Newbie needs advice with tight pocketknife

[tjsail]

I'll try to make a long story short. Originally I wanted to sharpen the blades in some multi-tools, found a old pocketknife in my tools drawer, and decided to include it in the sharpening process. This is a 3 blade Camillus that I carried when I was a teenager. I'll be 72 tomorrow.

All 3 blades are very tight. My fingernails are not strong enough to get the blades out. (They flex and fall out of the groove.) I have to use the needle-nose pliers of one of my multi-tools to get them out. The springs seem quite strong, when closing a blade, any of the 3, it will snap back to fully closed with gusto. I don't suppose the spring would have gotten stronger, so I suspect the hinge. Would you agree and what advice can you offer?

Thanks

 

[jasoncherman97]

Is your knife held together with pins or bits? If it has a pinned assembly you won't be able to disassemble it without breaking the knife. The easiest fix would either be to spray some WD-40 in the pivots to loosen them up and erode away at the rust/ particulate that has likely accumulated. Alternatively, you could carry a pair of pliers around with you to assist in deployment.

 

[jc57]

You might want to find some penetrating oil. Liquid Wrench, Kroil, regular WD-40, or maybe some WD-40 Rust Release Penetrant Spray. This is assuming there is some rust in there. Get it into the joints, work the blades a little, let it soak for a while.

Then I'd use a degreasing soap like Dawn liquid, and hot water, as hot as you can stand to have your hands in. Put the water in a container (bowl, pitcher, the sink) and submerge the knife in it, swishing it around and if possible working the open blade back and forth while submerged. Probably a good idea to wrap the open blade in masking tape to avoid cuts and improve your grip on the soapy metal.

After the hot soap bath, a rinse under hot water while still working the blades, to rinse out any gunk or debris loosened by the soap.

Dry as best you can with paper towels and blow out the knife as best you can, either with lung power or some compressed air, then follow up with regular WD-40 to make sure all the water is out.

You may have to repeat parts of the procedure with each blade.

Sounds more complicated than it is. Basically you are trying to first loosen up any rust with the penetrating oil, then washing everything out as best you can, drying it, and re-lubing.

 

[tjsail]

pins or bits?

Sorry, I don't know many of the terms. (Does this site have a glossary of terms that I should review?) The sides (perhaps wood or antler) seem to be secured with 2 pins each and one rivet each. The shaft of the pivot is not visible.

 

[tjsail]

Thanks to you both for your advice about cleaning/lubricating. I have tried that but perhaps with too much caution. I will give it another try.

 

[WuGod]

Oil the hell out of it and leave the blades open at just past half stop (one at a time) once around the clock. Should loosen the spring a bit.

 

[REVDH]

WD-40 let it soak for a while. then play with them. then wd-40 a tad bit more. 1 shot should be fine

 

[killgar]

If cleaning and lubricating a slipjoint won't loosen the blade(s), I've seen little tools that are made and sold specifically for opening such knives. They are basically a small piece of thin, hardened steel, and they serve as a sort of steel thumbnail.

Or, you can carry/use one of those flat steel, four-sided, flat-head keychain screwdrivers from Craftsman. Or one of the similar keychain screwdrivers sold by other brands. They also come in handy for turning screws and light prying tasks.

 

[jackknife]

If cleaning and lubricating a slipjoint won't loosen the blade(s), I've seen little tools that are made and sold specifically for opening such knives. They are basically a small piece of thin, hardened steel, and they serve as a sort of steel thumbnail.

Or, you can carry/use one of those flat steel, four-sided, flat-head keychain screwdrivers from Craftsman. Or one of the similar keychain screwdrivers sold by other brands. They also come in handy for turning screws and light prying tasks.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Either the Sear's 4-wy keychain screw driver or a P-38 is a nice addition to the keyring. Both have lots of uses.

But the ugly truth is, if it's still too tight, then it's not going to get any better. My own theory is, this is why there is so many nice old pocket knives left in drawers and in mint condition long after the original owner has passed away. It was too much to deal with. so he just tossed it in the bottom of the sock drawer and there it sat unused because he couldn't open the dry thing.

If you have to fight with your knife to open it, then it's not worth having. Remember this, if you have trouble opening it at home, just imagine out someplace with cold or wet hands. Or both. Not good. I remember our old scout master telling us kids that if we can't open the knife easy in the store, don't buy it.

 

[fsatsil]

If you can't get it too loosen up you can try and find one of these Case knife openers.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I'll try to make a long story short. Originally I wanted to sharpen the blades in some multi-tools, found a old pocketknife in my tools drawer, and decided to include it in the sharpening process. This is a 3 blade Camillus that I carried when I was a teenager. I'll be 72 tomorrow.

All 3 blades are very tight. My fingernails are not strong enough to get the blades out. (They flex and fall out of the groove.) I have to use the needle-nose pliers of one of my multi-tools to get them out. The springs seem quite strong, when closing a blade, any of the 3, it will snap back to fully closed with gusto. I don't suppose the spring would have gotten stronger, so I suspect the hinge. Would you agree and what advice can you offer?

Thanks

On a very old knife that's not been used (i.e., opened & closed) regularly over time, I wouldn't be surprised if the blade tang bearing surfaces in the pivot have become oxidized (with maybe some rusting) over that time, adding a lot of friction in the joint. Might also be related to old oil that's become very gummy/sticky (or worse if it's also dirty/rusty) in the pivot. If you're SURE it's a lot stiffer now than it used to be when new, that may be what's going on. If so, soaking the joints in a mild solvent/lubricant like WD-40 for 3 or 4 days might loosen up the oily, dirty 'gunk' and/or rust in the pivot. I did the same with a Victorinox SAK that I'd absent-mindedly let sit in a toolbox in the bed of my pickup for 2-3+ years in the humid/wet environment of Central Texas (it rusted shut). I thoroughly doused the whole knife in WD-40, then wrapped it in several layers of WD-40-soaked paper towels, and sealed it up in a Zip-Loc bag for about ~4 days or so. That allowed the solvent to keep working on the rust without evaporating. It was enough to loosen up the joints, after which I used more WD-40 to flush out the joints while repeatedly exercising them (open & shut many times).

(Hope it's a Happy 72nd B-day, BTW )


David

 

[fsatsil]

What do you guys think about using some sort of fine abrasive in a liquid carrier similar to the diamond spray we use on strops to remove the rust and dirt? You could squirt it into the pivot area then work it in by opening and closing the blade a few times then clean it out with soap and water. I have no idea if it would work but it might be worth a try if all else fails.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

What do you guys think about using some sort of fine abrasive in a liquid carrier similar to the diamond spray we use on strops to remove the rust and dirt? You could squirt it into the pivot area then work it in by opening and closing the blade a few times then clean it out with soap and water. I have no idea if it would work but it might be worth a try if all else fails.

Probably overkill, and there's a danger the abrasive won't come out of the joints afterward (imagine the harder grit becoming embedded in the softer brass/nickel/steel of the joint). If so, it may do a different kind of damage (accelerated wear) in the long run. The rust & dirt can be loosened & cleared out by other means (exercising the joints with soap & water, oil, solvents like WD-40), and none of those run the same risk of further damaging the pivot, like an abrasive material could do.


David

 

[fsatsil]

Probably overkill, and there's a danger the abrasive won't come out of the joints afterward (imagine the harder grit becoming embedded in the softer brass/nickel/steel of the joint). If so, it may do a different kind of damage (accelerated wear) in the long run. The rust & dirt can be loosened & cleared out by other means (exercising the joints with soap & water, oil, solvents like WD-40), and none of those run the same risk of further damaging the pivot, like an abrasive material could do.


David

Now that I think about it you are right about the abrasive getting imbedded in the softer materials as this is pretty much how how lapping plates work.