Storing vintage switchblades

[Forensic Jim]

Is it advisable to store vintage switchblades in the open position? A co-worker told me this tonight and I had never heard of it.

[philco]

LT does.

[Desktop]

Is it advisable to store vintage switchblades in the open position? A co-worker told me this tonight and I had never heard of it.

I store all my vintage knives in the open position. For new production knives it doesn't really matter. If the spring is tempered right it doesn't break from the pressure being applied to it when closed - it's the repeated open/close operation of the spring that will eventually break it. However, a spring that was produced the right way should last a lifetime. Many of the vintage knives (for example the smaller folders) have quite weak springs so that's another reason to store them open.

[orvet]

LT has written on this before. He stores his old vintage switches in the open position.
Because of the design, when the vintage switchblade is open the spring is at rest. When it is closed it is at maximum tension.

Storing the vintage switches closed is like storing a slipjoint with all blades at half stop; i.e., the spring is being stored with the maximum amount of tension possible to put on that spring.

Another issue with the old switches is that many were cheaply made. You have seen the old display boards of the switchblades with a price of 59¢ or 89¢ that were sold in candy stores. Some were made for old pull-tab boards, etc. The point being; many were novelties, not high quality cutlery tools. Some companies like Schrade Cut Co did make high quality switchblades, but many that now sell for hundreds were in essence cheapies that sold for pennies. It is asking a lot of those old springs to remain closed & hold their tension for 80+ years!

The modern design switchblades are very different. They use a circular spring that is always under load once it is installed in the knife. When the blade is closed the load on the spring is increased & it releases part of its stored energy when the blade is opened, but not all of it. The only way to put this spring completely at rest is to remove it from the knife. Not an option for most people.
If I had a collection of the newer switches that I wanted to keep in best possible condition, I would probably store them open as well, just because it will lessen the tension on the spring and (in theory) extend the life of the knife.

Dale

[Forensic Jim]

Thanks for the info guys, I got them all opened up now.

[Oman]

Good to know. I have always stored my older knives open. It is just hard not to play with them.

[jfarmer]

I always leave all of mine open for the same reasons as mentioned above.

James

[lt632ret]

Well to each his own however I must suggest that the storing of older ( especially domestic ) automatics is a good idea. I have seen recently that a couple of the posters have started adding older american autos to there collections . I believe they will come to enjoy this segment of our history and these items as much as I have over the last 50 plus years. These items were in fact the best sellers of these older firms showing that they have always had appeal. Many of these knives have appreciated greatly some bringing thousands of dollars, while of course most bring greater prices than they originally sold for, really high end stuff is determined by many factors rarity, company, age, condition, ect just to name a few. However I still get calls telling of rare finds . Like the fellow on the Canadian border who asked me about a knife he had paid 20 dollars for at an auction near the canadian border the fellow next to him had picked it up first and was trying to pry the blade open the fellow stopped him and showed him how to open it by releasing the lock and pressing the button. He then bought the knife during the auction, he later contacted me and said he thought it was worth more than he paid but he was not sure if he had done the right thing since it was in rough shape. It was the rare guardian model only made for 7 years by Press button . Even in the condition it was in he got 2000 dollars for it. This of course is a rare incident but it is not a unique incident. Now regarding springs there are some older european knives that have 2 springs so open or closed there is always pressure on one of them so storage does not matter however most euros and virtually all domestic older knives used a single leaf spring which will after some time a year a hundred years who knows will eventually break if the knife is used. That is why they should be stored open. I have several hundred of these some going back a couple of hundred years. Values range from a few dollars to perhapes 15,000. This being said I would like you ( the reader ) to stop a moment and think of something in your life that when it happened simply gave you that sickening dropping feeling in the pit of your stomach that must be experienced in order to be understand you know something that has happened to us all and just makes you sick. If you are a collector of rare high end automatic knives and you have ever had a 200 year old hand made 10,000 dollar ( say english ) auto in your hand and closed it to hear the unmistakable chink sound that you know instantly is the original spring breaking you would know exactly what I am talking about sometimes this causes other pieces to go at the same time so that your 10,000 dollar unique artifact becomes a handful of broken bits of garbage. Yes indeed then you would understand without question the feeling I am describing. it does not have to be that old or expensive a good Schrade, Flylock, Case or whatever will produce the same gutteral effect. That being said it is the reason I strongly suggest storing these open with the pressure off these 100 year old small pieces of steel. They just like watch springs or any metal especially old will fatigue with use and cannot last forever. In conclusion I want to state that this is only my opinion every so often people take umberage at my suggestions so please do as you feel is your pleasure. One thing I can guarantee you is the first time you have a knife in your hand and hear that chink you will never forget the sound or the feeling it produces in the pit of your stomach. Happy New Year LT

[orvet]

Thanks LT!

Dale

[allmightyoz]

Every spring works according to Hooke's law, F = -kx

where F is the restoring force exerted by the spring
k is a constant called the rate of spring constant
x is the displacement of the end of the spring from its equilibrium position.

Hooke's law applies to steel below its yield strength, or limit of its elasticity. In essence, Hook's law states that as long as a spring is not over-compressed or overextended, the spring will return to its normal position. A spring could be held in a compressed state for 100 years, given that the metal does not degrade, and return to its original relaxed state.

Now that is out of the way, it is not actually the coil part of the spring that will deteriorate over time based on the load. if the spring is not a complete helical coil, which I'm assuming in most cases it is not, the part of the "spring" which is straight in order to engage the mechanism does not have the same yield strength of the coil part of the spring. The fact is, the coil never wears out if not over-compressed, but the straight part does, according to the laws of science and mechanical engineering.

So what one would want to do, is store the switchblade in such a way that the least amount of force is acting on the straight part of the spring, whether it be open or closed.

Now if you want to say that springs do degrade over time due to use, yes this is very true, but true helical springs do not degrade to do being in a compressed state. Think of it as putting a big load of clothes on the metal hanging tube running across a closet. It may sag with a load applied to it for a long amount of time, but as long as the load does not overstress the tube, the tube will return back to normal straightness with removal of the load.

[HiPower]

allmighty mentioned some physics involved in springs that other contributors have discussed in other areas. i believe theoretically his premises are sound. one fellow mentioned that much of spring weakening comes from friction wear & the inadvertent small foriegn particles that pollute all moving mechanisms. one fellow also said that magazine springs in guns failed more from friction caused from springs contacting bullet surfaces & the added wear from rubbing on the sides of clips.i've heard that the heatreat that gives the flex & tension seldom is a failure factor [modern steel] but friction & particulate pollution are the problem. given those facts it's probably wise to store antique knives open. HiPower

[johnnierotten]

I have always stored my autos in the open position...

[CCBill]

What JR said...

[johnnierotten]

Seems only logical....don't it?

[allmightyoz]

open is logical, that is what I would do. i also wouldnt close them ever, thats what kills a spring is wear by compression and extension repeatedly. but then again, you dont jack up your car or put it on blocks if you aren't gonna drive it for awhile, and the springs stay good... but they are almost complete helical coil springs and dont have the "tit" if you will that a switchblade spring would have.

[johnnierotten]

I actually could care less how anyone else stores their knives..to be honest. .......But it seems that they're are some members who know very little about switchblades.
I have sold dozens of switchblades at swap meets......and I have paid the price for forgetting.. and storing them in the closed position.
Do as you like....but I'll stick to my method...it seems to work for me!!

[HiPower]

i would imagine that each of us gets out our collectibles at least once a year to rewipe them down . i like to check for insect invasion since horn can be chewed on by certain bettles. so opening & closing & reopening before storing is probably going to be mininal risk once a year.--HiPower

[wiseguy]

i typically do store my vintage knives open as i have had the missfortune of that " sinking feeling" in my stomach when the spring breaks but my springs still get a workout ,,,,,on occasions ya only live once guys !

[Bill DeShivs]

Actually, it doesn't matter.
If you store your knife open and the spring is going to break, it will break the next time you close it.

[IMBand]

Thanks for the info Bill!!

IM

[wiseguy]

i still keep most open ......i like to see the blades

[wazu013]

Don't forget a touch of your favorite lube on the spring as well. Not to much
wazu013

[johnnierotten]

I store mine in the open position..always!!
Especially if they're medium to low quality knives...not because they break,but because they have a tendency to get weak...that includes leaf and coil springs.
I know this for a fact...I have sold them at swap meets/flea markets for over 20 years....and paid the price for not doing so..

Point in case....I recently bought this auto which is a Darrel Ralph/Ryan Wilson Tactical Elite (high quality) from a member who has a AAPK store....on receiving it the spring was very weak.
I took it apart and totally redone the blade ...and snipped about an 1/8 of an inch off the coil spring and re-bent it to fit....now it works as if it were new.

How do I know it works as if new?......cause I have another...the harder to find total blacked out version...which I have always stored in the open position.


But I do agree with Bill....if its going to break...then its gonna break no matter what position you store it in.

[tbark44]

Doesnt matter how you store them if there not heat treated right but I do suggest how ever you store them to open an close them least once or twice every 6 to 8 weeks , i have done them both ways if the springs are really strong it helps the structure of the handles to store them open , over time the Horn will move bias to pressure an can cause one to peek with a really strong spring in it ,t