File the kick?

[filedog]

Just got this Voos barehead. The pen sits a little high, partly obscuring the nick on the primary blade. I know you can file the sort of "pointed" kicks to lower a blade, but how about the kind without an obvious kick? Excuse my crappy pictures : ) I tried filing a bit where the arrow is pointed, but it didn't seem to lower the blade.

 

[Will Power]

Don't think I'd risk it, you could end up with a sharp lowered spring on open, nasty feel in the hand...Not much to file off and this could cause problems...

 

[Goose 7279]

Just keep filing and make sure your blade is not gonna touch the backspring on closing amd check the action and the height often. Because you can always take away but its hard to put it back.;-)

 

[Goose 7279]

Beautiful knife by the way the bone and that jigging is gorgeous

 

[oldtymer]

from the photo the nick on the main blade looks accessible. If your not having difficulty opening it I would leave as is.
Doesn't look like much of the kick left on that pen blade they took it pretty far down in production.

 

[traumkommode]

Recently there was a discussion about filing kicks (or I just read it recently and it is old), wherein this sort of "hidden" kick is explained to actually be down in the knife. As per blade height, I don't think you're at risk of back spring rapping, but I've only filled the kind of kicks that are on the actual tang. I wouldn't do it on this knife; you would need to preserve the angle and flatness at that angle, and you're awfully close to the bolster to do it (not that it's impossible, but...)

Another solution might be to put a little cork or something down where the kick of the main blade lands to prop it up so the nick is more accessible.

 

[screened porch]

Or file just a hair off the back of the pen.
Or leave it alone if the main is pinchable.

 

[mrknife]

ive done it on schatt and morgans, and id go very very carefully

 

[filedog]

Beautiful knife by the way the bone and that jigging is gorgeous

Thanks, I really like it. It looks even better in person : ) I wish more current makers could do shading like this. The knife had some small areas of active rust,
but I was able to clean it up and stop it. It's not perfect, but I really like the pulls (firm), W&T, and the look of this one.

from the photo the nick on the main blade looks accessible. If your not having difficulty opening it I would leave as is.
Doesn't look like much of the kick left on that pen blade they took it pretty far down in production.

Yeah, I have other knives (GEC 15) with pen kicks like this. They have to get it right the first time, since they (apparently) can't be adjusted!

Recently there was a discussion about filing kicks (or I just read it recently and it is old), wherein this sort of "hidden" kick is explained to actually be down in the knife. As per blade height, I don't think you're at risk of back spring rapping, but I've only filled the kind of kicks that are on the actual tang. I wouldn't do it on this knife; you would need to preserve the angle and flatness at that angle, and you're awfully close to the bolster to do it (not that it's impossible, but...)

Another solution might be to put a little cork or something down where the kick of the main blade lands to prop it up so the nick is more accessible.

I'll have to look for that thread, it's an interesting subject. No, no chance of hitting the edge, plenty of room there.
Hm. A little spacer under the main kick. Do others do that? I would wonder about it collecting moisture, or altering the "snap". I might try it though.

Or file just a hair off the back of the pen.
Or leave it alone if the main is pinchable.

I considered reshaping the pen a bit. I have never tried that, but this knife is a user, and I've improved it so far.
Main is pinchable, I even toyed with the idea of an EO notch!

 

[Goose 7279]

Or file just a hair off the back of the pen.
Or leave it alone if the main is pinchable.

Yea i wasnt thinking about that but you could make it a mini clip blade and that would be pretty awesome. The easy open notch i would be on the fence about. It might turn out great though but you would have to insure the placement of the eo notch didnt expose the pen blade tip and if it was me and i wanted to do the notch i would make it a more shallow eo notch.

 

[Cutfinger]

I like the blades to sit as low as is practical (no blade rap), both for comfort when using the knife, and so that the knife is 'smaller' in my pocket. For that kinda kick I use a little triangular diamond file, take a bit off at a time, and check often.

To drop that blade into the well, you gotta take material off the tang starting at the point of the arrow going back to the bolster (roughly parallel to length of the knife, pointing a bit towards the choil). I've done just that, and yeah, you may end up with a spring that sits a bit low when the pen is closed but that's the trade off.

By the way, Beautiful knife

Michael

 

[neal70]

Great knife, great ideas. I’d sure try raising the main blade a little first. That can be redone or removed. Then maybe other measures. It is a handsome knife! An eo notch would look good, or a clip pen(wharnie?). I’m just saying try the stuff that can be fixed easy before you do something irreversible. If ya do tho, right on! Post pics!
Thanks, Neal

 

[Cutfinger]

No need to rush things, you could try getting used to the way it is

Michael

 

[cbr1000]

If you decide to take a bit more off make sure to check that the spring position isn't recessing on you. You don't want to be solely focused on the blade height and find out later your spring is recessed when closed.

 

[filedog]

Yea i wasnt thinking about that but you could make it a mini clip blade and that would be pretty awesome. The easy open notch i would be on the fence about. It might turn out great though but you would have to insure the placement of the eo notch didnt expose the pen blade tip and if it was me and i wanted to do the notch i would make it a more shallow eo notch.

Yeah, I don't think I will do the notch, at least not now.

I like the blades to sit as low as is practical (no blade rap), both for comfort when using the knife, and so that the knife is 'smaller' in my pocket. For that kinda kick I use a little triangular diamond file, take a bit off at a time, and check often.

To drop that blade into the well, you gotta take material off the tang starting at the point of the arrow going back to the bolster (roughly parallel to length of the knife, pointing a bit towards the choil). I've done just that, and yeah, you may end up with a spring that sits a bit low when the pen is closed but that's the trade off.

By the way, Beautiful knife

Michael

Good info, thanks! If I could just lower it a little, that would be great.

Great knife, great ideas. I’d sure try raising the main blade a little first. That can be redone or removed. Then maybe other measures. It is a handsome knife! An eo notch would look good, or a clip pen(wharnie?). I’m just saying try the stuff that can be fixed easy before you do something irreversible. If ya do tho, right on! Post pics!
Thanks, Neal

Raising the main will expose the tip, so I probably won't go that way.

No need to rush things, you could try getting used to the way it is

Michael

Yeah, there's a lot to be said for that : )

If you decide to take a bit more off make sure to check that the spring position isn't recessing on you. You don't want to be solely focused on the blade height and find out later your spring is recessed when closed.

I will take it slow, if do any more filing!

 

[screened porch]

I tried all three on this wrong-handed knife. Filing the kick didn't lower the pen appreciably, so I re-shaped the point. I could reach the main nick then, but it was a long reach at a right angle and my nail wouldn't take it, so I did the e-o notch with a Dremel barrel-sander. If I'd thought of the e-o first, I probably could have left the pen alone.

 

[Sacto]

I have a knive with a similar issue and I put part of a match in the well under the main blade. A cardboard one, not wood, and it raised the main slightly without exposing the tip. It may expose the tip on yours, but might be worth a try. Surely you have a book of matches laying around. By the way, the jigging on that one is amazing.

 

[filedog]

I tried all three on this wrong-handed knife. Filing the kick didn't lower the pen appreciably, so I re-shaped the point. I could reach the main nick then, but it was a long reach at a right angle and my nail wouldn't take it, so I did the e-o notch with a Dremel barrel-sander. If I'd thought of the e-o first, I probably could have left the pen alone.

Yeah, that came out NICE!

I have a knive with a similar issue and I put part of a match in the well under the main blade. A cardboard one, not wood, and it raised the main slightly without exposing the tip. It may expose the tip on yours, but might be worth a try. Surely you have a book of matches laying around. By the way, the jigging on that one is amazing.

I'm gonna try it. If it doesn't work, nothing lost, thanks.

I won't have a chance to do anything on it today, But I will try some things tomorrow, and post (at least) a better pic of the nail nicks.

 

[B.F.U]

I absolutely HATE proud or near proud tips. It's something that I think is a ridiculous thing to leave on a knife, especially a higher end knife with amazing fit and finish otherwise (GEC). The supposed reasoning has been explained to me (that it's because they don't want the edge to hit the spring) but on a majority of knives that's not even close to becoming a problem and it'd be a much preferable problem over having a tip that sticks up and catches on your hand when you're trying to use the knife.

I file a large portion of kicks. It's slow and careful work, but it's worth it. That kind of kick is definitely the most difficult.

I have a trick that I don't think has been mentioned yet: to get at the full kick and make it easier to keep from hitting the bolster, push the blade forward till it sits between open and closed. It should expose more of the kick and push it further from the bolster.

 

[filedog]

I absolutely HATE proud or near proud tips. It's something that I think is a ridiculous thing to leave on a knife, especially a higher end knife with amazing fit and finish otherwise (GEC). The supposed reasoning has been explained to me (that it's because they don't want the edge to hit the spring) but on a majority of knives that's not even close to becoming a problem and it'd be a much preferable problem over having a tip that sticks up and catches on your hand when you're trying to use the knife.

I file a large portion of kicks. It's slow and careful work, but it's worth it. That kind of kick is definitely the most difficult.

I have a trick that I don't think has been mentioned yet: to get at the full kick and make it easier to keep from hitting the bolster, push the blade forward till it sits between open and closed. It should expose more of the kick and push it further from the bolster.

Yes, it's good to confirm the right place for me to file. I noticed it is most visible in the position you describe. I will give it a shot when I have some time to really go slow with it. As far as the proud tip, I guess I would rather have the ability to lower it a bit myself (with the easy to file kind), than have it too low, that wouldn't be good. Re: GEC, I've only had 3 so far, and they have been the nicest traditionals I've come in contact with. Haven't seen a proud tip (or any other issues worth mentioning) yet. I'm really glad they're doing well and look to be sticking around. So far, I haven't found a model I like, in materials that really do it for me, for a price I can afford. Thus knives like the one in this thread. Less than perfect, but that make me happy to handle them.