Old and new 303 Cadet

C

cupton

Joined
Dec 17, 2018
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I inherited my grandfathers 303 Cadet that was found in the garage after my grandmother passed a couple years ago. It cleaned up really nicely, but it is a little stiff to open. I've only cleaned a knife under hot water with dish soap and then a drop of oil on the pivot points. I was wondering if it's OK to soak the knife for a bit in maybe some dish soap or Ballistol to help get into the pivot points and maybe loosen any crud I wasnt able to get with the hot water and dish soap? Thoughts?

Also, I really dig the flat grind of his 303 compared to my new 303. I mean I like my 303, but I REALLY like his 303. ;)
 
OK, I dont know what paint fumes I was huffing when I typed out my original post, but it wasnt my grandpas 303 Cadet at all. That sucker is smooth as butter. I was thinking of his Camillus electricians knives. Those things are finger nail shredders. I inherited about 20 pocket knives at the same time, and have been slowly cleaning them up. Add that with my ability to get confused really easily and you get a post like mine above talking about a completely different knife. :p
 
cupton said:
OK, I dont know what paint fumes I was huffing when I typed out my original post, but it wasnt my grandpas 303 Cadet at all. That sucker is smooth as butter. I was thinking of his Camillus electricians knives. Those things are finger nail shredders. I inherited about 20 pocket knives at the same time, and have been slowly cleaning them up. Add that with my ability to get confused really easily and you get a post like mine above talking about a completely different knife. :p
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Ha! That was a pretty good read! You have great taste in knives. The 303 is about perfect for most of what I want to do.

I have an older 303 (Schrade), as well as a Camillus barlow that are terrible nail breakers. I've flushed them with Dawn, brushed them out with a soft tooth brush, rinsed in hot water, oiled the joints, etc. I'm pretty sure that's taken care of any old crud but, those two have the stiffest springs in my knife drawer. Easily. I imagine the reason I found them in such pristine condition is that the original owner didn't want to bother opening such a stiff knife.
 
I've used WD40 and compressed air to flush out a knife with good results. I'll use WD40 as a cleaner, but not really as a lubricant.
 
cupton said:
I really dig the flat grind of his 303 compared to my new 303. I mean I like my 303, but I REALLY like his 303. ;)
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AMEN! I like how the new ones switch the positions of the spey and sheepsfoot blades, but I really dislike the grind on the modern ones as compared to the old ones with flat-ground blades. I also dislike how the walk-and-talk on the modern ones is so limp. It's like they need some Viagra.
 
mnblade said:
I like how the new ones switch the positions of the spey and sheepsfoot blades, but I really dislike the grind on the modern ones as compared to the old ones with flat-ground blades.
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It sounds as though a 303 made between 1988 and 1997 is your kind of knife. The 3-spring design started in about 1988 and that changed the position of the spey and sheepsfoot blades. The flat grind lasted through about 1997.

Bert
 
I use Kroil to loosen up a lot of things, but never a knife joint. I wonder if Kroil is bad for a knife pivot?
 
I can’t bring myself to intentionally submerge my knives in water when all I want to clean is the pivot. I know I’m the minority on that but I still can’t do it.

For flushing pivots, I use Birchwood Casey’s Gun Scrubber. It’s a high pressure aerosol spray that cleans very well and then evaporates quickly. It’s designed for cleaning guns without disassembly. It’s not a lubricant or a protectant. Just a cleaner.

It’s a bit pricey but if you only use what you need, you can thoroughly clean about a dozen knife pivots with one can.

Again, I know I’m the minority. Just wanted to share what I use.
 
Out of about 6-7 Camillus and Klein electricians knives I’ve owned, I can only open two of them without snapping thumbnails. I sold the rest just to get rid of them. Several were in mint condition and that explained why! I’ve used Dawn dish soap, WD40, Kroil, REM Oil, Breakfree CLP, all kinds of stuff to clean out joints. I can’t tell much difference in any of them really but I usually flush them with WD40 and then leave them on a couple rags to drain out, open & shut a bunch of times watching TV and then use a few drops of Lucas gun oil in the joints. I must mention though, that I have very thin crappy fingernails - thinner and weaker than any other man I know- and I have a short fuse for hard to open knives.
 
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