Knife openers anyone?

fasteddie

fasteddie

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Feb 22, 2002
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Does anybody collect knife openers; those tools that fit on a keychain that were meant to open slipjoints with stiff springs and save your fingernails? I don't have any, so I can't even post a picture to get this started.

Would love to see some and find out more about them... for example, can they also be used to clean out the slots?
 
I've seen them at knife shows associated with NAKCA (?). Anywhere there is a lot of older slipjoints. They usually run 5- 20$ depending upon the advertising logo and condition. Some, not many, collect them. I've never seen one actually used or bought for a reason other than collecting. They are thin enough to clean with, but have rounded ends.
 
I have a couple of Bulldog reproductions that I got from SMKW.

The "Business" end is actually formed to fit in the most common nail nick...the type that is straight across the top and curved at the bottom. They will, of course, fit a long pull as well... :) They are not totally unlike an elongated guitar pic(k), and many folks call them "Knife Picks." After inserting it in the nick, or pull, you sort of catch the other side of the blade and pull the blade up/open.

I usually remember mine just after I fuzz a nail on a strong spring.... :o

No pictures as of now. Sorry.

Bill
 
hey fasteddie,
If you keep an eye out on ebay, they come up every once and a while. there is a Remington bullet opener up for sale now. ebay # 6510933218,a winchester: # 6512081762. I bought a Remington opener with jigged bone handles ealier last year. i don't have a picture of it though. waiting on taxes to come in. So we can buy a digital camera. good luck collecting them
 
Interesting I should read this today, after reading about knife openers for the first time in the Levine's 4th Edition Guide to Knives just this afternoon in my messy garage workshop/whittling, TV, smoking room. (I got the guide a couple weeks ago after I inquired about a "good guide" here in the forum and was advised to get Levine's. Today was the first chance I had to sit down and get familiar with the book.) Levine has a section on openers and has a list of makers and prices, including Remington U.M.C./Remington Cutlery. That caused me to look at the top of my tobacco pipe rack for the one I bought from Thematsa on e-bay, the same one Soulmanticore mentioned in his reply! Levine's finally ID'd it for me! I didn't know what it was. The seller calls it a "letter opener," and I suppose you could use it for that. Today, when I tried to put this one I bought into the nail nick in a Case Trapper, it didn't fit very well, but it does the job. I suspect, given what Levine values them at and what Thematsa is starting them at, that what those he's selling on e-bay are reproductions, though they do carry the logo...
Barry
 
Thanks for all the info. Keep it coming. Some pics would be nice too. Found out what Tony Bose thinks of knife openers. Says every time he's tried to use one to open a knife, he's cut himself!

I like to clean out the slots of the knives I carry. I usually use a tongue depressor and a piece of paper towel, or I use a non-abrasive pipe cleaner. I still think a knife pick might be pretty good for cleaning the slots, plus I can keep it on my keychain.
 
fasteddie,

For cleaning the nail nicks, or inside the liners or joints of knives......I recommend a trip to a beauty supply shop. Ask for the small foam applicators used for applying eye makeup. They come in a plastic cylinder of 30, and look a bit like Q tips. Being foam, they flex and fit in all the "nooks and crannies" in a folding knife....and leave no residue, strings, whatever, behind. They are great...better than anything I've ever used. A little WD 40 on them, and out comes grit, grime, pocketlint. Then gently squeeze the tip to bleed out the bad stuff, and bring it back close to new and clean.

Just a thought.

Bill
 
El Lobo said:
fasteddie,

For cleaning the nail nicks, or inside the liners or joints of knives......I recommend a trip to a beauty supply shop. Ask for the small foam applicators used for applying eye makeup. They come in a plastic cylinder of 30, and look a bit like Q tips. Being foam, they flex and fit in all the "nooks and crannies" in a folding knife....and leave no residue, strings, whatever, behind. They are great...better than anything I've ever used. A little WD 40 on them, and out comes grit, grime, pocketlint. Then gently squeeze the tip to bleed out the bad stuff, and bring it back close to new and clean.

Just a thought.

Bill
Click to expand...

Bill, Thanks. I'm gonna try that for home use. I did put a knife pick on my keychain, and between that and the small piece of chamois I usually have in my pocket or in my desk at the office, it did work out to be a good, portable combination.
 
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