All About Pocket Knives

Hello, I have this Queen #66 made in ‘76 I’d like to restore. It had been sitting in a musty cabin for about 20 years before I found it, and as soon as I opened it both springs immediately broke.

I’m just wondering how I would go about opening it and fully cleaning her up and replace the springs. I’ve found some on eBay but I don’t wanna buy them until I’m sure I can repair it. Thanks.

to AAPK, coleman76!
First off, I'm not a knife mechanic but I do know your Queen can be repaired. There are several top notch folks on this forum that can advise you about the repair work.
Personally, I really enjoy the older Queen pocketknives as well as most of the other old makers.
Treefarmer

Delrin handled Queen would probably cost more to repair than it's worth,unless you just want the practice.

It’s partly sentimental. It’s got a really cool story behind it that I don’t want to delve too deep into.

coleman76 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 11:59 pm Hello, I have this Queen #66 made in ‘76 I’d like to restore. It had been sitting in a musty cabin for about 20 years before I found it, and as soon as I opened it both springs immediately broke.

I’m just wondering how I would go about opening it and fully cleaning her up and replace the springs. I’ve found some on eBay but I don’t wanna buy them until I’m sure I can repair it. Thanks.
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Are you buying an identical parts knife on Ebay for the springs? If you are just buying springs, the chances of getting something you can use are not good. They have to match your broken ones in thickness within a few thousandths as well as being the same length as your original or longer to allow fitting them. It is not necessary to completely dis assemble the knife to replace both springs, just remove the center rocker pin.

coleman76 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 11:59 pm Hello.....

Try here:
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... m.php?f=37

Your knife looks to be in really nice condition and it's hard to understand why both backsprings have broken. As Old Cutler said you should look to find a Queen donor of the exact same 66 muskrat model for springs. Taking the rocker pin out and replacing the springs will require some care as to not crack the delrin handles in the process. The new springs will need to be compressed in order to install a new rocker pin. Not something that is an easy task for someone that isn't familiar with repair.

In my experience even the same model knives can change dimensions over time so what worked on a Queen muskrat 66 made in 1950 might not work exactly on a 1980 production knife. Not always the case but something worth noting.

OLDE CUTLER wrote: ↑Tue Jan 20, 2026 2:10 pm

coleman76 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 11:59 pm Hello, I have this Queen #66 made in ‘76 I’d like to restore. It had been sitting in a musty cabin for about 20 years before I found it, and as soon as I opened it both springs immediately broke.

I’m just wondering how I would go about opening it and fully cleaning her up and replace the springs. I’ve found some on eBay but I don’t wanna buy them until I’m sure I can repair it. Thanks.
image.jpg
image.jpgimage.jpg

Are you buying an identical parts knife on Ebay for the springs? If you are just buying springs, the chances of getting something you can use are not good. They have to match your broken ones in thickness within a few thousandths as well as being the same length as your original or longer to allow fitting them. It is not necessary to completely dis assemble the knife to replace both springs, just remove the center rocker pin.

I’m buying some surplus #66 springs that were directly from queen (the guy got a bunch of them from the estate auction back when they closed). https://ebay.us/m/3vqaax Will these work?

coleman76 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 21, 2026 4:17 am

OLDE CUTLER wrote: ↑Tue Jan 20, 2026 2:10 pm

coleman76 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 11:59 pm Hello, I have this Queen #66 made in ‘76 I’d like to restore. It had been sitting in a musty cabin for about 20 years before I found it, and as soon as I opened it both springs immediately broke.

I’m just wondering how I would go about opening it and fully cleaning her up and replace the springs. I’ve found some on eBay but I don’t wanna buy them until I’m sure I can repair it. Thanks.
image.jpg
image.jpgimage.jpg

Are you buying an identical parts knife on Ebay for the springs? If you are just buying springs, the chances of getting something you can use are not good. They have to match your broken ones in thickness within a few thousandths as well as being the same length as your original or longer to allow fitting them. It is not necessary to completely dis assemble the knife to replace both springs, just remove the center rocker pin.

I’m buying some surplus #66 springs that were directly from queen (the guy got a bunch of them from the estate auction back when they closed). https://ebay.us/m/3vqaax Will these work?

No, these springs are not correct for your knife. The springs you refer to are double ended and would require a blade on each end. The springs for your knife are single ended to have a blade on just one end of the spring. I did see these springs on eBay and although the seller says they are for a #66 muskrat they will not work for your knife.

btrwtr wrote: ↑Wed Jan 21, 2026 1:06 pm No, these springs are not correct for your knife. The springs you refer to are double ended and would require a blade on each end. The springs for your knife are single ended to have a blade on just one end of the spring. I did see these springs on eBay and although the seller says they are for a #66 muskrat they will not work for your knife.

Wayne, although it would change the original knife from a double spring to a single spring, hypothetically, would it be possible to use just one of the eBay springs and put a blade on each end for the restoration?

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 21, 2026 1:13 pm

btrwtr wrote: ↑Wed Jan 21, 2026 1:06 pm No, these springs are not correct for your knife. The springs you refer to are double ended and would require a blade on each end. The springs for your knife are single ended to have a blade on just one end of the spring. I did see these springs on eBay and although the seller says they are for a #66 muskrat they will not work for your knife.

Wayne, although it would change the original knife from a double spring to a single spring, hypothetically, would it be possible to use just one of the eBay springs and put a blade on each end for the restoration?

I doubt that there would be room for 2 full length blades to fit into one bladewell.

OLDE CUTLER wrote: ↑Wed Jan 21, 2026 1:39 pm

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 21, 2026 1:13 pm

btrwtr wrote: ↑Wed Jan 21, 2026 1:06 pm No, these springs are not correct for your knife. The springs you refer to are double ended and would require a blade on each end. The springs for your knife are single ended to have a blade on just one end of the spring. I did see these springs on eBay and although the seller says they are for a #66 muskrat they will not work for your knife.

Wayne, although it would change the original knife from a double spring to a single spring, hypothetically, would it be possible to use just one of the eBay springs and put a blade on each end for the restoration?

I doubt that there would be room for 2 full length blades to fit into one bladewell.

Yes, way too different to make these work in the OP knife. Would be best to find a beat-up old Queen #66 muskrat that has 2 good springs.

First picture, top blade. The kick and possibly part of the tang are jeopardized as I see it.

Strong potential for a cool one blade knife. Hey, you could show it on Single Blade Saturday!

I might just give up on using it as a EDC like I planned, and save it for a rainy day when I can turn it into a single blade as suggested. Thanks.

There are tons of used up Queens around here. They gotta be around for parts.