Weak Springs?

[JD Mandrell]

I recently picked up a 1971 Case 6347HP, good snap on all but the sheepsfoot blade, it's a little weak. Is there anything that I can do to strengthen it?

 

[cpirtle]

How tight is the action on the blade?

I've seen knives that felt like they had weak springs because the pivot was too tight, if that's the case some gentle loosening of the pivot should work. Or just repeated oening/closing should help.

If the blade is loose or just right, it's probably more to do with the temper of the back spring or rocker pin placement. (The latter would imply that they all had weak springs and not just yours...) Not sure what you could do in either case short of taking the knife apart and having someone redo the heat treat on the spring...

 

[JD Mandrell]

How tight is the action on the blade?

I've seen knives that felt like they had weak springs because the pivot was too tight, if that's the case some gentle loosening of the pivot should work. Or just repeated oening/closing should help.

If the blade is loose or just right, it's probably more to do with the temper of the back spring or rocker pin placement. (The latter would imply that they all had weak springs and not just yours...) Not sure what you could do in either case short of taking the knife apart and having someone redo the heat treat on the spring...

Just the one blade has what is commonly called a "relaxed" spring, meaning it doesn't snap shut on it's own when closing. It will stay shut on it's own, so the spring is not totally gone.

The other blades on the knife snap shut really good, like most Case knives of this era.

I may soak the knife overnight in mineral oil, I have seen knives that seemed to have bad springs, but it turned out to be to much junk had built up in the pivot, and soaking sometimes loosens that up enough to clean it out.

 

[cpirtle]

I wonder if brake parts cleaner would clear some of that out?

 

[JD Mandrell]

I wonder if brake parts cleaner would clear some of that out?

It might, I am not sure about spraying old bone handles with it though???

Anyone know if that would hurt them?

 

[yobbos1]

I got some advice on the Schrade forum regarding the same problem on an 8OT and I used it on the Schrade and a Case Stockman with good results. Blast out the pivot area with WD40 a couple of times and then with compressed air then WD40 again. You will be surprised at the amount of crap that comes out of the pivot area. Hope this helps.