Attempt at Russell Barlow fix advice

[Treasure Trawler]

Hey everybody, I posted about this knife last week & appreciate the comments. I think I'm going to give a shot at fixing this knife. I'm going to practice on a couple broken ones first. Can you guys point me in the right direction on how to? These are the steps I'm thinking but if I'm wrong feel free to correct.

1. Measure diameter of broken pin & find Nickle silver replacement
2. Drill out rivet & tap center pin through both sides
3. Use vice to squeeze knife to line up center pin hole
4. Rough up w sandpaper new pin & insert into hole
5. Snip off pin to half width of diameter away from handle both sides
6. Firmly hold knife on anvil & use round side hammer to slightly mushroom
7. Do same on other side
8. Be sure it's tight on both sides by using flat punch
9. File top of mushroom flat be careful not to touch bone

I know I must be way off but would really like some feedback. Been watching lots of video on peening the pin but looks like the pin is totally flat on this Barlow...how did they get it so flat without messing up the bone? Thanks

[#goldpan]

Sounds you have a good plan. However your bolsters are steel. No need for a nickle/silver pin. Cant wait to see it finished!

Randy

[jerryd6818]

Don't neglect to use a slackner when peening those pins. A slackner is a piece of feeler gauge that you cut a notch in and slip it down between the liner and blade so you won't peen the pin so much it tightens the handles on the blade so much it won't open and close freely. Check with Glenn, Dale or one of the other knife mechanics for the proper size.

[just bob]

An old Russell Barlow knife has steel pins and not nickel silver. Check to see if you bolster is steel. If so putting a nickel silver pin back in it will give the knife a black eye. Use nails instead of pins. Find some that are close to the correct diameter. The pins that hold the handles on are the same they are not nickel silver they are steel and they are not spun, they are clipped flush with the surface with nippers. Study a lot of pictures of original Russell Barlow knives. Go to Google and search for Russell Barlow knife and click on images. It will bring up a lot of knives. Study the older one. Modern ones are much different and mass produced. Look at Dale's tutorial on taking a knife apart and putting it back together in the tutorial section. There is a lot of good in there. Best of luck on your project.

[Treasure Trawler]

Thanks for the feedback so far. Steel not Nicole silver, feeler gauge & I need to nip off the nail flush with bone handle. If I nip flush how will the handle stay in place & not fall off?

[just bob]

I'll bet if you would post this in the knife repair & restoration section you would get a lot more input.

[orvet]

Topic moved.

When you clip the pivot pin, leave enough pin sticking out so you can peen it.

[Treasure Trawler]

Hey everybody, from what I've learned so far, I need to use a nail to use as my center pin. My question now is, do I snip flush on both sides & if I do that how will the handles stay on? Seems like they would fall off...like I should peen at least a little on both sides? Thanks

[orvet]

You do have to peen the pins to keep them in place.
I only use nails in larger sizes and I get carbon steel wire form my local True Value Hardware store.
It has a good selection of sizes of piano wire (carbon steel) for the smaller sizes, and 3 foot lengths of carbon steel wire that I get from 1/16" up to about 1/8". It is a great resource and I find the steel pin stock peens well. It may be a bit softer than some nails so it peens easier.

[Bill DeShivs]

All the OP is trying to do is replace the missing backspring pin.
There is no need to use slackeners or feeler gauges for this.

Find a common nail that is slightly larger than the hole in the backspring. Chuck the nail in a drill and carefully file it to size. Too large and it won't fit, too small and the backspring won't be flush.

Cut the nail off after inserting in the knife. Leave 1/8" exposed on each side. File each side down flat, leaving 1/16" exposed.

Peen with the flat head of a small hammer to simply flare the heads.
File the pin heads flush and finish by polishing.

[Treasure Trawler]

That's great Thanks for the advice will keep you posted!

[just bob]

Here are some pics I'll post of one I'm working on for myself. I bought this for a few dollars with broken up handles and a bent blade. My guess is someone tried to pin it down with the blade bent and out of alignment and broke the handles and tossed it. The handles are from a Sabre made in Japan. So far as I know there is no good substitute for the original saw cut bone on a Russell. You have to find an old knife and that is like finding hen's teeth. I am no good with straightening bent blades and employ what I call a 2 piece method where I break the blade in 2 pcs in short order. I sent the blade to a guy in KY where he says he uses a 3 pin method in a vice to straighten a blade. I think that requires heating the blade and I don't have that much patience at all. Using the nails as pins I got the heads on them looking like I wanted. Got the tip from Kaleb about rolling the pins in epoxy. Also used it as insurance in holding the handles on. I know this will never fool an expert. I'm just a hobbyist and enjoy trying to save small pcs of history from the scrap bin. This knife is 100% usable and has a great snap and feel. I've a bit more to do on it.

[just bob]

Hope this shows the difference in pins between the old straight line tang stamp and newer tang stamp with the diamond. On the older knives I think the pins were nipped off flush with the surface and then later on they appear more rounded and peened down.



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