Nail buster Med Stockman Spey blade

coop1957

coop1957

Joined
Oct 22, 2002
Messages
2,624
I need the help of you wise traditional guys.
Recently acquired a Case med stockman 3318 cv. Problem is the spey blade is nearly impossible to get open. It shares a spring with the sheeps foot blade which opens with normal effort.
Question is how do I make it easier to open the spey blade?
I have lubed the area. It is not gritty or uneven just a really strong spring on the spey blade.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
I don't know how to soften the spring. The only advice I can give is to keep your thumbnail trimmed as short as you can and still get a good purchase on the nail nick. I get better leverage when there isn't enough thumbnail to bend or break.

It won't solve your problem but it might help.
 
Some people say they get results by leaving the blade open to maximum spring-bend. I have tried that to no effect.

I have loosened a couple of tight blades by ramming a brad or something narrow and pointy between tang and spring. Possible danger to knife and hands, so I don't actually recommend it, but it has worked for me.

Or might Case take care of it for you?
 
Wiggle the blade side to side like you were trying to check for blade play. Might loosen it up a little. If it's not the spring, has to be the joint. Either gunked up, or squeezed too tight.

I usually try cleaning the joint really well - HOT soapy water, working the blade open/closed under water using masking tape to give some grip and keep from cutting myself, swishing it around, trying to both loosen it up (the heat) and rinse out whatever might be binding it up. I use something like Dawn or another degreasing dish liquid.

After that, towel it dry, blow it out, get rid of the rest of the water with WD-40 and keep working it with the WD in the joint. Then maybe a drop of your favorite knife oil. If all of that doesn't help, I figure the joint is too tightly squeezed and will basically intentionally put lateral pressure on the blade to loosen it up a little. It has worked for me. Just be gentle with it. Maybe a little sideways pressure with the blade on something soft and lever it up a bit by the handle.

That's all I've got for you. One or the other has always worked for me.
 
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I've tried leaving the spring fully "open" with no effect. I haven't tried the warm bath with Dawn / wd40 or the blade play wiggle.
These last two sound promising.
I will try these and post results.
 
jc57 said:
I usually try cleaning the joint really well - HOT soapy water, working the blade open/closed under water using masking tape to give some grip and keep from cutting myself, swishing it around, trying to both loosen it up (the heat) and rinse out whatever might be binding it up. I use something like Dawn or another degreasing dish liquid.

After that, towel it dry, blow it out, get rid of the rest of the water with WD-40 and keep working it with the WD in the joint. Then maybe a drop of your favorite knife oil. If all of that doesn't help, I figure the joint is too tightly squeezed and will basically intentionally put lateral pressure on the blade to loosen it up a little. It has worked for me. Just be gentle with it. Maybe a little sideways pressure with the blade on something soft and lever it up a bit by the handle.
Click to expand...

Since the sheepsfoot shares the same spring, yet is not difficult to open, I don't think it's a stiff spring. Either the tang of the spey is misshapen, or there is a a pieced of flotsam jamming the action. I would try John's treatment in an effort to dislodge anything that might be there.
 
You might try covering the blade with some leather or something to protect it and then clamping it in a vise and using the handle to repeatedly open and close the knife. I left a similarly hard to open knife in the vise for several days and whenever I had some time I would work on opening and closing the knife in the vise. I was able to loosen up a knife which I had a devil of a time opening. I believe my knife had a tight joint coupled with strong springs. Still a hard pull but at least I can get it open now.
 
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Thanks for all the advice.
I ended up putting duct tape on the spey blade and working the blade open & shut a couple thousand times. Also worked in the joint some mineral oil. Now it is easier to open. Not easy but a definite improvement.
13d469fd255a1978a64ff1e0fafacf62.jpg
 
I had a similar problem with a Case peanut, and solved it nicely with a jeweler's file. With the offending blade open, carefully and slowly touch up the part of the tang that rests on the back spring when the blade is closed. After you file a bit, clean it off with a pipe cleaner or something, put a drop of oil on it, and try it out. Go slow, you can always take more steel off but you can't put it back! Good luck!
 
coop1957 said:
Thanks for all the advice.
I ended up putting duct tape on the spey blade and working the blade open & shut a couple thousand times. Also worked in the joint some mineral oil. Now it is easier to open. Not easy but a definite improvement.
13d469fd255a1978a64ff1e0fafacf62.jpg
Click to expand...

Leave it like that for 12 hours and work it some but don't close it till the 3rd day. I did and got a just flight at last.
 
Before leaving it open for a long time, clean it super thoroughly. Then work in oil, clean that ALL out, and work in a second batch of oil. Then compare how it opens. If still bad, wiggle it side to side. That will loosen up the joint.
When I made a slipjoint, wiggling turned it from bear trap (9-10) to a strong 6.



Connor
 
For slipjoints with opening issues, I will side with the clean it out first group. Before bending, wiggling, filing or anything that alters the construction of the knife I would recommend a attempt at cleaning and deep oiling. It is not uncommon to hear this complaint on a certain knife maker and almost every time a good hot water and oil workover solves the problem of black polishing grit effecting the joint.

Sadly, in my increasing thin and greying hair age, I think that knife craftsmen have stronger hands than I now do. They may think and blade falls into the acceptable opening power level and it does not. I have never seen a photo or heard of a machine that tests this poundage, I think it is all by feel. Why they don't catch every weak spring makes me scratch my head.
300Bucks
 
"For slipjoints with opening issues, I will side with the clean it out first group. Before bending, wiggling, filing or anything that alters the construction of the knife I would recommend a attempt at cleaning and deep oiling."

Agree 100%, 9 times out of 10 this will do it. I only used a file after this failed, happily it worked.
 
I'm in agreement with the hot water and soap flush, blow dry and good oiling. I use an old tooth brush. Opening and closing a million times has helped a few of my more stubborn knives.

Although I did try it years ago, the idea of leaving the knife open with the spring at its farthest bend is not a good one. If it actually did lighten the spring, I would be very wary of buying another knife from that maker. Although the average knife life is 2 years, and I consider that an abusive 2 years, the springs should take many years before they lighten. We're talking about hardened spring steel here, and these knives are designed to put torque on them when opening and closing.

I wish there was a way to scientifically measure the weight of a blade pull. I think I tend to rate pulls lighter than most folks. In fact I tend to prefer the snappier bear traps.

Good luck with your knife!
 
I agree with the cleaning, oiling, and working back and forth. I also keep an AG Russell Steel Thumbnail on my key chain.
 
It's very odd that the other blade which shares the spring has no such problems. Shared springs generally have reasonable or moderate pulls, it's the single-blades or springs that usually offer 'nail gelding' opportunities..

Might well be some small amounts of metal in there, burr from brass liners that's fouling the action. If thorough wash&flush plus brushing and oiling make no improvement, I'd send it back. I have tried the spring weakening method on a monsta spring GEC 73, some WEEKS left open at extreme angle had no effect. Workout in a vice clamped with leather hardly altered it either, inherent build-fault.
 
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