Swinden Key.

Not in regards to the Swinden key itself, others have actually used an actual pivot pin to remove blade play. There's a great "how to" vid out there but my googlefu is weak:eek::)
 
Pretty sure a hammer would accomplish what you want - at least at first. Provided you weren't concerned about aesthetics. Of course your mileage may vary. :confused:
 
Hitting very hard with a hammer or compressing very hard with a vise will likely tighten up a Schrade if you don't ruin the knife in the process.

However, it's not a real fix, maybe not a good one. The theory is that it will bend the pivot pin instead of peening it.

It's only useful if you have an old user that you want to tighten up and get more use out of and you don't care about it's appearance. Might shorten it's life, I don't know.
 
Not a fan of the swindon key. It was a cost cutting measure. IIRC, I've rid myself of all swindon key knives I've owned.
 
I haven't had much luck with either the "tap the bolsters with a hammer", or "compress in a leather padded vice" technique. With the Swinden system, the riveted assembly rides in a keyslot in the brass liners. That is the only thing holding things together and tight at the bolsters. Use or misuse of the knife will either bend/warp the riveted assembly, or pull/wear out the brass keyslot in the liner. The only way I have been able to tighten things up at all on these is to take them apart and concave the brass keyslots in toward the bolster wells. Keep in mind that this can usually be undone again with hard use or heavy prying on the knife.

Another way, if the riveted assembly is not worn/bent, you could replace the covers with new/newer ones, but that also requires taking the knife apart.

The only real fix IMO, as Paul mentioned, is to create a through-pivot pin.
 
I have been able to tighten swinden with a hammer. It bends the bolster into the tang to tighten it rather than tightening the swinden key, and it does not work if the knife is loose to the point where the liners and bolsters are seperating. You also have to whack it fairly hard to make it work.

I've tried a vice many times and it does absolutely nothing, as soon as you loosen it the bolster reverts to where it was before.
 
Here's a video I'd seen previously on YouTube, which also demonstrates disassembly and repair (with thru-bolster pin) of a Swinden-keyed Schrade Uncle Henry pocketknife. Gives a little more perspective on why pivots loosen up with them, and why it's not really possible to fix without a more complete overhaul of the pivot.

 
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glennbad said:
I haven't had much luck with either the "tap the bolsters with a hammer", or "compress in a leather padded vice" technique.

The only real fix IMO, as Paul mentioned, is to create a through-pivot pin.
Click to expand...

Who said "tap"? :p You have to hit it hard with a big hammer, like to where you are afraid of hurting the knife. I would never do it to a Schrade in decent shape at all. I'm pretty sure it actually bends the pivot pin and that's what tightens it. I have tightened a couple users with broken/oversharpened blades and they stayed tight albeit with big dings.

You are very correct about the only "real" fix.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Here's a video I'd seen previously on YouTube, which also demonstrates disassembly and repair (with thru-bolster pin) of a Swinden-keyed Schrade Uncle Henry pocketknife. Gives a little more perspective on why pivots loosen up with them, and why it's not really possible to fix without a more complete overhaul of the pivot.

Click to expand...
Yep, that's the video, good find David:thumbsup:
 
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