All About Pocket Knives

I recently attended an auction in West Virginia where, for the princely sum of $5, I purchased a lot of four very modest folding knives. At the bottom of the little box was the badly corroded folder show in this post. Lost in the surf, lost in a sunken boat, lost in a lake or river? Who knows? Regardless, I've yielded to the challenge of trying to resurrect this knife and seek assistance from AAPK readers.

If the blade tang ever contained any markings, they are long gone. I cut through the pins in order to clean the brass parts and can find no internal markings of any kind. Overall, the knife is 4 inches long, and the blade is 2 3/4 inches.

Is it possible for a rookie collector like me to purchase a replacement blade, back spring and other parts necessary to complete the restoration? I'd like to try making replacement scales from tight-grained hardwood, so I'm mostly looking for the steel replacement items. What are sources for this type of shopping?

Thanks to one and all who might offer assistance. Photos associated with this post show the current status of my restoration efforts.

Good luck with that one. You'll need a new spring as well. It looks a bit Buckish but there were many that looked the same.

I can tell from the way the bolster are not one piece with the frame it is not a Buck.

Hello Iron Hoarder and Knifetime: Thanks for your assessments. I don't think I can make this project my life's work, but I'm going to stick with it at least for now. All of this adds to my knowledge of edged tools and the people who understand and appreciate their value.

Looks like it could be a Schrade LB5 Lock back.
You would have to find out which brand it is first.
Then maybe you could get a couple of parts knives off eBay and put together a functional knife.
To me it would not be worth it unless that knife had some sort of sentimental value to it.

JW

There are blank blades to be had on ebay.

Good Luck.

Granted I am not a expert in the Buck 110 world, but I would be willing to bet it is NOT a 110.

I will also go with a Schrade, the bolsters and and pin holes are wrong for a 110.

300Bucks

Looks like that popular auction site that everyone loves/hates can provide an affordable source for an LB5 blade blank. Is it possible to fabricate the needed springs? Meanwhile, I'm watching the marketplace for a junker version of an LB5 that would have a main spring and the little leaf spring. Some day, this auction find might live to once again cut a slice of cheese. Thanks to everyone for your help and encouragement.

300Bucks wrote:Granted I am not a expert in the Buck 110 world, but I would be willing to bet it is NOT a 110.

I will also go with a Schrade, the bolsters and and pin holes are wrong for a 110.

300Bucks

It is not a Buck for sure. Schrade maybe? Good project knife.

As a Schrade guy I would say it is an LB7, from the looks of it. The outline of the frame is a dead giveaway.
If the frame is 5", it is a LB7. If the frame measures 3-34/" it is an LB5.
There are slight differences between the LB7 & LB5 in the shape of the frame, but not a lot, mostly just size.

You can make a spring out of spring steel. You can buy it from some suppliers or you can scavenge some. A good source is spring clamps used to clampwood while gluing.

My PC is in the shop now so I don't have access to my pics, but when I get it back I can give you the dimensions of the spring & pics of an LB7 apart.

Sounds like a fun project!