Please Help: 2022 BF Bunny Knife

[oldmanwilly]

Howdy,

Please help and/or advise how to address a problem with my beloved Bunny Knife. I recently discovered that the pile-side bolster, scale, and liner on my Bunny Knife are beginning to bulge outward.

It's not terribly drastic yet, but the bolster does now catch a fingernail. I'm concerned about what to do as I really haven't done anything that would cause extraordinary lateral stress. I've used it to cut up food, cut down boxes, light whittling, cut rope... you know, normal pocket knife tasks. Mostly it was jostled around in my pocket with some keys. Will this problem get worse over time if I continue to use it in the same manner?

I don't want to just let it go as I would like this knife to outlast my lifetime. So, what should I do:

1. Lay it on an anvil and give it a few light taps with a tack hammer to knock things into place?

2. Squish it together in a vise?

3. Should I add a drop of liquid CA glue when doing #1 or 2 above, or would I risk sealing everything shut forever?

4. Is there a Swindon Key style construction that will complicate things?

5. Is this something GEC would be willing to fix?

Thanks in advance for any advice given.

- Will

 

[AntDog]

I’d just whack it with a hammer, but that’s just me.

 

[oldmanwilly]

I’d just whack it with a hammer, but that’s just me.

Normally, I would have done so already and reported the results. However, take a look at these:

It looks like there's a pin or some other part/insert in each bolster that is separated from the pivot. What is that? Is it some kind of key construction that prevents me from directly tapping the bolster and pivot? Will tapping on the bolsters just mangle them without actually squeezing anything back together?

glennbad have you had any experience with GEC #39s?

 

[AntDog]

Could always wrap it with some rags and give it a squish with some pliers. I don’t think it would hurt either way, just go easy at first.

 

[glennbad]

Normally, I would have done so already and reported the results. However, take a look at these:

It looks like there's a pin or some other part/insert in each bolster that is separated from the pivot. What is that? Is it some kind of key construction that prevents me from directly tapping the bolster and pivot? Will tapping on the bolsters just mangle them without actually squeezing anything back together?

glennbad have you had any experience with GEC #39s?

Did you notice those prior to having problems, or did they just show up? I don't think I've really seen those proud like that on any GEC I've worked on, and I've worked on quite a few. I know back in the day makers would rivet their bolsters to liners, so it's common to see those, but necessarily proud like that.

I don't see any pin pull on your bolsters, that's odd for having that much separation. Is there any side to side blade play?

 

[oldmanwilly]

Did you notice those prior to having problems, or did they just show up? I don't think I've really seen those proud like that on any GEC I've worked on, and I've worked on quite a few. I know back in the day makers would rivet their bolsters to liners, so it's common to see those, but necessarily proud like that.

I don't see any pin pull on your bolsters, that's odd for having that much separation. Is there any side to side blade play?

Thank you for answering your bat signal!

This problem did not exist when I received the knife. I am the first and only owner of this knife and can verify I have not subjected it to any lateral stress other than minor, inadvertent pressure exerted in the ordinary course of use in mundane tasks for which a small slipjoint of this type is well suited.

There is no side-to-side play present in either blade.

As it is now, this is a minor cosmetic blemish that does not diminish the usefulness of the knife. I just want to make sure the issue does not get worse and that any repairs I attempt will not exacerbate the issue or create new problems.

 

[Alberta Ed]

That's not uncommon; I have a Buck stockman like that, but it's held up for 30+ years. If it functions OK, just use it.

 

[scorpnsnake]

Cool knife! Cant help, just curious. Were these pins flush (red) like this one (blue) at one time?

 

[oldmanwilly]

Cool knife! Cant help, just curious. Were these pins flush (red) like this one (blue) at one time?

View attachment 2858576

No, to my recollection they were always sunken into the scales. If you look inside the knife, you can see those are short pins fastening only the scales to the liners. I think this is a common feature across traditional slipjoints.

The pin on the right that is flush is the primary pin that runs through the scales, liners, and springs. That one has always been flush with the scales.