Would you return this Robeson peanut?

L

lucydog

Joined
Feb 14, 2015
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69
Yesterday I received a Robeson single blade peanut made by Queen in 2001 that I absolutely love, and the blade edge hits the backspring. I've done some research and it sounds like overtravel from the hard snap on the knife. I contacted the seller about an exchange and they responded, "I will either give you a refund or exchange if I can find one that is suitable." I'm on the fence about sending it back because I love it so much and I'd like to keep it if I can sharpen out the flat spot...but if I sharpen it a return is definitely out. (I sharpen by hand on an old norton stone and am admittedly not the best at it.)

I'd like to hear what others would do in this situation, I've been carrying slipjoints for years but am new to accumulating them. Here are pics of the flat spot. It's less than 1mm deep so I would guess it wouldn't take much to get rid of it, but will it reappear over time? I've read about closing gently rather than letting the blade snap from the half stop position to avoid the overtravel, and I can do that going forward. Here are pics of the blade:

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And the knife itself, next to an old colonial:

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I absolutely love the knife, what would you do? Thanks in advance.
 
You could wedge a small folded piece of paper where the blade tang kick hits the back spring. That should raise it up enough not to strike the blade on the back spring. Maybe a drop of super glue once you get the paper thickness correct. Just a thought.
Rich
 
That would really bother me. I would send it back and look for another.

Jim
 
Would I return it? Yes, I would. Based on the depth of that dent, you'd have to reprofile the blade pretty significantly to get a new even bevel that would miss the backspring. That amount of sharpening would ruin any collector value, though it would still be a decent user. If you paid a premium for it due to collector value, then that premium would be wasted. If you always planned on just carrying it and sharpening it anyway, and collector value is not important, then you could just reprofile and go.
 
I'd return it.

You can sharpen tout, but if you let it snap closed it's just going to do it again. You could wedge a piece of wood matchstick in the slot, or a piece of rubber O-ring, but that is a stop gap measure. It all depends on if it's a collectable or a user? If its going to be dropped on a pocket and well used, then maybe I'd just wedge the matchstick in an use the liven' heck out of it. If not, ship it back.
 
For me, I would sharpen it out. It looks like an easy fix and then don't let it snap close. None of these knives are perfect, at least not for long if you use them.
 
Thanks to everyone for the feedback! I'm still on the fence about returning the knife. I paid less than $40 shipped and bought it as a user (as all my knives are). I think putting something under the kick makes more sense than trying to gently close the knife each time I use it. The idea of "reprofiling the blade" scares me a little, since my sharpening skills are rudimentary and I'm not even sure what reprofiling means! I've done a lot of reading on sharpening and watched some videos, I can get my knives shaving sharp and I strop (without compound) on leather to maintain the edge, but that doesn't mean I actually know what I'm doing. :)
 
If you do decide to keep it, I find a slim shim of balsa wood quite good as you can get it just the right width and cut it as thin as you want :thumbup:
 
If you love the knife, sharpen it out. Most production or custom folders I love I will modify to my liking. Last night I took a little bit of the angle out of the pocket clip on my new Hinderer because it poked my hand, love it now. The pocket clip on my Hoback A10 does the same thing. The A10 doesn't fit my hand well. As I am planning on selling it I'm not going to adjust the clip.
 
I had a Case peanut with that exact same issue. I sharpened it out, and it reappeared. I sharpened it out again and it came back again. I told myself I was going to be more careful when closing it, but that just made it a pain to use so I stopped using it. I ended up giving it away. Personally, I would send it back. I am lenient about cosmetic issues, but a blade hitting the backspring that much is a functional issue to me. It's fixable, but I wasn't satisfied with any of the fixes.
 
Reprofiling just means creating a new secondary bevel or significantly changing the angle of the existing one (the sharp edge part). On your knife, the dent goes back up into the secondary bevel almost up to the primary bevel. General sharpening just means refining and smoothing the bevel. You will have to remove some enough metal so that the deepest part of the dent is the new edge of the knife, all the way along it, assuming you want an even, non-wavy edge. That's what I meant by reprofiling. Its just a bit more labor intensive and removes more metal than typical sharpening.
 
lucydog said:
Thanks!
Click to expand...

You're welcome. There's also a way of peening the kick to kind of 're-grow' it a little. Charlie Waynorth explained it elsewhere, and I dare say he'd be kind enough to do it again :thumbup:
 
I have a couple of knives that I bought used which have nicks in the blades. In each case the nicks appear to be due to a previous owner trying to cut something that he shouldn't have. They are deep enough that I haven't wanted to sharpen them out. I just carry those knives and use them as-is. Shocking I know, but that's just me.

So if it were my knife, and I really liked everything else about it, and the nicks did not interfere with cutting, then I'd follow Jack's suggestion about putting a wooden shim in there and fixing it with a bit of glue. And ignore the nicks.

I know. There's one in every crowd.
 
That would bother me to no ends. I would send it back to Queen but keep it. Nice little fella!
 
I'd send it back. and get another without that problem. The shim ideas would probably work, but I would be concerned about the tip being raised enough to cut you, when grabbing it in your pocket. Closing gently gets to be a chore sometimes, especially if closing it one handed.
Just my opinion, but even if it was only $40 the blade should not be hitting the back spring, I mean even on my under $15 Rough Riders I get centered blades and none hit the spring.

Just my 1 point 5 cents worth.
 
I would send it back.
This affect the function of the knife.

I understand you like the knife and would rather keep it so it wouldn't hurt to give Queen a call and see if they can fix it.
 
knarfeng said:
I have a couple of knives that I bought used which have nicks in the blades. In each case the nicks appear to be due to a previous owner trying to cut something that he shouldn't have. They are deep enough that I haven't wanted to sharpen them out. I just carry those knives and use them as-is. Shocking I know, but that's just me.

So if it were my knife, and I really liked everything else about it, and the nicks did not interfere with cutting, then I'd follow Jack's suggestion about putting a wooden shim in there and fixing it with a bit of glue. And ignore the nicks.

I know. There's one in every crowd.
Click to expand...

I actually tell that to dozens of people every month who bring kitchen knives in for sharpening. I would rather just ignore the ding than sharpen away more of the blade. :)
 
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