Knife style for Gun and Gear Maintenance tasks?

David Mary

David Mary

pass the mustard - after you cut it
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Good afternoon friends. I have been asked to design a new knife for a customer, which performs "gun and gear maintenance tasks" - his words. I don't necessarily know what that entails, since I have never had to maintain a firearm. I asked him to stand by while I look into it, and I was wondering if those of you familiar with such tasks might give your opinions on what sort of tasks this includes, and what knife style would be suitable. This will help me come up with a design proposal for my customer. Thanks!
 
Hmmmm.......I have maintained and home-smithed my own firearms for 40 years and I honestly cannot remember a time when a knife came anywhere near my guns?

Perhaps asking for a bit more information of his intended use would narrow it down a bit.
 
shane45-1911 shane45-1911 thank you. I'm going to give this thread a day or two first, and then give him a call. At least that way I will have hopefully gleaned a few intelligent questions I can ask him (not always easy to come up with those on my own lol)
 
Something like a leatherman MUT? with the Bronze Carbon Scraper?
Or a cleaning rod attachment point in the butt of the handle maybe?

Victorinox FASS 90 had a sight adjustment tool.

Kind of odd to use a knife for maintenance tasks.
I would maybe just recommend the MUT and call it a day.
 
Most important for me would be to be able to attach a cleaning rod, David. Imagine a SAK with a female rod connection instead of a cork screw ... Be able to screw the rod to the knife and use the knife as a handle for the rod.

Next would be a couple of screw drivers, Philipps and Flat, and maybe some wrenches. Sizes will depend on the type of gun and optics that might be used (e.g. metric vs. imperial, etc.).

How to integrate it in a fixed-blade ? Similar to a Hydra Buzzard, maybe (see below) ? BTW, make one for me too, please :)

i-DrKVd36-XL.jpg
 
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I'm hoping he meant as an accessory to his carry piece..... a back up?

lots of people who carry, choose to carry Both.
 
It's gonna have to be a multi-tool.
Ask your client what size and type screwdrivers he needs; as well as Torx head and Allen bits he'll be using.
After that: perhaps just a blade for cutting up cleaning cloths.
Good luck!
 
To expand my post above, Dave:

What many people (me included) do, Dave, is that - after each use - they clean a gun's barrel and chamber. For this all that is needed is a rod (which can be disassembled) with 1 or 2 brass brushes, oil and cloth patches. The rod/brushes/oil/patches are small and can be carried separately, in addition to a knife, say, in a pocket of the sheath, or in my case they are actually stowed in the butt of the rifle.

Then, every so often (for me it depends on the number of shots fired, every couple of hundred, for instance), the gun is disassembled and cleaned on a bench.

In the field, with a reliable gun, all that's needed is a couple of screw drivers and metric wrenches. To adjust optics or similar small tasks.

Roland.
 
There is only 1 gun that I know of that can be FULLY stripped down w/a single tool and that's a Glock. All you need for that purpose is a 3/32" punch.

And, there is only 1 knife that I know of that has the punch built into it.

It's the Lone Wolf Amorer's Tool (which is an exclusive version of the Endura 4) that you can actually buy for less than the cost of a "regular" Endura 4 and it's also "waved." I own one and always carry it w/me when I am "carrying" one of my 7 Glocks.

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Since it is a Spyderco exclusive, I'm going to post the link to it here too.
 
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Probably good to get more detail on what type of firearm and what tasks. The tools I'd use on a bolt action hunting rifle or pump action shotgun would differ than ones for a plastic framed pistol or a GPMG.

And honestly there are not many firearms around that you even need tools for to field strip.
 
Maybe something a buit like this one...
 

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I use the Cybertool Lite to maintain folders with great satisfaction. There is almost no tool and function going unused in that role. I use it with a Böker Wiha, that's all I need. IDK about guns tho.
 
My 1944 Underwood M1 carbine can be completely stripped with just a knife, so long as you have a stout enough blade. It was obvious when I inherited it that the flathead had been damaged by repeated use from a knife in the field. In that it saw WWII and Korea, I'm not surprised. Other than that, I know of no gun that a knife would be useful for.
 
Pistol, rifle, shotgun...never used a knife.
Maybe a fixed with a screwdriver on the butt? or like that Spyderco above, a tool to push out pins? I have a couple of shotgun folders with the pin tool.
No real need for a sharp blade.
 
ferider said:
To expand my post above, Dave:

What many people (me included) do, Dave, is that - after each use - they clean a gun's barrel and chamber. For this all that is needed is a rod (which can be disassembled) with 1 or 2 brass brushes, oil and cloth patches. The rod/brushes/oil/patches are small and can be carried separately, in addition to a knife, say, in a pocket of the sheath, or in my case they are actually stowed in the butt of the rifle.

Then, every so often (for me it depends on the number of shots fired, every couple of hundred, for instance), the gun is disassembled and cleaned on a bench.

In the field, with a reliable gun, all that's needed is a couple of screw drivers and metric wrenches. To adjust optics or similar small tasks.

Roland.
Click to expand...

Here is the minimum cleaning kit for my rifle, Dave (M1A/M14):

i-X5gmWn2-M.jpg


Rod and brushes you need for all guns. That thing on the right could be integrated with the tang of a fixed blade.
 
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Remington had a multi tool with a bushing wrench that went with their 1911 R1.
 
I figure for a 110 year old design: they can take anything!
(I've had 4, and still own one. It's my favorite carry piece!)
 
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