Henley Fixed Blade in Need of Repair

D

donm1234

Joined
Oct 6, 2007
Messages
37
I have a Henley fixed blade hunter that the blade is bent, I am guessing someone used it as a pry bar. The blade is made in Germany.

Is it practical to straighten this blade? How would it be done, how much would it cost to have someone do this?

The knife is well over 38 years old, at least that is when my Grandfather and I found it underwater on the shores of Lake Shasta.

I have had it all these years and have started thinking of replacing the stag handle and bringing this knife back to life.

Don
 
Here's HOW to unbend a blade. Whether or not it will survive is always a question.

Take three pieces of 1/2" wood dowel. Using a drop of super glue ,glue one on the outside of the bend point. Glue the other dowels on the inside of the bend about 1" to either side. Place the knife in a vise and slowly tighten the jaws on the dowels. It will deflect the bend back to straight. Go slow and evenly,stopping just slightly past straight, to allow for the blade to spring back a bit. Release the vise (the dowels will most likely fall off the blade) and see if it is straight. Repeat as necessary. This is much safer than trying to bend the blade directly. It may still break, but this technique works well most of the time. Clean off the glue residue with acetone.

Good luck!
Stacy
 
I have never tried this so i don't know, wont bent metal hold a memory? like bending wire many times, it will turn white with tiny cracks then break. Wouldn't it be better to bend it back under heat, then normalize, then re-heat treat? Thanks.
 
If it is possible to disassemble the knife and redo the HT on the blade, of course. But that may not be possible or desirable.
Stacy
 
It would be hard to reHT it if you don't know what steel it is . If you are going to rehandle it then take off the handle and heat blade to 400F and try to straighten. Much safer at that temperature.
 
I am starting to think that I shouldn't even try to straighten the blade. Better a bent blade then a broken one.

Don
 
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