paul knife

H

handy

Joined
May 1, 2004
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I recently acquired a second hand knife that caught my eyes.a gerber paul series ll model 2. If someone could help me clear a few points;first its'originally mirror polished.I cleared the acid stains on it but I never owned a blade that polished.how can I restore it ? It has two black plastic handles.
It's the tighest mechanical knife I ever seen and owned .I read at lone wolf's quote<snapest one hand opening>> bizarre,is it an automatic? mine is pretty hard to open and there 's no nail notch onthe blade.Also on the button <1997 final production run >.Anyone for help ? clic,clic...
 
handy said:
I recently acquired a second hand knife that caught my eyes.a gerber paul series ll model 2. If someone could help me clear a few points;first its'originally mirror polished.I cleared the acid stains on it but I never owned a blade that polished.how can I restore it ? It has two black plastic handles.
It's the tighest mechanical knife I ever seen and owned .I read at lone wolf's quote<snapest one hand opening>> bizarre,is it an automatic? mine is pretty hard to open and there 's no nail notch onthe blade.Also on the button <1997 final production run >.Anyone for help ? clic,clic...
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Handy -

Here are some interesting Paul Knife links.

http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/nashvilleknifeshop_1877_1356972

http://www.cuttingedge.com/knives_for_immediate_delivery/archive/klc00192_paul_poehlman_design

http://www.knivesofthepast.com/GerberKnives.htm

You can repolish it using very fine grades of sandpaper/emory cloth and finishing with polishing compound. The downside is that you might remove some of the labeling on the blade. If I were you I would not use an electric grinder/polisher of any sort. They are dangerous and can really flip a knife unless you know exactly what you are doing. Dremel makes some nice small buffing wheels but you may end up with some streaks because they are so small. None of mine have a "mirror" polish finish. They have a nice brushed polish, bright but not exactly what I'd call mirror where I could see the reflection of myself in the blade.

The knife is becoming a rare cult knife because of the uniqueness of the locking mechanism and Mr. Poehlman's creativity. Unfortunately they could have used a much better steel than they did. I have collected a box of them over the past 25 years. I use Breakfree CLP lube about one a year to wipe down the blades and so far have not had any corrosion problems. You can get it at almost any gun store or good sporting goods store. It may even clean up the blade to the point that you don't need to repolish it.

A Paul knife is one-handed if you press the locking button and let the handle drop down into your hand. It is not an automatic knife and is legal almost anywhere since it doesn't have a big "honker" blade on it.

Gerber was the first knife maker that I remember using famous custom knife makers to design some of their models.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerber_Legendary_Blades

You might check the Bay site for more info and sales of Gerber Paul knives.
 
I have an identical knife. It's much too stiff to open one-handed though. But maybe over time your's will wear in enough so that the handle can "drop".

Best Wishes,
Bob
 
Bob W said:
I have an identical knife. It's much too stiff to open one-handed though. But maybe over time your's will wear in enough so that the handle can "drop".

Best Wishes,
Bob
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Bob -

Does yours have a real shiny "mirror" finish? If you give the knife lock a drop of very light lube and work the blade a couple hundred times it will wear in and easily open. They do come stiff when new. Many folks make the mistake of thinking that you somehow flick the blade open and end up dropping the knife. It is just the opposite. You hold it closed with the point of the blade aimed up and when you press the button and give a little shake the handle drops down into the palm of your hand.

The Paul was one of the first knifes you use aircraft type technology in its manufacture. You could never have gotten the button lock to work without the very tight tolerances.

The Paul button lock is reported to be one of the most secure and strongest locks of any knife although I think the patent has expired and you see outfits like Benchmade selling what they call an "axis" lock. I'm not sure the exact difference. Maybe some other Knife Knuts in the forum can shed more light on the various locking mechanisms.
 
The Paul was one of the first knifes you use aircraft type technology in its manufacture. You could never have gotten the button lock to work without the very tight tolerances.
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I have a couple of questions. What does aircraft technology actually mean? And what about tight tolerances? Tighter then a sebenza?

I just wonder how much is marketing BS about this knife and how much is real? (Never having tried one)

Also they don't seem that rare AG sells 16 different versions of them, many of them in 420HC steel..
 
Dave,

to me aircraft technology means manufacturing components that are made to exacting specifications by expensive machine tools that can hold very tight tolerances and have an excellent quality control process.

I think that iff you look at knife from the 40's and one made today you will see how much "tighter" and better made they are today.

http://www.agrussell.com/knives/production/l_through_r/lone_wolf_knives.html

If you look at a current Benchmade or Spyderco knife and compare it to an old Western or Schrade you will see this I think. Of course I'm talking about well made knives of the period. I agree with you that there is always an element of marketing BS built into any sales program.

You don't want to get too sloppy when you are building/flying an airplane. It just isn't very healthy!

Here is an example of sort what aircraft technolgy specifications/requirement refer to.

http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/special/351_strike/prog_aircraft.asp
 
Sorry, but unless someone can say say that the tolerances are +-.0000 whatever then I'm inclined to believe it's ALL handwaving and marketing BS. Does anyone have actual facts?

I can likely agree that compared to most any knife of the 1970's it may have higher tolerances, but is that really relevant today? As you say Benchmade and SPyderco, how does it compare to them?
 
The original Gerber Paul knives were sold in the 1970s. Your Series II dates from the 1996 to (I don't know when production stopped). Here's a bit from AG Russell, referring to the originals:
It was designed by Paul Poehlmann, a California Aero-Space engineer. It relied on precision fine-blanking for the larger parts and the then-new computer aided machining for the smaller parts. Even so, after about eight years it was discontinued because of excessive costs.
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The current 420 stainless Paul knives are sold by Lone Wolf Knives. The Gerbers were made with "400 series" stainless steel, which could be anything. (A.G.'s 1997 ad says the Paul Knife is made with 425 Stainless)

Mine is more of a satin finish, but I suppose it could have been mirrored when new. It's a Gerber First Production Run, dated 1996.

They may have all had black plastic (zytel) handles from the factory. AG Russell had a liscense to add customized handles. So you sometimes see aftermarket Series II Paul knives with micarta, bone, wood, and ivory.

Best Wishes,
Bob
 
Tolerances? I dunno, but most folding knives don't have many parts and the error margin for spacing and fitting isn't as important as with the Paul knives. I've never seen a sloppy-fitted Paul. They either worked, or they didn't.

-Bob
 
thanks to all taking the time for answering esp.dave & bob by any chance either of you know something about dismanteling this particular knife ? ty
 
I don't think you can disassemble the Paul Knife. There are screws for the handles though, should you need to upgrade/replace them.

-Bob
 
I can't vouch for the Gerber II Paul knife or the Lone Wolf Paul but the original Paul knife introduced by Gerber in the late 70's was an extremely well made knife (440C steel) with a rock solid locking mechanism. I have a couple an original Paul that I've had for over 25 years - never had a problem with it and it still work perfectly.
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