All About Pocket Knives

I was finally able to finish up this Imperial Barlow that I have had apart for a while. When I got it , it only had one of the shell handles remaining and a fair amount of rust on it. I basically used the blades and the springs from the original knife. It was a shell handle knife with steel liners. I tossed the handles and liners and made new liners from .032" brass. New bolsters were made from 1/8" nickel silver stock and were silver soldered onto the new brass liners. Before I silver solder these together, I drill a small hole from the liner side halfway into the bolster to fill up with solder and make a "post". I wanted a different look for the bolsters, so I tried a "faceted" design which I made using the file jig that I use to make replacement blades. Very precise angles can be made and duplicated with this jig. The big problem came when I was trying to decide how to pin the pivot end. I did not want to use the traditional riveted and filed pin method because I did not want to mess up the "facets" with filing which would have ruined the angles and lines which I had tried hard to get with the file jig. Thanks to you guys who had comments on the thread on rivet spinning, and the pictures recently on workman knives and how some of them use a domed pin. I read over that section carefully and decided to try it. I have had a Jantz rivet spinner for some time but had never used it. I chucked the spinner into my old Rockwell drill press running at 1294 rpm, and put a drop of Re-Li-On cutting and tapping fluid onto the pin head. It took a couple of tries to get the pressure thing right and when the cutting oil put up a puff of smoke, it was done. This was done before putting the pin into the knife so I could hold the pin in the drill press vise. The pin was then installed into the knife and cut to length and filed flat. I started the edges rolling over with the hammer and then using a punch and anvil made from two 1/4" setscrews, one underneath as a seat, and the top one to hammer on to get the edges to turn into a dome shape. Picture shows the setup with the slacker in place. I did not use the rivet spinner on the backside because it would have touched the bolster and left a nasty mark which would have been impossible to remove. Anyway, it seems to have worked. The front dome on the pin is the nicest one, the back one is not quite as good, but acceptable. The rehandle was done in elk stag. The bolsters I made are actually a little longer than the originals to kind of exaggerate the already longer bolsters on the Barlow. Now it is done and in MY pocket.

Been watching for this post.
Beautiful work. Thanks for taking the time to post in process pics.
Keeps me motivated seeing others handiwork.

Tony_Wood wrote:Been watching for this post.
Beautiful work. Thanks for taking the time to post in process pics.
Keeps me motivated seeing others handiwork.

I have learned a lot of how-to-do items since I joined AAPK and am trying them on some of my projects. A lot of knife rebuilding is not that difficult, but you have to pay attention to small details that are important. Hopefully others can pick up and use the information in the posts here on AAPK.

I like the new bolster design and the domed pin.... unique and interesting. Thanks for the time to show. What metal are the bolsters made from please?

Wow, that's a real nice job you did. You definitely have the skill needed to make and repair. That turned out very well. So much so that I've picked out the slogan for your business: Olde Cutler's Knives-"If I can't make it, You don't need it".

__________
Mike

garyflorida wrote:I like the new bolster design and the domed pin.... unique and interesting. Thanks for the time to show. What metal are the bolsters made from please?

The bolsters are cut from 1/8" nickel silver. With that and the 3 layers of .032" brass for the liners and center divider, it is quite a heavy knife.
Thanks to all for your comments.

You are doing some great work. Nice knife!

Very nice, I love facets

Really nicely crafted .... Love it!

Thanks for all your comments. Actually I was expecting to get some (or a lot) of criticism and abuse for wasting so much time and effort on an Imperial shell handle knife. Like they always say, "Even if you put the pig in a tuxedo, he is still a pig!"

Very Nice OC, Least Wise You'll Know It Went in Your Pocket , And Not Down Your Pant LEG !! KC

OLDE CUTLER wrote:Thanks for all your comments. Actually I was expecting to get some (or a lot) of criticism and abuse for wasting so much time and effort on an Imperial shell handle knife. Like they always say, "Even if you put the pig in a tuxedo, he is still a pig!"

Nice!

You know, I used to thumb my nose at working on shell Imperials, but after doing quite a few, I find them to be a lot of fun to work with, and you can't beat the steel in the blades!

I find shell handle knives fascinating! The first full customization/rebuild that I did 12 years ago was a shell handle Colonial fish knife. I have done a number of shell handle conversions over the years, mostly on Imperials because they probably have the best steel of any inexpensive knife, especially from the 1930s through 1960s. The whole concept of the shell handle and being able to produce a knife for a fraction of the cost was absolutely brilliant, especially putting that into production during the Great Depression!

You might get flack about a shell handle Imperial from people who only collect knives, it’s unlikely you will ever get flack from someone who has carried one and used it. The quality of steel speaks for itself! Even with the handles gone, as long as they are rusted solid, the shell handle knife is usable.

Nice work! I’m with Kaleb, I love faceted bolsters on Barlows!

Very Knice!

I'm going to have to disagree with you. It is no longer an Imperial but a genuine "OLDE CUTLER" with quality Imperial blades. Good job. Sit Ubu, sit.

orvet wrote:I find shell handle knives fascinating! The first full customization/rebuild that I did 12 years ago was a shell handle Colonial fish knife. I have done a number of shell handle conversions over the years, mostly on Imperials because they probably have the best steel of any inexpensive knife, especially from the 1930s through 1960s. The whole concept of the shell handle and being able to produce a knife for a fraction of the cost was absolutely brilliant, especially putting that into production during the Great Depression!

You might get flack about a shell handle Imperial from people who only collect knives, it’s unlikely you will ever get flack from someone who has carried one and used it. The quality of steel speaks for itself! Even with the handles gone, as long as they are rusted solid, the shell handle knife is usable.

Nice work! I’m with Kaleb, I love faceted bolsters on Barlows!

The Barlow was the 4th shell handle "conversion" I have done. Some others:
Hammer Brand cattle knife in brass and ironwood Imperial Kamp King in brass and Kirinite Patriot Imperial stockman in brass and aromatic cedar