Serious clean-up of a 7-OT

[Meridian_Mike]

Good morning guys.
I got this 7-OT a few days ago. I am still waiting for my Barnett to arrive so I figured I would clean this guy up.
In hand... it was worse than the pictures so I figured out real quick I was going to have to disassemble this one for a good cleaning.
Seller's pics.

Taken apart with a little clean-up.

I noticed one thing during reassembly....
It appears Schrade used a tapered or stepped pin through the bolster at the blade. I had to use an over-sized rod and make a pin that would fit the existing holes in each bolster. The hole in the blade was the same size as the smallest bolster hole (IIRC)...
A mock up for fit......

The latch end of the lock bar had been beaten and abused and worn. When I put the other side on... the back of the bar stuck WAY up.

SO, rather than make a new bar, I bent it slightly down at the rear and filed it to fit the handle profile.

Here she is back together and working like she should.
(sorry for the crummy picture)

The blade still needs a little attention. I need to get those scratches out. She looks acceptable for carry once again.

Mike

[orvet]

It looks good Mike!

[tongueriver]

Nice job on an early four-pin!

[Meridian_Mike]

Thanks y'all...
I want to mod a 7-OT or an LB-7 with some bone in the future so this was a discovery exercise as much as anything. I don't want to break into an almost mint knife until I know it's "ins and outs".

[Jeffinn]

Great rehab, it looks really good!

[Doc B]

Very nice! She looks good!

[XX Case XX]

You weren't kidding Mike. That really was some serious clean-up. Sure looks good now, and still a lot of life left in it. Nicely done.

__________
Mike

[Meridian_Mike]

Thanks Y'all....
Yep, Mike, I tried to soak it down with some PB so it would loosen up. No luck at all......The lock bar wouldn't move. It was so gunked up!! It had dirt packed into every crack and crevice.
AND.... the PO had used it for a wedge or something. I had to take off a LOT of brass to get the hammer marks out. What a train wreck!

They don't need to sell hammers and knives to folks that use both together!

[MT-Vessel]

Well done Sir.
Every sizeable used lockback that I find has been used as a hammer. Do you use a belt sander to remove the dents? And, how did you treat the scales to remove the oxidation?
A rookie’s enquiring mind wants to know....
One day I’ll be brave enough to disassemble a knife and join you guys at the top.
MT-Vessel

[Meridian_Mike]

Well done Sir.
Every sizeable used lockback I find has been used as a hammer. Do you use a belt sander to remove the dents? And, how did you treat the scales to remove the oxidation?
A rookie’s enquiring mind wants to know....
One day I’ll be brave enough to disassemble a knfe and join you guys at the top.
MT-Vessel

Yep, this one was a hammer and was hit with a hammer many times. Shame on folks that abuse a knife like that!!

I used a file to work down the bolsters and remove the scratches and dents. Then came sand paper. Then the buffing wheel. That's about it.... I don't like to use a belt sander..... too much can get away before I can stop myself....LOL.
During the first spray-down with PB Blaster and then afterward when I was cleaning up I got a good bit of oil on the scales. So what you see is the result of those chemicals. I guess enough was soaked up so there was a little color restored. (very little....LOL)

Get you a "junker" knife and jump on in.

[doglegg]

Mike, while in my working day. My knife was a hammer a few times, it was what I had at the time, just a tool. But you sure did a great job on that one. Excellent.

[Meridian_Mike]

Mike, while in my working day. My knife was a hammer a few times, it was what I had at the time, just a tool. But you sure did a great job on that one. Excellent.

Well.... I'm sure you know better now....LOL.

Thanks!

[glennbad]

Looks like another winner Mike!

As to the high back bar release, are you sure your lock rocker pin and bolster pin were as large as you could make them?(filling the hole) If not, that is why the back sticks up so much, cause the front of the bar is sitting low in the front. The spring pushes up on the bar and provides tension for the lock and the closing blade action. If those pins are any smaller than they should be, it will throw off the "sit" of the lock bar.

Lockbacks, while they are pretty straight forward to work on, require pretty darn exact tolerances to lock up and sit closed correctly.

[Meridian_Mike]

Hey Glenn.... take a look at my mock-up picture above. You can see how low the bar sits in the notch in the blade. The bar should have been re-made to make the part that sticks down into the blade notch longer. Than would have made the bar level out more.
To answer your question..... Yep, the rocker pin was tight in the hole in the bar. I tried to pay particular attention to those important "holes" and fit those pins accordingly. But.... if I fit-up to the smallest holes (blade and lock bar) the holes were larger in the pieces that held them.... (bolster and liners....) This poor guy was a total train wreck.... The PO shoved it off the tracks!
That is why I always preach.... "hammers and knives don't go together".....LOL.