1976 Stag Cheetah Needs New Back Spring

[QTCut5]

I have only ever sent two knives back to Case for warranty repair. The first one (Tony Bose Lock Back Wharncliffe Whittler) got fixed up real nice and returned lickety-split, free of charge with no problems. The Big Dog proved to be as good as its word on its legendary Limited Lifetime Warranty.

The second was this 1976 Stag Cheetah which was returned unrepaired along with a form letter enlightening me on the significance of the Limited part of the Lifetime Warranty.

I'm asking for one of the excellent knife mechanics here on AAPK who has the time, materials and interest to take on this repair job to please send me a PM with cost estimate. I'm in no hurry.

This is just an old friend that I've had for a long time (HOK), not anything with sentimental value; but, I really would like to get this Cheetah back up and running if it's not too cost-prohibitive.

Cheers & Aloha,
~Q~

[Bill DeShivs]

Which part of the backspring? The forward, or the rear?

[QTCut5]

The rear.

[btrwtr]

Q,
PM sent.

[QTCut5]

Wayne,
No PM has been received.
Maybe try again?
Thanks,
~Q~

[knifeaholic]

Just curious - was the backspring broken? If so I'm surprised that Case did not offer a replacement knife. A broken backspring is always to be considered a warranty issue in my opinion, unless the knife has had EXTREME abuse, like being put through a power trip hammer.

[QTCut5]

Yes...it broke into two pieces...snapped approximately in half.

According to Case, the reason this knife cannot be repaired is because their "tooling has changed" and "the new parts will not fit [my] knife" (see the bold, underlined print in the return form letter). Like you, I feel that a broken back spring is a perfectly valid warranty claim, but apparently Case feels that a broken back spring "does not meet [their] warranty guidelines" for some reason.

As for abuse: This Cheetah has never even been carried, used or sharpened...it still has the original factory edge and was stored in the closed position (not part-way open or in any way that would maintain constant tension on the spring). So, apparently, opening and closing the knife repeatedly over the course of 40 years is considered "normal wear" according to Case, thus they did not send a replacement knife as per their provision for knives they cannot repair in the Limited Lifetime Warranty.

What am I missing here?

~Q~

[muskrat man]

Well the tooling for the 111 1/2 pattern has changed over the years so I'm sure they probably did not have the correct vintage part to do the repair and it is not cost effective for them to make the part by hand (which is what I would do). With lockbacks like this the spring is CONSTANTLY under pressure no matter what position the blade is in. Still no excuse for the spring breaking. Old stainless springs seem to be very prone to breakage (in many brands, not just case) though, more so than carbon steel springs. It makes me think they didn't have the temper worked out properly. Personally I would have rather had them return the broken vintage knife so that I could seek repair from other sources rather than have one of the modern manufacture knives. They may have took this into consideration when returning you old knife instead of giving you a new one that is worth 1/2 to 1/4 of what your old knife is worth. Just my .02

[QTCut5]

I agree with you 100%, muskrat man...I absolutely did NOT want a "modern" replacement knife and would not have accepted it anyway if they had sent me one.

What do you estimate it would cost to have the knife repaired with a hand made spring?

Thanks for everyone's input.

Cheers & Aloha,
~Q~

PS--Wayne...still haven't received a PM from you, but am curious about your thoughts.

[muskrat man]

around $36

[just bob]

So it can be understood here is a picture of a knife with the Cheetah 2 pc. type of backspring. This is not a Case knife but has the same style of locking mechanism. The one pc. is a tension locking bar and the pc. at the rear has a prong extending out that is in constant contact with the tension locking bar. Over time the prong weakens with age and it snaps. I once spent 4 hrs. trying to make a tail pc. Was really proud of myself that the knife went back together. Within about 10 openings and closings the prong snapped and I was back to square one. Decided to find a donor knife on ebay and make the switch. If you make your own it must be heat treated correctly and that is hard to get right without heat controls. An option is to cut a slot in the remaining tail pc. with a Dremel tool and use a pc of spring stock from Jantz and replace the prong. Other knife makers use that system.

[QTCut5]

Cool...thanks for the exploded view, jbob.

Here's mine with the "prong" that broke off the rear spring.

~Q~