Knife Repair, Modification, Restoration & Improvement

This group is hosted by D ale, for knife enthusiasts who are interested in repairing, modifiying, restoring or improving knives, including fixed blades, folders and automatics of all types.

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  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    Terry .. I do enjoy the sharing of resources that iKC facilitates .. your forethought in starting this grp discussion .. my/our opportunity to "pitch in" .. tis a nice place here !!!!
  • Terry Waldele

    Dale, I heartily agree with you! Everything seems to be working like a well-oiled shop machine!
  • J.J. Smith III

    Terry,
    Be sure to keep a pictoral record of the progress onthe $8.00 knives.
  • Terry Waldele

    Hi J.J.,
    OOPS! I forgot! Thanks for the reminder, though. I'll do my best to remember to keep a record on the next knife I restore. Sorry, my bad!

  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    ?? .. Anybody having any fun yet .. ??
  • Terry Waldele

    One of my $8.00 knives is almost finished, but I made an OOPS on the scales that I'm trying to hide. I guess my fun will have to wait til another day. Don't you just hate it when you spend hours filing, shaping and sanding, then a simple little blooper turns perfection into caca? I can hear life's sucking noise loud in my ears.
  • Alex K.

    Terry,

    Pin sizes aren't a problem. Just take the next size up and chuck it in a drill press and turn it between two files to bring it down to size. Works like a charm.

  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    Terry .. Alex has good/wking solution ..

    .. implemented similar approach replacing the lock pin in a Paragon auto .. original snapped in half @ narrow section .. only replacement on hand was from the flea-mkt auto's I've posted here for "fun/mod" purposes .. it was LARGER than the original .. chucked the oversize replacement part up in the drill press & used file & sandpaper ..

    ..specifically .. my application .. used a single file applied @ an angle .. maintained taper on locking surface .. finished w/ worn sandpaper .. keep the vernier calipers handy !!!!

    Chucking up on the part wasn't fun .. wked like a charm though !!!! the resulting "machined" surface .. round dia, tapered lock surface, smooth, functional, ...

    Alex .. thanks for pitching in here .. did you catch the Mikov assembly tutorial in "Reference Material" ?? know your interest in that area ..
  • J.J. Smith III

    Yep,yep,yep.
    I'm Havin' fun.

  • Terry Waldele

    Thanks Dale and Alex! Pin size IS no longer a problem. I'm certainly prepared for the next time!
    Terry

  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    JJ .. welcome to the practical lab section of Knifeology 101 .. did you catch the course pre-requisites .. must have destroyed at least one knife in the pursuit !!
  • Terry Waldele

    JJ, Dale gave you the primary pre-requisite. The second one is that you must carry at least three knives and/or multi-tools of your choice at all times, and together they must be capable of:
    1. Slicing and dicing
    2. Cutting your finger nails
    3. Filing your finger nails
    4. Opening wine bottles
    5. Gripping things tightly (pliers)
    6. Turning flathead and phillips head screws
    7. Puncturing holes in leather or heavy canvas
    8. Opening cans
    9. Eating a three course meal
    10. Starting a fire
    11. Signaling a plane overhead
    12. Sawing off a limb
    13. Writing a note
    14. Magnifying an image
    15. Storing digital data
    16. Cutting wire
    17. Cutting cheese
    18. Cutting corners
    19. Cutting boring conversation short
    20. Cutting egotists down to size
    21. Cutting class
    22. Cutting through the b.s.
    23. Cutting in
    24. Cutting out
    25. Cutting a deal
    26. Cutting others a little slack
    27. Cutting your nose off to spite your face
    28. Cutting down on expenses
    29. Cutting marshmallow roasting sticks by the fire on the beach
    30. Cutting the cards after roasting marshmallows.
    If you can do all those things with three knives, you are a Master Knifeologist and an iKC icon.
  • AlecsKnives

    HA I love it... a few more things we could slash with a good magic piece of cutlery... Slash the national debt, cut of the flow of oil in the gulf, cut the stupid bickering in washington and get some decent work done for us working guys. I am sure i could think of more.. but thats a pretty good start.
    Alec
  • J.J. Smith III

    Har-de-har-har,
    Last time I looked, the canvas riggers bag, that I carry my carvin stuff in, had 13 knives either in or on the bag.
    Got all but #26 taken care of.
    (I don't cut nobody no slack...)
  • Terry Waldele

    Alec, I love your "...cut the stupid bickering in washington and get some decent work done for us working guys..." And J.J., be cool! If you "don't cut nobody no slack", you may be heading for the "unkindest cut of all." Anyway, you're both "a cut above" in my book.
  • AlecsKnives

    Lol thanks Terry, what are you doing up at this hour?.....
  • J.J. Smith III

    That's Terry.

    #22.


  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    Terry .. remember that tie-wrap mod to the spyderco that started a bunch of this .. thanks for posting .. I see it's catching on everywhere ......

  • Terry Waldele

    Dale, that's FUNNY!!! Seeing your photo, I smell a contest coming, a contest to see who can think up the most bizarre use for tie-wraps. (Of course, entries must be accompanied by a photo.) Should the contest result in a tie (no pun intended), it will be broken by a hoop tossing contest using hoops made out of tie-wraps. What do you think? Will this absolutely brilliant idea cut the mustard?

  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    .. came across it @ http://thereifixedit.com/ ..

    I'm game .. maybe we can hit tie-wrap's marketing dept up for funding .. you know .. kinda like duct tape applications on steroids ..
  • Terry Waldele

    Hi Alec,
    I'm a night owl mainly because my wife has a sleep disorder and I'm up when she's up. I'm sure glad iKC is a 24/7 operation. You can only watch so many Turner Classic Movies without your brain turning into a gelatinous mass of goo.
  • Terry Waldele

    Dale,
    Great idea! The tie-wrap manufacturers should love it. If you'll draft the Business Plan and Prospectus, I'll pay the postage for them using USPS' Flat Rate postage. (#28)
    Terry

  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    TCM .. commercial free .. try Independent Film Channel (IFC) .. Fox Movie Channel (FMC) .. Netflix sub for more commercial free ..

    .. it’s the commercials that turn the grey cells to a gelatinous mess .. not the 1942 Bogie & Bacall .. “To Have & Have Not” ..

    .. It’s my wife that has the spouse w/ the sleep disorder here ..

  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    Knifeology 101 .. a couple of us have put together a database of resources/info/history/interesting facts .. we had to outsource the database ..for sorting & indexing .. features not well supported w/i the Ning environment ..

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Knifeology101/
    .. we hope you like it !!!!

  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    !!! .. contributions welcome .. !!!

    .. a source that stocks that odd size metric pin stock ..
    .. a tidbit of cutlery history ..
    .. manufacturer links ..
    .. your favorite knife maker .. "Support your local Blacksmith"
  • Terry Waldele

    Dale,
    BEAUTIFUL JOB!!! What an outstanding resource! Kudos to you and your partner(s).

  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    Terry .. thanks !!

    JJ & I discussed the (in)ability to readily reference all the interesting useful schtuff we're finding here .. the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Knifeology101/
    is what resulted !!

    Terry .. contributions are welcome .. we all have our passions .. what kind of specialized tools are used in inlays ?? hat kind of inlay tutorials/resources are out there ?!?!
  • Terry Waldele

    Dale,
    Here are some links to wire inlay information:
    1.
    2. http://www.blademag.com/article/silverwireinlaypartone/
    3.
    4.
    5.
    These links provide a wealth of information on the techniques, tools, and materials used in silver, brass and gold wire inlay. Square wire, rather than round wire, is used almost exclusively, and is sold by several suppliers on the Web. Here are some links to suppliers of square wire:
    1.
    2.
    3.
    4.
    There are also eBay sellers who sell inlay wire at good prices.
    The tools used are primarily a hammer or mallet and small chisels that can be purchased or made from old hacksaw blades, as described in one of the reference links above.
  • Terry Waldele

    Hey, the links I inserted were lost in the final message! I don't get it! What a waste of effort! I'll have to regroup and figure this out.
  • J.J. Smith III

    Terry,
    Just copy the URLs and include them into a message, and Dale or I will add them into the system. You can also sign up and add what you like.
  • Terry Waldele

    J.J.,
    Thanks, but I tried that and out of 10 links I inserted in the comment, only one of them was contained in the final comment. This one:
    http://www.blademag.com/article/silverwireinlaypartone/
    I'll try a slightly different way of doing it, without numbering them as I did in the first try. Maybe it will work this time.
  • J.J. Smith III

    Just copy and paste the links onto seperate lines. Don't even try to use the
    hyperlink button. I think we can get them posted for you.
  • Terry Waldele

    OK, let's try this again. Here are the links I included in my comment that got lost, as well as I can recall:
    http://www.blademag.com/article/silverwireinlaypartone/
    http://www.blademag.com/article/silverwireinlayparttwo/
    http://www.hooverandstrong.com/blog/archives/81/
    http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/inlay-work-10-3.htm
    http://www.mickleyknives.com/html/page_22.html
    Here are some sources of square silver and gold-filled wire for inlays:
    http://www.silversupplies.com/catalog/metals/sterling_silver/square...
    http://wire-sculpture.com/sterling-silver-wire-square-1.html
    http://www.wire-sculpture.com/gold-filled-wire-1.html
    http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=square+silver+wire&_sacat=0&am...
    http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=square+gold+filled+wire&_sacat...
    Square brass wire can also be used, but should only be used for practicing wire inlay because it tarnishes so easily.
    Hope these links are helpful!
  • Terry Waldele

    J.J.,
    Talk about great minds thinking alike. Just got your message!
    Terry
  • J.J. Smith III

    Terry,
    There all posted.
    Thanks for your help.
  • Terry Waldele

    J.J.,
    It was my pleasure. I'll keep an eye out for more resources. Thank you for all your work.
  • Terry Waldele

    Hey, groupies/groupers/groupoids,
    Just finished restoring/modifying one of the two old beat-up pocket knives that I bought for $8.00 apiece. Here's a photo of it:
    http://www.iknifecollector.com/photo/modified-and-restored-2bladed?...

  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    Nice job Terry !! Thanks also for the input for the library !!
  • Terry Waldele

    Hey, guys! Dig this multi-tool I just finished. I call it the Extreme Modification Multi-tool. One problem I encountered making it, though, is that the handle had to be 4-inches thick to hold all the blades. On the plus side, the Guinness Book of World Records has just accepted it as the "Multi-tool with the Most Redundant Blades." ;-)

  • Brett Van Winkle

    I'm looking for American and English folding knives for repair/resroration, rare classic patterns from the 1800's to early 1900's. Buy one or all good examples. Thank you. bvw
  • Daniel Howland

    Kershaw Breakout 7000 - Automatic knife release modification.

  • Jan Carter

    I have a question I am hoping you all can help with.  I know working with buffalo horn, if it warps I can steam it and flatten it.  Does anyone know if I can do the same thing with Ram or sheep horn?  Thanks for the help

  • Jan Carter

    Brian, I sent you a message
  • Larry Slate

    I have 2 New Old Stock Bonsa lever locks.  I think the dealer still had them because they have issues.  One has a blade peek, and the other won't engage the lock in the open position.  I am going to keep one and return the other.  Which one would be easier to fix?

  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    @ Larry .. keep the one that currently does not lock OUT.

     

    Blade peek doesn't have a real easy fix that I'm aware of. 

     

    Could you post a pic .. a macro shot of the defects would be best.


  • In Memoriam

    D ale

     

    Here's a pic of a Mikov leverlock kit .. the locking mechanism will be extremely similar .. there's a pin @ the end of the lever .. coincident w/ the rect hole in the frame.

     

    For manuf reasons .. the L & R frames are identical .. the rect hole for said pin is visible in the frame half w/o the leverlock mechanism.

     

    There are mating holes / slots in the blade. the rect hole in tang area of the blade is for securing the blade in the closed position. The rect slot in the blade is used to secure the blade in the open position.

     

    The pin @ the end of the leverlock mech has downward (into the frame) force placed & maintained upon it by the leverlock spring. This pin goes through the frame & seats into one of the matching slots in the blade .. locking the blade either in the open or closed position.


  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    ... as assembled .. the frame halves are mirror images of one another.

  • Larry Slate

    Thanks Dale!  I guessed right.  I actually returned both knives.  The dealer said he would repair the one that wouldn't lock open.
  • Jan Carter

    Wow DALE!!!

    Excellent information...Thanks

  • Terry Waldele

    Great info exchange, guys.  BTW, Dale, what is a "blade peek" anyway?