Dissasembling a slipjoint

K

kjbenner

Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
274
I just purchased a hunk-o-junk slippy to mess around with. It's a Utica factory second stockman, I believe made by Klein Tools (the only marking not obliterated is "CHICAGO USA"). The backspring meets the sheepsfoot blade in such a horrible way the backspring actually gets bent FURTHER out as the blade moves from half open to fully open.

I think I can fix this if I can take this guy apart. I know you folsky tinkerers do this on occasion, so do you have any tips on how I can take this apart? It's brass liners with delrin scales and nickel silver bolsters. It cost me 8 bucks at SMKW, so I'm not going to be upset if I end up destroying it, but I'd love to learn how to do this type of work.

Also, if there's a way to put it back together after I've taken it apart, I'd love to hear about that, too. :p

Thanks for any help.

EDIT: here's the knife. Except mine's uglier. Way uglier.
 
After I posted this, I decided to have a go at it with no real advice or knowledge. Perhaps you are asking yourself, "why would he ask for advice, and then try it without waiting for advice from the knowledgeable people on this forum?" The answer is quite simple: apparently I am crazy.

I used an approach that could be best described as "prying at the knife with various inappropriate objects." I got the scales and scale pins off (broke the scales, but they were ugly anyways) and somehow shot the shield across the room (still don't know where it is). I got the bolsters off without breaking any pins, and popped off the liners I needed to. I removed the troubling blade, and filed the tang down. I pressed everything together and glued the bolsters down.

The problem blade is much better, but not all the way fixed (damn!). Overall, I think the level of fit and finish I achieved is somewhere along the lines of "sleep-deprived money with one hand assembling a knife in a dark room using only his teeth."

The moral of all this? Don't start projects that are way over your head at 1 in the morning with no advice. Also, don't let me near your slipjoints with pliers.

That said, I'm still interested in hearing the "right" way to do this kind of thing, in case a slipjoint I actually care about needs some repair in the future.
 
I wish I knew how to work on slippies too...
For 7.99 the knife doesn't look that bad.. great user and practice knife
 
Your post really made me laugh.

kjbenner said:
After I posted this, I decided to have a go at it with no real advice or knowledge. Perhaps you are asking yourself, "why would he ask for advice, and then try it without waiting for advice from the knowledgeable people on this forum?" The answer is quite simple: apparently I am crazy.

I used an approach that could be best described as "prying at the knife with various inappropriate objects." I got the scales and scale pins off (broke the scales, but they were ugly anyways) and somehow shot the shield across the room (still don't know where it is). I got the bolsters off without breaking any pins, and popped off the liners I needed to. I removed the troubling blade, and filed the tang down. I pressed everything together and glued the bolsters down.

The problem blade is much better, but not all the way fixed (damn!). Overall, I think the level of fit and finish I achieved is somewhere along the lines of "sleep-deprived money with one hand assembling a knife in a dark room using only his teeth."

The moral of all this? Don't start projects that are way over your head at 1 in the morning with no advice. Also, don't let me near your slipjoints with pliers.

That said, I'm still interested in hearing the "right" way to do this kind of thing, in case a slipjoint I actually care about needs some repair in the future.
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