Worn tang repair - 8OT

[Reverand]

I got a chance to repair this Scrade Walden 8OT today, just in time to give it to my brother for his birthday on Monday.
I forgot to take a "before" picture, but all of the blades were intact, just rusted and worn. It would have only needed a cleaning, had the tang not been worn out on the Main.

Front 1

Front 2

Worn tang with a "halo"

I used the method that Olde Cutler showed a week or two ago to "move the hole"!
I peened a nail to fill the hole in the blade, and ground off the "halo" and smoothed the tang.
Then I clamped it up against a new Schrade blade to drill the hole and reprofile the back "shoulder" (where it sits against the spring when open).

"Moved the hole"

Drilling and reprofiling

Then I ground the divot out of the spring, and soldered a piece of hacksaw blade in place to build it back up again.

Soldered spring

It now has great walk and talk!
I did not buff out all of the pitting, but still took it further than I normally do, since this is a gift. After cleaning, oiling, and sharpening this knife, it is one that I can be proud of.

[doglegg]

[OLDE CUTLER]

Glad to see that it worked out so well. I have not done the hacksaw blade patch method yet, but am going to try it.

[orvet]

Nice work! Worn tangs are a constant problem!
Please let us know how that works long, if possible.

[zed6309]

Great job love that method of re positioning the pivot hole

[Reverand]

Nice work! Worn tangs are a constant problem!
Please let us know how that works long, if possible.

I had a friend who was a knife mechanic, and a few years back he showed me some similar repairs. He would plug the hole with Silver solder, and his repairs lasted for years.
The solder that I have is too soft for that. I had tried peening in brass before, but it would not stay in place. I had not thought of peening steel until OC showed his method, and I was excited to try it.
I did not take pictures of the process on my Camillus Tip Top barlow, but I did the same tang repair and it also worked great. I clamped the donor blade against the original broken-off tang and matched it fairly well. It now has alligator snap!
I peened the steel repeatedly on both sides, and it is solidly in place. Even when drilling through the edge of it. I don't really expect it to wear much differently than an original blade, but I will update everyone!

[Meridian_Mike]

Beautiful work Reverand!
I enjoyed your outlining of the methods you used to repair the tang area and the spring!

I have a wire welder and I have replaced the metal worn off the spring with a couple of "spot" welds. Then ground them back flat. (Just an idea I wanted to add).....
The area where the spring engages the blade tang doesn't need to "spring" so I figured the harder metal added to a spring in that area would be a 'BONUS".... LOL.

Great idea using the hack saw blade to add the spring metal back!

Your Brother will enjoy and treasure that knife for the rest of his days!
That is definitely a SPECIAL gift!

[Reverand]

Beautiful work Reverand!
I enjoyed your outlining of the methods you used to repair the tang area and the spring!

I have a wire welder and I have replaced the metal worn off the spring with a couple of "spot" welds. Then ground them back flat. (Just an idea I wanted to add).....
The area where the spring engages the blade tang doesn't need to "spring" so I figured the harder metal added to a spring in that area would be a 'BONUS".... LOL.

Great idea using the hack saw blade to add the spring metal back!

Your Brother will enjoy and treasure that knife for the rest of his days!
That is definitely a SPECIAL gift!

Thank you, Mike!
A welder is on my wishlist for "someday". I think that it would make a better repair.
I gave the knife to my brother yesterday at church. He did enjoy it!

[muskrat man]

At this point I'm welding up around 20-25 worn tangs a month. It is a problem that plagues older knives. This is a great option for someone without a welder and I suspect when properly done it will last a very long time if kept lubricated.