Here is my latest attempt. The idea is, pivot screw and stop pin are fixed relative to each other, but if I can straighten the handle a bit, the rear screw will move away from the blade, in closed position. There is a loop of cotton string passing through the wood (I was worried nylon or polyester would melt). Handle and dowel inserted on opposite ends of the loop. Dowel is twisted to pull down on the handle. With enough tension, dowel stays in place via friction. Then, I apply heat with a blow dryer for about 7 minutes. After, I put the handle, still under tension, in the freezer to cool. It seemed to have worked, barely. If I take the rear screw out, I cannot see the blade when the knife is closed. After opening and closing the knife a bunch of times, I don't see damage to the edge, so I'm satisfied for now.
It took a few swipes on my mini croc sticks to clean up the edge. A little stropping on cardboard and this little feller is popping hairs off my arm. This knife is 1.5 oz, light enough to be worn around the neck.
******EDIT******
Well, the handle bending approach did not fully do the job, and the blade was still touching the rear screw, just barely so. Perhaps after a while, the handle returned to its original shape, and I did not want to risk melting the handle with higher temperatures. I used the knife this way and found the soft brass did not really dull the blade noticeably. I could have left it alone this way, but you know it was just eating at me. I finally had a chance to go to the hardware store and get a slightly larger brass rod (5/32") for $2. It was not much larger, only by 20 or 30 thousandths of an inch. Well, it made all the difference in the world. Now there is clearly a visible gap between the blade and the screw, and my battle with this knife is done.
It is perfect now; when open, the spine is flush with the handle (with the smaller factory pin it was sunken). There is a little bit of a "blade forward" tilt, like a kukhuri, which I think will work well with the deep belly of the blade. These pleasant knives are my favorites. They can handle almost any job, and they are simple and sound designs. The mini carries very well in the pocket, a marked improvement from its big brother. If I had to choose one to by my all-around knife, I'd choose the full-size Peasant, but the mini does not give up much in terms of performance. If the blade is the soul of the knife, the Peasant knives have joyful ones at that. Svord's L6 is easy to sharpen and offers respectable edge retention. I've used the Mini to make dinner a couple of times now, and it's developing a nice patina with no rust issues at all. True one-hand operation makes this knife so easy to use. Was it worth all the trouble to tune up these Peasants? Yes, yes and YES.
[video=youtube;tRSFC--GDkI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRSFC--GDkI[/video]
