All About Pocket Knives

I bought an old Svoboda knife. It has a pen blade that does not fold all the way into the case. Just enough tip protrudes to make it snag in my pocket and or puncture a fingertip. See pictures. Can it be remedied by a novice like me? Maybe use a needle file to take a bit of metal off the bottom of the tang?

I also picked up an old Western folder with the opposite problem - the blade snaps into the case too far and it is impossible to get out without prying it out with a jewelers screwdriver or the tip of another knife. Can this be fixed relatively easily? This one ^^^ is the offending blade.

For the knife with the proud tip, the fix is relatively easy. First make sure there’s no dirt, gunk, or even a piece of wood in the bottom of the blade pocket keeping the blade from closing. If that is not the problem, there are couple of things you can do: you can file down the kick of the tang so the blade can set farther down in the pocket. The other method is to re-profile the tip of the blade and drop the tip down by taking the spine of the blade down. Actually a combination of those two methods is often the best fix.

If a pen blade is worn down so far that it drops into the pocket and you can’t reach the nail nick, there’s no easy fix for that one. If you take apart the knife and build up the kick with a TIG welder and then file it down into shape again, that would probably be the best fix for that knife. However, finding someone with a TIG welder willing to do that for you is pretty difficult and could be expensive.
The easiest fix if you just want to be able to use the knife is to use a ½ inch sanding band with a Dremel tool or a Foredom and make a little easy open notch in the side of the knife so you can reach the nail nick.

Hope this helps.

Did you check to make sure there was nothing wedged inside the frame on top of the backspring that is preventing the blade from closing all the way. Filing the kick down should remedy the problem. Take it slow checking the blade for function often if you do this.

Looks like Dale was typing too fast for me.

btrwtr wrote: Looks like Dale was typing too fast for me.

Wayne, that is the advantage of NaturallySpeaking, I talked to my computer and it types for me. It’s kind of like talk to text on a cell phone but a much more powerful program. The good thing is, unlike a cell phone, you can actually teach NaturallySpeaking something, like spelling and new words.

Thanks, Dale. I am kinda proud that your answers on the Svoboda corresponded pretty much with what I thought but lacked the confidence in. It's nice to have an expert view before taking a novice's overconfident leap.

And on the Western, I suspected that it was pretty much a 'learn to live with it' deal. A $5 knife with no sentimental value isn't something to move mountains over in order to get right again. I won't throw it in the trash but I probably won't carry it much. Not a collector's specimen. Maybe somebody will find it after I'm dead and think they have a real heirloom!

I have "salvaged" several knives just like Dale & btrwtr have suggested by filing the kick and also creating a EasyOpen notch when the offending blade is on the outside. I have found on several knives it was necessary to drop the main blade just a hair, by filing its' kick also, to still access the nail nick on the adjusted blade when it was a middle blade, as yours appears to be. Any combination of the "ingredients" may help make the knife safe again.
By the way honketyhank, to AAPK!
Treefarmer.

Thanks, treefarmer, for the tip and the welcome.

I just received a vintage Keen Kutter single spring where the primary blade would, when closed, leave a very sharp tip exposed by about 3/32 of an inch. This is dangerous. So I checked the blade well for any obstruction as several have noted. There was none. Checked around the blade tang and interface with liners also. No obstruction there either. So I dropped the main blade blade by by this 3/32 of an inch where it is now not an issue and rests just ever so slightly below the top of the frame. Did this by carefully filing the kick down checking very often to see my progress. It took a lot of filing because of how high it was to begin with. However, perseverance paid off and the job was successfully completed. I finished off the kick contact point with ceramic stones. No issues with smaller pen blade deployment as it is opposite side. Lloyd