All About Pocket Knives

I absolutely love the shape, weight, feel and looks of this cattaraugus but there's just not much life left. I would love to carry and use this knife, just not sure where to start. The main blade is pretty worn and has little to zero snap. The secondary blade has plenty of snap but is in really rough shape. Is this a doable project for anyone?$?$ I'm afraid it's a bit above my skillset and may be above my $kill$et. Any input on replacement backspring or blades would be apriciated. I'd hate to lose (IMO) such a beauty.

I would wager someone here will be able to help you. I can understand your affection for that knife. It looks like a great one. I can't tell from the pic if the problem with the main blade is the blade tang or the spring. Either way it will require parts or custom work. It may not be worth the price.

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. I don't mind if blades or backspings are original or not. Or the same brand for that matter. What I really love about this knife are the scales and shape.

The repairs can be done but is it worth it?
Is it worth breaking those nice bone scales?
If the blades stay shut when closed and stay open when opened then I myself would leave the knife the way it is.
I have many knives with little or no snap and ones with blades much worse than this knife.
I'd just clean it up a little, sharpen her up and slip it in my pocket.

JW

i agree with the post above mine . however , you can pull out that spring pin and slightly bend the backspring to get more snap and then put a new pin in it .. i`ve done it on an old Muscrat Remington and compressed it with a regular bar clamp .....it worked . but maybe wait for a pro to answer this definitively before you start. Goodluck . EDIT <<<< mine was a double end knife so just the center pin was needed to be removed , i`m not sure on your knife.

knives-are-quiet wrote:The repairs can be done but is it worth it?
Is it worth breaking those nice bone scales?
If the blades stay shut when closed and stay open when opened then I myself would leave the knife the way it is.
I have many knives with little or no snap and ones with blades much worse than this knife.
I'd just clean it up a little, sharpen her up and slip it in my pocket.

JW

+1

Tote that sucker as is

This method would fix it if you think it would be worth the effort.....http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... 37&t=23801

Anyone know what type of steel is used on these springs? I took it apart tonight and found the problem to be exactly was Elvis has described in his post. I'm also still looking for replacement blades, if anyone can help. If someone knows of a craftsman who could fabricate new blades, that would also be helpful.

It looks like the spring needs to be fabricated, did you see the part where bob welded a nipple on to the old spring of a case knife? If you fix that your snap should be back.

Yeah, I'm gonna have that done. That's why I was curious as to what type of steel it is. As far the blades, I'd like to replace them....if possible.

The springs are almost certainly 1095.

If you replace the blades, in my opinion your taking away the character of the knife I could see if they where broke or ground to nothing. Just my opinion its like cleaning a knife or leaving it how it is. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

the blades look fine for a user to me, like said earlier that is where a lot of the character lies and there is still plenty of use left in the blades. weld in the spring divot(s), the tangs still look square from your pics. I can do it pretty reasonable, even more so if you just want to send the spring, I can weld, krink and send back to you to install or do with as you please or do it all. Just sayin.......

Don't forget to check the blade tang. In the post I referred you to, it showed the blade from that knife and how much of the tang had worn away. That part needs to be TIG welded too and ground back down to specs. As for the type of metal, all the welder cares about is whether it's carbon or stainless.