All About Pocket Knives

I'm baaAAaack...

This time I have a Camillus 67 which I found with no handles, and filthy as all get-out. The blades are pretty full, however, and everything else looks to be in good shape...so here's my bone handle project!

Getting the scales made and put on was actually pretty easy. and went quite well. I reassembled the knife--Crap! I must have been daydreaming, because I assembled the spey blade upside down...split the pin and re-assemble...

Now to the rocker/spring pivot. Doggone it, that's not cutting it. I can't get the darned thing to go--and the problem seems to be the spring for the clip blade which is fixed at the other end of the knife, so I can't re-position it. I can get the pin through the floating spring if I start on the pile side, but I can't get it through the clip blade spring, even starting on the mark side.

The pin is .094" (by my calipers; .09375" by spec). The liners holes are ,095" and the scale holes are .098". It goes through the liners and scales without the springs nicely, but with no play. It also goes through the spring holes (individually), but with virtually no play also. As a result, even .001-.002" of mismatch really messes things up.

I have a #40 cobalt drill--is it kosher to drill the spring holes oversize by a couple of thousandths? Any other suggestions?

I am having bit of trouble following you, but .0938 = 3/32", so you should be using 3/32 pin stock. When I am reassembling, I put the pins through the bolsters, blades, etc. on each end first then compress the spring or springs in the middle in my soft jaws vise and then the rocker pin goes in. Sometimes, the rocker pin won't go in easily because everything isn't aligned just perfectly, so I back off on the vise, wiggle everything around a bit with a small tapered awl in the rocker pin hole, and then put the rocker pin in. Sometimes I have to very gently tap with a soft mallet and sometimes it just slides in. If you shine a flashlight on the rocker pin hole from underneath your vise, you will be able to see when everything is aligned perfectly.

I haven't tried using an awl; I will do that. I'm concerned that the clip blade spring does not seem to line up properly, because it is also pinned at the bolster, and if there's a problem between the spring and the liner/bolster, I'm not sure what to do about it. Maybe there's not and I just haven't got it yet. I'll see if I can get lit up close-up photos if I can't get it to go tomorrow.

And it is nominally 3/32 stock. I measure .094 with my calipers, but that's only .00025" different and my eyes can't tell the difference on dial calipers.

Very good description of process Herb!

beresman wrote: ↑Sat May 08, 2021 7:07 pm I'm baaAAaack...
I have a #40 cobalt drill--is it kosher to drill the spring holes oversize by a couple of thousandths? Any other suggestions?

I am not sure that your cobalt drill will drill those springs. They are hardened to be just a little softer then the blade. But the way I've seen many tangs wear they are a little bit softer than the blade but not a great deal. If I ever have to clean up a pivot pin hole I usually use carbide or diamond bits. The springs are probably close to being as hard as the tool steel bits are. At least that's been my experience.

orvet wrote: ↑Sun May 09, 2021 8:47 am Very good description of process Herb!

beresman wrote: ↑Sat May 08, 2021 7:07 pm I'm baaAAaack...
I have a #40 cobalt drill--is it kosher to drill the spring holes oversize by a couple of thousandths? Any other suggestions?

I am not sure that your cobalt drill will drill those springs. They are hardened to be just a little softer then the blade. But the way I've seen many tangs wear they are a little bit softer than the blade but not a great deal. If I ever have to clean up a pivot pin hole I usually use carbide or diamond bits. The springs are probably close to being as hard as the tool steel bits are. At least that's been my experience.

Thank you Dale! Of course I learned a lot of what I know about this stuff from you.

Also, judging from the picture, try putting a longer taper on your pin. I hate to waste pin stock by grinding a long taper then cutting it off, but it really does help. Sometimes a drop of light oil on the pin helps it as well. And I do not peen the bolsters until all of the pins are in place. That leaves a little wiggle-room.

Well, I got it together, with a little cheating...

It went together fine without the clip blade spring (if I swung it out of the way on the bolster pin), but not with it in place. No way, no how--and I don't know why, because the darn thing came apart. All I did was put bones on it. So I cheated--I put it all together as close as I was able, and then ran my drill (slowly) straight through everything at once. And yes, the cobalt bit slices quite nicely through the springs--I did a little research before I tried it, and ended up ordering a few bits in different sizes from Grainger.

So...I know some of you are probably cringing at this blasphemy, and I apologize profusely for any nightmares you may have. But...the engineer in me says, "It worked, and that's that."

I still want to be able to do it *right*, but I consider this at least a step in the right direction. I have a pretty decent bone-handled Camillus 67 stockman (with as you might be able to tell from the band-aid on my finger, a nasty-sharp spey blade. I didn't do that in the assembly process--I had the blades covered in tape. It was after, when I was cleaning the tape residue off that I got too careless...)

Next is re-soldering a bolster that came off an old Henckels knife...

It looks good.

Beresman as long as it works that's all that counts, nice save! The only thing I can think of that might have thrown things off is that, as Reverand mentioned, you pre-peened the bolster pins. One of the pins may have bent just a hair when you hammered it throwing that spring (or blade) off just enough to prevent the pin from going through. I don't hammer any pins (except the cover pins of course) until the knife is completely assemble. That little bit of extra wiggle room might be all that turns an easy assembly into a hair puller.

Eric

I didn't think about a bolster pin possibly bending a bit, but in retrospect, it makes sense. Live and learn...I guess I thought I ought to peen the bolster pins so they wouldn't work their way out as I did other things, but maybe they can be convinced to stay in temporarily without peening.