To mod or not, tis the question?

neal70

neal70

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Jun 3, 2015
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I don't know if this'll get moved or not, but because I'm wondering about a Case granddaddy Barlow I thought I'd start here.( Randy-totally forgot I had this when we were talking:rolleyes:) Anyhoo, I knew I'd left a big folder in the wife's bathroom at the back of a drawer,just in case , of what I have no idea, but didn't remember what it was specifically. Turns out it was my black large silver script granddaddy Barlow (gdb). No maintenance for a few years, but it's ss so no real issues except for the reason I never wanted to carry it-the tip of the blade protrudes from the handle when closed, and catches or cuts whatever's in my pocket, including the pocket! My question as some probably have already guessed is whether or not to file the kick down. Plenty of room in the well, but if sometime I want to trade, sell, or just pass this along,would that affect value? It's a fairly uncommon example in these scales with the large script, so I just don't know? To me value would be added in that you could carry the big puppy safely if I file a bit(carefully,carefully); but I wondered about other folks thoughts and experiences 😎😁
Thanks, Neal
 
I've taken the kick down many, many times on my knives, and as long as you go very slowly it's a good fix. A little goes a loooooong way!
 
yes, ive had this issue with a few knives. most recently the schatt and morgan heritage jack which i found the blade to handle ratio a bit off. it was so bad i could run a finger past the blade and it would catch. that is how much protrusion there was. i was hesitant to adjust it, but after I did, it made it easier to carry. actually ive modified a few of my schatt and morgans. the QC blows for some of their stuff. blades often poorly ground
 
File down the kick. As said above, just go very slowly and check the positioning when closed after every few strokes of the file. I've likewise don't it many times.
Rich
 
A small flat riffler file works well. It is also not a bad application for the file on your Leatherman.
 
I'd rather buy a knife that was modded to have no problems that a knife that cuts my pocket when i carry it. So I say mod it!


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Go for it Neal black mamba offered really good advice on going slow and I would add that it would be a good idea to check it after each swipe of the file since you've never done it before.
 
If it's been carried at all then it's collector's value will be based on what it is, not on condition. At this point I'd certainly file the kick and carry it, otherwise it's useless if you can't carry it without it cutting you!

I've filed the kick on many knives as well. If you have a ways to go you make sink the spring a bit when the blade is closed. I always go slowly and keep checking the spring...
 
Sorry no pics (pictorially challenged) but thanks for the responses all! I generally use a small set of diamond rifflers or a kind of specialty double fine cut file (for carbides, you can pick that up at most hardware stores). I really advocate the small diamond ones(Lowe's), they're 4 1/4" overall, 2" of diamond and about 1/64th under 1/4 wide and will slot into a standard 1/4" screwdriver handle(comes with). 300-400 grit, maybe? Anyways they have worked wonderfully well in the past, I just wasn't sure if I should go for it on this one-now I am;)
Thanks everyone, Neal
Ps I didn't mean to say I haven't done it before,just limited it to older knives or ones I knew I wouldn't ever part with, like a new Barlow I recently received;) How was your long weekend Randy? Fun I hope.
 
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Meant to mention putting a little tape,I use black electricians tape, on the edge closest (sorry,w/life break) to the kick. The black tape is usually good for 1-2 mistakes, but YMMV 👌 :rolleyes:
 
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A Hard Arkansas Slipstone does a nice job taking down the kick and is surprisingly fast at doing it.
 
Go for it, but go slow.
I could be wrong, but I imagine that if you sent it in to Case to be repaired, they would do the very same thing-carefully file down the kick. The last time I did this, I stuffed a wad of oil soaked tissue into the well to catch any metal dust from getting into the pivot.
 
Yah that's a very good idea! I have been flushing with good results,but prevention plus a bit of oil where it does some good is a little brilliant 🙂 I wonder if a q-tip, length trimmed and sized for the well would work too; that way you would have a small handle to pull out the cotton? Hmmm, may give that a try tonight,see how it goes. Gotta check out some photo up or down loading soonish, pics would cut down on my chattiness;). Keep it comin' folks,this is good thoughtful knife commentary 👍
Thanks, Neal
 
neal70 said:
Yah that's a very good idea! I have been flushing with good results,but prevention plus a bit of oil where it does some good is a little brilliant 🙂 I wonder if a q-tip, length trimmed and sized for the well would work too; that way you would have a small handle to pull out the cotton? Hmmm, may give that a try tonight,see how it goes. Gotta check out some photo up or down loading soonish, pics would cut down on my chattiness;). Keep it comin' folks,this is good thoughtful knife commentary 👍
Thanks, Neal
Click to expand...

Thanks, Neal. Better safe than sorry.
My last mod project, I was removing metal from the inside corner of the tang (as opposed to the kick) from the punch on my Harness Jack. I managed to bring the pull strength down from a nail breaking 9 to a reasonable 7. I pulled out the wadding with tweezers and put in a fresh one each time I tested the pivot. The metal dust was visible, so I'm glad I did it this way. You probably won't have to remove as much to drop the tip a hair.
 
No it hasn't been at all bad so far; I also stroked the edge on a 600 grit(don't recall the microns for this brand) diamond stone and that didn't hurt anything either. I'm not really worried about doing the modding, as much as I was concerned about de-valuing an overall lovely knife, you know? But this opened up a good conversation on a sometimes all too common problem. Plus I'm learning some good tips and re-enforcing some habits, if that makes any sense. Starting to feel a bit ill.👎🙂 oh well
Thanks all, Neal
 
Rachel's idea is very useful, getting filings in the spring can wreak havoc with smooth opening for quite some time...gritty:barf:

Having a protruding tip is dangerous and unpleasant, do the mod!
 
If it's done right it won't be distinguishable from how the knife might have come from the factory; nobody will say "Eww, that kick has been filed, I'm going to pass on that one." Glad to hear you did it. Do we get to see pics of that knife now?
 
If I can learn how to upload I will, although I didn't take any before type shots. I've got it done to my satisfaction at this point, but somehow it almost seems the blade is a little closer to the front liner( front being the shield side as opposed to the pile side),however it may always have been that close, but I was so intent on the protruding tip I hadn't noticed it 'til now. Thanks for the kind words and good recommendations!👍🙂 We now have a pocketable pocketful of a knife (grand daddy barlow,5" closed😁)
Thanks, Neal
 
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