Murphy and a Remington

[orvet]

I think every knife mechanic has a few partial knives waiting to find the pieces needed to finish repairing it. That's where I found this little Remington, the parts you see, back spring and blade they liners and a piece of bone that might work as a replacement for the missing rear handle.

I'm still recovering from surgery so I'm not doing a great deal in my shop but I thought this would be fun. I figured out a way to cut the bone so that I could cover the entire handle of the little jack. Unfortunately the hole for the rocker pin was too close to where I had to drill the new pen hole. There was a little half circle of bone missing right at the edge of the bone next to the rocker pin hole. Before I could get a picture of the handle, I dropped it on about a 2 inch strip of concrete between two big thick anti-fatigue pads I have in front of my workbench. Most of the time when I dropped something it either bounces or sticks and one of the pads but for some reason this time it managed to find the bare spot of the concrete floor!

Needless to say a chunk of bone around the pin broke out on impact. There was still a little bit of bone left but there was definitely a void around the pin. I filled it in with five-minute epoxy and then Zap-A-Gap to fill it in the last little bit. The repair is not beautiful but it is serviceable and and I think not too noticeable to a non-knife person.

I wasn't devastated because the knife is not a valuable knife, but I was certainly disappointed because I really like the color of the bone on this knife. I think this is some of the most beautiful bone around and it's just old worn bone! It's a beautiful small pocket friendly knife that I will carry with me when I need a small knife.

I guess Murphy's Law caught up with me and my little strip of concrete between the two large anti-fatigue pads. I think I have a small strip that will fit there, I am putting it in there right now, while I'm thinking about it!

[glennbad]

That's a shame about the pin crack, but I LOVE the worn bone on that one. Great stuff, Dale!

[Doc B]

That bone was a good match!

[orvet]

Thanks for your comments.
The only reason I kept that knife was because of the bone, and I know Remington has fairly good steel.
I wish there was a way to duplicate that type of coloration in bone so it could be mass-produced. I think the only way to achieve that color is years and years of carrying it in your pocket and using it so the pocket wears it down and the oils in your hands and on your hands soak into and color the bone.

[doglegg]

Dale you are right. Some patina's are forced but the great ones are earned. Knice little knife.

[OLDE CUTLER]

Yes, it really does look great. Love that old bone and the colors that come with age.

[Tony_Wood]

Great old bone, Dale. Too bad about the chip.

[herbva]

Regardless of the accidental damage, its a beautiful knife Dale. I like your idea about the pads and am going to look for some today. My workbench also is on a concrete floor and I don't want to even think about how many knives and parts have been damaged over the years due to drops.

[orvet]

If you have any back problems the pads should help with that also. That is why I got mine in the first place.
The cheapest place I have found to get a pad of passable quality is Harbor Freight. They have one in a roll and some that are squares that snap together.
It is also easy to cut them to get them to fit odd shaped spaces.

I found a thick one at Costco that is about 1/2" thick. It sure feels good to my back.

[Meridian_Mike]

Excellent work Dale...
I enjoyed reading your rebuild thread on that old tired Remington and I can tell you for sure.... That is some great work!
That had to take some TIME to get that old piece of bone to fit.....

I admire your abilities!

[Reverand]

A shame about the handle chip, but still a great save!
One of the things that I admire about you is your discernment in choosing when a knife looks better more original, and when it looks better with something completely new. That, and your willingness to share both your successes AND failures, makes you an inspiration to a lot of us newbies! Thank you, Dale.

[orvet]

You're right Mike it did take quite a bit of time. If I had been able to not have the little bit of the hole still at the edge of the bone near the pin, it might not have broken. But there was no other way I could get it to work.

Thank you Rev
Repairing knives is kind of like life. A lot of times we learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes. The problem arises when we want to sweep our failures and mistakes under the rug and pretend they didn't happen, thats when we end up repeating them.

I think our political issues in this country is affirmation of that very principal.

Therefore when it comes to knife mistakes, I tend to hang on to them and maybe I can figure out a way to fix them at some point. Often I do that very thing because I have learned new skills as I go along that help me to go back and repair previous failures.

I am glad my failures are as useful to you as they were to me.