medium Stockman. Used the file on my Leatherman tool and went super slow. I was really nervous about trying, but I'm glad I did it. Before the sheepsfoot was so proud it was uncomfortable to use any other blades. I think this will make the knife much more useable and enjoyable. As you can see I lowered it quite a bit. No noticeable effect on the backspring.
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The Case that I worked on is the same as yours, only mine is SS. Actually, your 'before' shot looks like my 'after' (sorry, I don't have the ability to post pics yet). Yes, my sheepsfoot sat *really* high when closed. I'll probably work on the kick a little more on the emory board, but since the sheepsfoot/spey blades on mine are very close and the spey rubs the sheepsfoot a lot, I'll be extremely careful. I don't want the sheepsfoot to 'hang up' or press against the spey when closing/closed.

Jim
 
I just filed down the kick to the sheepsfoot blade, on my Case Medium Stockman (6318) last night. I was very nervous, so I started slow, with the diamond side of the file on my Leatherman Wave. One pull on the file, nothing, 2 pulls, nothing. 10 pulls, 20 pulls, no noticeable difference. I estimate it tooks about 300 pulls on the file, in order to get it where I wanted it. I took off quite a bit of metal. I'll see if i can;t get a good picture of the file work.

The before and after results I got, look identical to what Kleingra got on page 4 of this thread.
 
My jaw drops when I hear someone filing the kick to lower a sheepsfoot on a stockman. I like how they ride high. It adds to the eye appeal and ease of getting to it. I do modify knives though. stoning in swedges is a big one, and my last mod I put an ever so slight chamfer on the steel liners of my GEC. They felt sharp to the touch so I took a small stone to them and hit them with the corner of a rubber wheel, then some ruge and a slight buff. They feel a lot better andit seemed to havemade the open/ closes a bit smoother.
 
This is the only one I've had to do. On this 53 Furtaker the WC blade was proud enough to feel the point in the closed position! It's just right now.
 
After years of carry, use and sharpening, yes. The stockman spey was turning into a toothpick with the point above the liner, the sheep foot and clip with the front part of the edge rising above the liner.
 
navihawk said:
My jaw drops when I hear someone filing the kick to lower a sheepsfoot on a stockman. I like how they ride high. It adds to the eye appeal and ease of getting to it. I do modify knives though. stoning in swedges is a big one, and my last mod I put an ever so slight chamfer on the steel liners of my GEC. They felt sharp to the touch so I took a small stone to them and hit them with the corner of a rubber wheel, then some ruge and a slight buff. They feel a lot better andit seemed to havemade the open/ closes a bit smoother.
Click to expand...

The sheepsfoot still rides high, but it's more comfortable to hold. It rides as high as most stockman, and its still higher than the sheepsfoot on my Queen #9 stockman, and my Buck 303.
 
I think I may have posted here before... But yes. I can't stand a tip that catches a finger when run over it or is almost proud, let alone actually proud. If it can be filed without making it difficult to open or hitting the backspring then I'll file it, and have several times.
 
I missed this thread back in September, but it makes excellent reading. The subject came up in the Traditional Barlow thread a year or more back. There was some concern by some TC Barlow fans that a knife might be damaged.

I first filed the kick on my orange Delrin Farm & Field bullnose. It was quite proud in the closed position. My first time doing this, so of course I went a little too far, and the backspring is now sunken a little. But it is a work knife, and the blade now sits perfectly when closed.

My second attempt was on my first ever TC Barlow:

903f4c30-8f46-4f79-b68f-92f620fe7207_zpsac6e0803.jpg


I was more careful this time. Like others say, I used a medium grit stone and checked after every 2 or 3 passes. It only takes a few layers of atoms to get the tip a lot lower. Too many layers/atoms removed, and you will make the back of the knife uneven. On this sheepfoot blade, the backspring now sits just a hair uneven with the liners. But the blade position is perfect now. And it has become my all-time favorite knife.
 
For a slightly proud tip.... yes. My Northfield Watchpocket Sunfish needed it on the main blade. Perfect now.
 
Dr. Scott said:
I first filed the kick on my orange Delrin Farm & Field bullnose. It was quite proud in the closed position. My first time doing this, so of course I went a little too far, and the backspring is now sunken a little. But it is a work knife, and the blade now sits perfectly when closed.
Click to expand...
Peen the kick. That will lengthen it.

Also, I'd I understood Bill Howard correctly, the left-right angle of the kick can affect blade centering. Cutlers can use this to tune the centering.
 
I've lowered the kick of the sheepfoot blade on several stockman knives using the dremel. The thing I've noticed you have to be carfeful of is to not lower the blade too much (take too much off the kick), such that it lowers the blade edge to the point that it will hit the inside of the spring, thus dulling the blade edge.

As long as you go slow, checking the depth of the blade frequently you shouldn't have a problem.
Jay
 
Like many others I have file down the kick a little so I would not catch the point of the blade on me or something else.
 
Zuchus said:
Well, I did it - I filed down the kick on my Case Sowbelly. It is very nice now. The sheepsfoot now sits just high enough for the nail nick to still be accessible. I did have to file down the brass liner a little on the back as it was then a little proud of the springs.

Click to expand...

Zuchus,

Can you tell more about the sanding you did on the back of the knife to even everything out.

I recently did this to a 66 calf roper and it sunk the back springs just a hair. Was thinking of sanding it down. Really curious about your experience.

Jim
 
Just like filing the sight blade on a da or sa sixgun a little filling goes a long way and best to be conservative with it! File slow and check often!
 
Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I figured it would be better than starting another one.

If one wants to peen a kick to lengthen it, how would they go about that, and what particular hammer is needed?
 
Just a guess: ball-peen hammer and a small flat punch, with light tapping. Depending on the weight of your hammer.
Thanks, Neal
 
image.jpeg My pet annoyance is the sharp edge of the corner of the blade tang sitting above the handle. Maybe a dumb question butIs there any reason I should not chamfer this a little so that the knife has no sharp edges in my pocket.
Here's a photo of what I mean , I was hoping it would not affect the knife to put a very small radius on this part of the tang
 
That's the part of the tang that sits against the spring when the blade is open. If you take too much off, several things can happen. 1. The blade will pivot back too far resulting in what's known as a broken back. 2. The spring could wind up bottoming out on the flat before it comes into contact with the tang resulting in a loose open blade. 3. Your spring will drop lower.
Just be very careful and only just blunt the sharp edge a bit. Don't go filing it off or putting a radius on it, you may be sorry.
 
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