looking for advice

[El Malo]

hey guys I got another question for you bali experts and i bet theres a fairly simple answer: what do i do with balis if the bar-like stopper on the bottom of the blades between the handle that prevents the handles from coming completly together (sorry i dont know what it's called) gets all loose on you? I know this is a fairly common problem with balis and its happened to a couple of my cheaper knives which i didnt really care about in the past, but recently it happened to one of my fhm knives that i like a lot and I would like to fix it if possible. I have tried fixing it with pliers but it came loose again. Please help
thanks
Malo

 

[Mr YODA]

Do you mean the tang pin?

I think there is some info on www.balisongxtreme.com about hammering your tang pin so it gets flatter and fits the hole better.

 

[tonyccw]

Is the tang pin rotating in the hole? If it is rotating pretty freely, you're pretty stuck, as the best solution is to drill it out and put in a new one. The tang pin hole probably got a little larger from use, so the mating surface is ruined. If it's still a little tight, you could try rotating it to find the tightest friction point, and then hammering it down to compress it against the tang. Don't hammer it too hard, as you'll run the risk of flatting it out a little too much and ruining the handle mating. Good luck.

 

[ixpfah]

here's some sites for you to check out about balisong anatomy and terminology:

• balisong.net
• balisongcollector.com
• balisongfans.com

hope this will help ya out.

 

[El Malo]

thanks but what part of bali xtreme talks about tang pen (you guys knew what i was saying) hammering? ANyone know additional sources on this?
Thanks Malo
ps my knife is loose but when i twist the pin with pliers it gets nice and firm for like a few minutes of intense swinging...then it slowly loosens up again........can i hope?

 

[tonyccw]

Originally posted by El Malo
ps my knife is loose but when i twist the pin with pliers it gets nice and firm for like a few minutes of intense swinging...then it slowly loosens up again........can i hope?

Yes. As I said earlier, use the pliers to adjust it so it's tight, then take a hammer and firmly strike it so that it will compress the tang pin, and stay in that position. Make sure you only hit the pin, and also make sure that there is something hard on the other side. The problem is that your tang pin/or tang pin hole isn't perfectly round, so any manipulation will knock the temporary fix out of whack. It needs a little force for the pin to stay in place. Otherwise, you'll need to drill that pin out and insert a thicker pin.