All About Pocket Knives

I have had 4 Case knives in the last 12 months or so, that were missing shields when I got them. I have no problem getting another shield from Case. It usually takes a couple of weeks.
BUT here is a case in point.....
My son bought me a knife from a vendor here at AAPK. It left the vendor with the shield. He said, it came to him with the shield on it. SOMEWHERE between unpacking, wrapping, unwrapping and my seeing it for the first time..... the shield fell out. GONE.... I looked in the inlet where the shield used to be. It appeared there was MAYBE a couple of tiny spots of dried glue on the edges that could have held the shield in.

SO.... DO you think the problem is the glue? OR maybe the lack thereof?

Where, When is the glue applied and the shield installed?

Just asking......

Mike

I've had a few knives that that has happen to, luckily the last two I found the shield in my pocket and reglued it, Bokers seem to be the worst. I think it's the amount of glue they use. Ymmv. I guess the days of pinned shields on mass produced knives are a thing of the past.

I have two Queens I purchased a few years back.
Both dropped their shield, but fortunately I found them.
A drop of superglue and they've held fast since.
Would have been REAL aggravating had I not found them.

The directions (on a form letter) that comes with shield from Case says to use super glue.
I have been using epoxy. I hope that stuff holds as good as super glue.

I think this is one of those times when the old saying of "They don't make' em like they used to" applies. As the previous post stated, the days of pinned shields is probably gone forever. There might be some that still pin shields but I doubt it unless it's custom made.

I don't know, at what point, a shield is applied to the handle but I'm fairly certain it differs amongst manufacturers. I would think it would be last after everything is done. Seems that would be a good point to attach it so it wouldn't accidentally get knocked off with all the other things they have to do to make a knife.

I'm sure even pinned shields have come off a time or two although I've never heard of it. Maybe the adhesives used for this type of thing act differently with different types of handle materials as well. I know they make glues for specific uses so perhaps the glue used on your knife was not a good choice for the handle material on that specific knife.


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Mike

You see a lot of dropped shields on NKCA knives and I have seen a lot on Bokers. When I reattach the shield I clean the spot where the shield was, I use a car detailing stick that is abrasive and I use that on the back of the shield as well. Get all the old glue off and make the surface a little rough and clean all the dust. Gorilla glue works great to hold them on after that.
Mark

Yep, I try my best to make sure I do all I can to keep the new shield on.

You know, I wonder if they are just not applying enough glue at the factory. Maybe they are afraid of the glue squishing out and making a mess. The last one I replaced sure looked like there was NO glue left in the inlet.

I agree that Boker seem to be the worst for losing their shields. I think that may be partly due to the shape, the round shield has no corners for the glue to adhere to, like a federal shield has. If the glue is only applied behind the shield and not on the edges I think it is more likely to fail also.

I always use epoxy when regluing shields as I have had them fall out when I have glued them in with cyanoacrylate (super) glues. I use the Bob Smith five minute epoxy because it is supposed to have the ability to flex without breaking the bond. The bond of a cyanoacrylate glue can usually be broken with a sharp tap. I often use cyanoacrylate glues in the shop when I want something to be glued temporarily because a sharp strike on the edge of the object is generally sufficient to cause the cyanoacrylate bond to fail.

Considering how often I have dropped my own pocket knives I am not surprised that glued shields frequently fall out, especially if they've been glued with cyanoacrylates.

Good info Dale. I was a bit worried about the "super glue" holding capacity. I didn't think about the fact that these glues can be brittle and break.


Mike

Probably a combination of poor (cheap) adhesives, poor preparation, and poor workmanship. I have a few also, Case and other brands of newer manufacture.

Glad I saw this thread. I just purchased 4 Boker Treebrand knives, on one of them the shield fell out as I turned the knife over after pulling it out of the paper, it is lost in the garage going to try to exchange it since it came that way out of the box. I don't think I should have to repair a new knife, or wait for a shield to come in.

Dale's suggestion of using epoxy is spot on. I believe that the instructions on super glue statde they dont work well on metal. Cleaning off excess epoxy usually can be done with mineral spirits before it cures.

XX Case XX wrote: ↑Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:46 pm I think this is one of those times when the old saying of "They don't make' em like they used to" applies. As the previous post stated, the days of pinned shields is probably gone forever. There might be some that still pin shields but I doubt it unless it's custom made.


I'm sure even pinned shields have come off a time or two although I've never heard of it. Maybe the adhesives used for this type of thing act differently with different types of handle materials as well. I know they make glues for specific uses so perhaps the glue used on your knife was not a good choice for the handle material on that specific knife.


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Mike

This is the only knife I own that has a missing pinned shield. I did not even notice it
until I posted it as a Robeson knife I recently bought and a member pointed it out.
I guess the pinning was not deep enough?

633594 ,4 inch, 63 gm, 1939??

Bob

rea1eye wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 2:39 pm

XX Case XX wrote: ↑Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:46 pm I think this is one of those times when the old saying of "They don't make' em like they used to" applies. As the previous post stated, the days of pinned shields is probably gone forever. There might be some that still pin shields but I doubt it unless it's custom made.


I'm sure even pinned shields have come off a time or two although I've never heard of it. Maybe the adhesives used for this type of thing act differently with different types of handle materials as well. I know they make glues for specific uses so perhaps the glue used on your knife was not a good choice for the handle material on that specific knife.


_________
Mike

This is the only knife I own that has a missing pinned shield. I did not even notice it
until I posted it as a Robeson knife I recently bought and a member pointed it out.
I guess the pinning was not deep enough?

633594 ,4 inch, 63 gm, 1939??

Bob
F7E96FAE-C4E4-4234-8E64-305EA21B8426.jpeg

It could also be that the shield was slightly proud and caught a thread in a pocket and got yanked off...it doesn't look like that shield was inset much (if at all)

Any comments on using JB Weld? Is it preferable over Gorilla Glue? I have both. I want to reglue plastic side covers that were loose in the box when new Rough Ryders arrived. SMKW mailed free replacement knives and let me keep the first ones they sent. The side covers have bands of real mother of pearl and plastic that might be acrilic. Those materials are still attached to each other so the side covers are a single piece.

Modern Slip Joints wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 6:18 pm Any comments on using JB Weld? Is it preferable over Gorilla Glue? I have both. I want to reglue plastic side covers that were loose in the box when new Rough Ryders arrived. SMKW mailed free replacement knives and let me keep the first ones they sent. The side covers have bands of real mother of pearl and plastic that might be acrilic. Those materials are still attached to each other so the side covers are a single piece.

Clean off all of the old glue first. Scrape it well.
Then clean the parts well with denatured alcohol.
I recommend a clear epoxy. JB Weld brand and Gorilla Glue brand clear epoxy works great.

Modern Slip Joints wrote: ↑Thu Feb 12, 2026 6:18 pm Any comments on using JB Weld? Is it preferable over Gorilla Glue? I have both. I want to reglue plastic side covers that were loose in the box when new Rough Ryders arrived. SMKW mailed free replacement knives and let me keep the first ones they sent. The side covers have bands of real mother of pearl and plastic that might be acrilic. Those materials are still attached to each other so the side covers are a single piece.

Never used either on a shield, but I have used both for other projects. I don’t like Gorilla glue - seems messier to work with. I’ll take JB Weld any day in spite of the smell.

I wonder what glue Case and other companies use to glue on a shield.
I have read previously that CA ( cyanoacrylate ) is not a good glue
if there is any impact between the parts. I have a older Case doctors
knife ( Delrin, 1974) that fell on a hard floor ( 4-5 feet) and the shield
just fell off.

Bob

I saw a video of Charlie Davis at Anza Knives hammering on the slabs of one of his company made knives, and of course the slabs stayed on. I wondered what Anza used to affix their slabs and found the following via Gemini Pro AI (take it for what it's worth).

"Anza Knives famously keeps the specific brand and chemical makeup of their adhesive a closely guarded trade secret. According to the company, they use a "top secret, very expensive adhesive" that is explicitly not an epoxy."

Lacking any of that top secret sauce, I used Super Glue to affix a shield that fell off a Moore Maker knife as i pulled the knife out of the box. Inspection barely indicated any glue. So far, the Super Glue has kept the shield in place. Why did I not return the knife? Well, it was a beautiful double lock model with beautiful bone scales, and I xid not want to risk getting a replacement that was any less tban 100% of the knife I had in hand.

Here is one l picked up the other day sans shield. Colt( Chinese but well made)with a 175th anniversary etch. Checkered bone handles and all blades stamped with the Colt logo. Think l might use a shell casing end cap for a shield.

I ended up getting Boker to send me a shield, for free was alot less hassle than exchanging the knife. I cleaned it with alcohol and used Gorilla Glue Gel is what i had, seems to be holding fine.