Schrade Walden #861 with milled liners

[Jeffinn]

Got this oldie but goodie in the mail today from an E-bay purchase. It appears to have either steel or nickel silver liners (I’ve seen it called both on various online forums) and the liners & springs all have their back edges milled (or coined as some people call it).
It’s in pretty good shape except for the bone handles.

I’ll have to shape the new bone without having the bone attached to the liners in order to preserve the milled edges. Going to go with some simple amber jigged bone and see how it goes.
Jeff

[orvet]

That's an old beauty, can't wait to see what you do with it! I would suspect the liners are nickel silver, check them with a magnet.

[Jeffinn]

That's an old beauty, can't wait to see what you do with it! I would suspect the liners are nickel silver, check them with a magnet.

You are correct sir, they’re nickel silver!
I’m pretty excited about this one, it’s a simple restoration (if there is such a thing) and it’s on a manufacturers knife that I really like!

[Doc B]

That's a nice one!

[herbva]

Jeff, I can't wait to see how that one turns out. It looks like a beauty in the making! Too bad you can't find some peach seed bone scales to match the original. FYI, I finished restoring a similar Schrade with the original peach seed pattern that is a few posts down ("Schrade Swinden Key Adventure"). Best regards. Herb

[Meridian_Mike]

Nice old knife Jeff.... I can't wait to see the final result.
Please show us how you preserve the milled edges of the liners. I am trying to think ahead of you as to how I would do it. I want to see if your method is what I am thinking.

Carry on!

[Jeffinn]

I cut two different sets of jigged bone handles for this knife and didn’t like the fit of either of them. Then I switched over to smooth green bone and made a set of handles that were acceptable (still not great but acceptable).
The shield inlay went well, the pinned shield was a new one on me but seemed to make the inlaying a bit easier (as far as getting the shield placed in the correct position). And I managed to get the bone handles shaped without messing up the milled liners.
I’m starting to warm up to green bone but Im not crazy about it for this knife.
Here’s a few photos;

I’m going to put this one on the shelf for now and come back to it later.

[Meridian_Mike]

Man.... That looks great Jeff.
That green bone looks really unusual. It looks sorta clear in spots. It that just the difference in the dye colors?

SO, you gonna tip your hand and let us know how you fit the bone without messing with the milled edge of the liners?

I have had a hard time warming up to green bone but seeing it on some of your work has given me a new appreciation.

Once again... great job Jeff!

[Jeffinn]

Man.... That looks great Jeff.
That green bone looks really unusual. It looks sorta clear in spots. It that just the difference in the dye colors?

SO, you gonna tip your hand and let us know how you fit the bone without messing with the milled edge of the liners?

I have had a hard time warming up to green bone but seeing it on some of your work has given me a new appreciation.

Once again... great job Jeff!

Yes, that’s where the difference in dye saturation shows when the bone is sanded.
As far as cutting the bone without messing up the liners I used a method that muskrat man detailed awhile ago (either in a post or in a YouTube video, I can’t remember).
Since both liners are basically mirrors of each other you can trace an outline of the back of one liner on the back side of the bone, trim it so it’s close to the size needed. Then flip it over. Sand to the size and shape needed and install it on the other liner. In the photo below, you’d trim and sand the top bone piece up to the paint lines, flip it over and install it on the lower liner (after a bit of hand sanding and a boatload of trial fittings).
I trace the outline on the back of the bone with a fine tip paint marker;

I lay the liner back on the bone then use a straight edge to scribe the angle of the bolsters on the bone.
I sand right up to the line while continually trying the fit on the liner. A bit of hand sanding until it’s where I want it to be.
Hope this makes sense, I didn’t take as many photos as I should have. Let me know if you need a few more pics and I’ll put something together.
Thanks for the positive comments too!

[orvet]

That looks good Jeff, and I even like the green bone. I like your methodology, but I think I may have a way to improve on it. I need to try it on some old Camillus #69s that have milled liners.
You have probably noticed by now that Schrade and Camillus knives usually do not have perfectly parallel bolsters. I think there's a way to use that in fitting those bone handles to the liner without messing up the milling.

I will have to try it when I get time and see if my idea works. I may need to develop the idea a little bit more first.
But I think your method is sound. Nice work!

[Meridian_Mike]

Good points Dale. I am trying to come up with ways of improving the fit of new scales i install.
I'm glad you mentioned that the inner bolster surfaces are not always parallel. That definitely helps with getting a tighter fit against the bolster. But you have to have extra edge material to use for adjustment.

A scale fit-up tutorial might be nice.... (hint, hint)

I think I get in too big of a hurry sometimes. That is my downfall. Patience is a trait I need to develop.

I have had my best success of a good fit by getting one end fitting nice and straight. Then I use my x-ray vision (LOL) to try to make a cut with an exacto saw that is close and parallel to the second bolster. After that, I try to file the mating surface to a true fit. After that, I work the sides down to a close fit. Glue, pin and finish the sides to fit the liners.

I know there is a better way.

What step did I miss or what is that better way?

[glennbad]

Man Jeff, I really like that one!

[Doc B]

Very cool knife, with the milled liners. That looks great, Jeff!

[Colonel26]

Jeff it looks real good to me!

[orvet]

Good points Dale. I am trying to come up with ways of improving the fit of new scales i install.
I'm glad you mentioned that the inner bolster surfaces are not always parallel. That definitely helps with getting a tighter fit against the bolster. But you have to have extra edge material to use for adjustment.

A scale fit-up tutorial might be nice.... (hint, hint)

Mike, maybe stringing these three tutorials together will help you until buyer someone else can put together a good tutorial on fitting handles and hafting them.

Here are three tutorials that go together. View them in order, and don’t view the third one until you have seen the others. The third one is an old method that I had used before Bob posted his method. But after the fitting part of the third tutorial, the rest of it may be helpful to you.

1 – Bob’s method – https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... es#p336081


2 – A Couple Questions about Working with Jigged Bone –
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... ng+handles



3 – Fitting Handles to the Bolsters –
I do not recommend using everything in this tutorial because the method that Bob introduced is a much better method for getting the bone to fit precisely than the method in my tutorial. This tutorial was made in 2012 and over the last seven years I’ve learned a lot and changed several methodologies I use. Bob’s method of fitting handle handles to the bolsters was for me a quantum leap forward, it revolutionized the way I fit bone to handles and made my mistakes fewer and further between. It’s one of the best pieces of knife repair advice I have ever received. Thanks again Bob!

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... es#p316825

[Meridian_Mike]

Thanks so much for those tutorials Dale...
I do agree.... Bob's method is simple and easy and WILL be VERY accurate. Thanks Dale and Thanks Bob!!

After doing my trial and error method.... Yep, Bob's method is miles ahead of where I WAS at my last attempt.
I can't WAIT to use this method for my next project!

Thanks for setting me straight Dale.