Spring Renewal - An old knife story

eisman

Gold Member
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Sep 9, 2009
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So I got this knife in fairly bad shape. I knew there was something wrong with it when (before I saw it) the previous owner told me the blades 1. wouldn't lock in place open, and 2. wouldn't go into the handle. And the buttons were locked up, and so were the other "tabs". This description interested me a little. So we worked something out, knowing I'd probably get another broken knife.

This is what showed up:

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The photos show just how far out the blades would sit. And yes, everything else was locked up solid. I was totally afraid the mainspring was broken.

But nothing ventured, nothing gained, and so into the ultrasonic cleaner it went. ran it for 4 minutes, pulled it out, worked the blades, and felt a lot of grit. Back into the tank, and a couple more sessions later the blades would move the whole 180 degrees. still no real spring, but lots of rust in the tank.

Put it in an oil bath overnight and then set it on a couple paper towels to drain. It was still leaking black debris, so back into the cleaner (this time with some heat to move the oil). after another 4-5 minutes the larger blade was actually locking up with some blade play, the locks were moving, and the one button was trying to work.

So I figured I'd see if anything would clean up with a little polishing compound, and stuffed the insides full and worked it with a trimmed down Q-Tip. Several Q-Tips. All of which got very dirty. The blades got a little too and I worked it into the joints as best I could. After an hour, or so, things seemed to be moving a lot better but the small blade still had no button action or lock up.

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Back into the tank it went, and a couple cycles later I dropped it back in the oil. The next day it was still leaking rust debris, but not as much. so back again into the tank, and then I used a little craytex on the blades and surface edges to take off the really nasty stuff. A little more lite polishing and the brass liners were looking good, the scales where showing some color, and we could read the markings. The springs were working, the last button broke free, and the blades had spring action.

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Another cycle later and the knife was back to working, although it still does not lock up (or spring all the way) every time. But I'm still working it, and it has a sharp edge for what's probably the first time in 50 years.

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She's a pretty little thing, Schrade made some nice knives. These old "switchblades" are fairly uncommon considering the millions made, and I have a soft spot for them. But even better, it's good to have a knife capable of doing what it was made to do.

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Very cool! Thanks for the post and nice photos.
 
A little care works wonders doesn't it? Nice knife, and thanks for letting us see an old time jewel.
 
That's.......awesome! You all make me want to buy broken/non functioning knives. It's amazing what can be made out of basically a shell on this forum.

Congratulations, great work.
 
Very nice, and an excellent example of persistence paying off. I specifically like the repetitive baths in the ultrasonic cleaner. I hadn't thought of that.
 
Sweet! I want one of these now, reminds me of Morgan Freeman in Seven, with his stiletto. This would be great as a dress knife IMO, as my nails are usually trimmed short when dressed to the nines.

Maybe a more useful investment would be an ultrasonic cleaner.

Connor
 
Great job! This is a fine example of persistence paying off and I'm sure you got a great deal of satisfaction when the task was done.
 
Nicely done! I love restoring old knives to their former glory and have spent many hours with q-tips and detailing brushes:biggrin:
 
Great persistence in bringing that beauty back. I would have probably just torn it down for a rebuild, but I like your method better!
 
Nice work, and very interesting to read of how you got this one flying again, incredible what can be achieved with persistence :thumbup:

I keep thinking of picking up an ultrasonic cleaner, and this thread is certainly another inducement :thumbup:
 
Jack, I had forgotten that thread. Thanks for digging it up.

I have found the ultrasonic cleaner to be one of the better tools for cleaning that I have purchased in years. They are fairly inexpensive; i paid $55 for mine and the same one can be had on Amazon for $38 today. There are a number of specific solutions made for these things, mostly commercial. You do have to be careful what you put in the tank, some materials do not stand up well. Wood, bone, and modern plastics do well, but need some care. Older plastics can get very washed out and lose color or "frost". Using the wrong solution can cause problems also. Using a solvent for cleaning brass can actually plate the other metals on a piece with the suspended material from the attempted cleaning, that's nasty to fix.

Lyman's Sonic Cleaner for steels is my "go to" solution, but I always prefer to start with just dish-soap and water. It's amazing how much "stuff" that can loosen up and get rid of.

I have a neighbor who collects vintage jewelry who, upon seeing one sample load run for 5 minutes immediately broke out his wallet. For me, other than knives, the best thing is how simple it is to clean a pistol after a day at the range. The tank gets it cleaner in 10 minutes that I could in an hour using the traditional methods of bore brush. And it does it inside the house with no nasty solvents. Makes me miss the smell of Hoppe's, but not that much.
 
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I had the link bookmarked my friend, as I was very interested to read about your research, and was thinking of getting a cleaner. I'd kind of forgotten about them, but I think I will see what is on offer over here again, it looks like it might be a sound investment. I really appreciate you going to the trouble of writing up your experiences :thumbup:
 
eisman: Thanks for taking the time to write up your experience with your ultrasonic cleaner. What size do you have? And if you had it to do over, would you go larger or smaller for your uses with knives and handguns? This looks like a really good tool for cleaning carbon blades of rust and pitting without having to grind them or remove much metal.

Jack: Thanks for linking to the previous thread. You have a great memory!:thumbup:
 
Jack: Thanks for linking to the previous thread. You have a great memory!:thumbup:

Thanks Robb, you wouldn't say that if you saw me looking for my reading glasses half a dozen times a day! :D :thumbup:
 
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