Rehandle a slipjoint without dismantling it?

J

jamesbeat

Joined
Jul 26, 2009
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I have a slipjoint that I would like to make some scales for.
At the moment, it has synthetic scales that are glued in place, but there are holes in the liners for scale pins (presumably because the same model is also offered in other handle materials)

Obviously, it would be reasonably simple to pop off the old scales and glue some new ones on, but would it be possible to pin them without tearing down the knife?

I've dismantled and reassembled a slipjoint before, but it wasn't a process that I enjoyed, and I think luck played too big a part in my success.
I'd be far more comfortable if I could do this without resorting to such drastic measures, but I just can't think of a way to do the pins.

Any knifemaker's tricks I could use?
 
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It's very difficult to properly peen pins without disassembly.
I know I can't do it satisfactorily.
 
ive tried it, no bueno dude. Only viable type for such a procedure I can think of is a shell handled knife.


-Xander
 
Hmm, I guess I was right then :(

The only way I can think to do it would be to temporarily glue the scales on, finish them, then remove one at a time and drill holes for the pins by passing the drill bit through from the other side, through the holes in the scales.
Then, solder the pins in place, and slip the scales over them.

Maybe I'll just glue the new scales on and maybe make fake pins for appearance, with a real pin for the backspring pivot.

I'm thinking of using preban ivory, as I was browsing the internet and discovered that it's nowhere near as expensive as I though it would be, like $30 for a piece big enough to do both scales on a small knife.

How will ivory respond to gluing?
 
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jamesbeat said:
I have a slipjoint that I would like to make some scales for.
At the moment, it has synthetic scales that are glued in place, but there are holes in the liners for scale pins (presumably because the same model is also offered in other handle materials)

Obviously, it would be reasonably simple to pop off the old scales and glue some new ones on, but would it be possible to pin them without tearing down the knife?

I've dismantled and reassembled a slipjoint before, but it wasn't a process that I enjoyed, and I think luck played too big a part in my success.
I'd be far more comfortable if I could do this without resorting to such drastic measures, but I just can't think of a way to do the pins.

Any knifemaker's tricks I could use?
Click to expand...

Yeah pray! Now you know why I hate working on and repairing pinned together folders of any kind. I'll make them. Heck I've made ten slip joints this year but even when I put one of my own together taking one apart without tweaking something else that was fine before messing with it is dang hard to do! You take one thats several decades old and it gets worse, add natural handle materials like bone, stag, or some pearl and you really compound the issue!

I recommend you thread the holes. Put your handles on with glue like normal and then screw down your screws and cut off the heads buffing them down to cover up the fact that there are even threads there! Thats what I'd do.
STR
 
I don't think the liners are thick enough to get any meaningful thread engagement.
I suppose gluing will be sufficient. I'm not a knifemaker, and this knife will be for personal use only, so I guess if a scale comes loose I can just glue it back on.

The more I read about ivory, the more wary I am of using it.
I've read a lot of horror stories about ivory scales being affected by humidity and 'crawling off the knife'.
Here in NY, humidity is all over the place, sometimes 100%, sometimes a lot less than that, especially indoors with the AC running.

Is ivory really that bad?
 
Sometimes. Usually ivory is pretty stable.
There is imitation ivory available that looks real good. It's available from Masecraft Supply.
 
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