All About Pocket Knives

If a blade is down 10%, is there a way through tig welding (or any other way) to add metal back to a blade that has been over sharpened?
Thanks

probably but I wouldn't advise it

to expand upon what MM said, I would think that any way of fusing new metal to the blade (especially if we're talking pocket knives) would pretty much ruin the existing blade. When you get hot enough to reach the melting temperature of metals, your going to destroy any heat treat or temper applied to the original blade. Plus the cutting edge you would be replacing is such thin metal anyways.... It would be like trying to weld a wedged up piece of tin foil at that point.

it would bean interesting experiment...find someone who could do tiny detail work with a wire feed...lay a bead down each side...then have some meat to lay a line down the cutting edge...grind..re-temper...polish... the rebuild area would stand out like a temper line...


sorry..i was under a car all day replacing a tank mounted fuel pump..i think the fumes got to me...

counterfieters often weld a complete blade on to a real tang. you can usually tell.

It might be an interesting experiment, but it seems to me it will be much more risky, difficult and time consuming than having the blade replaced…

I would absolutely not do such a thing to an old collector's piece. As for an old user, some blade wear is a natural thing and just adds “personality” to the knife IMHO…

Thank you all for the input, I didn't think it could be done, but it moght be interesting to try on a cheapie.

I could weld on it, but the dissimilar metal would show up, plus there would have to be annealing and reheat treating involved so, in the end, like the others said, it wouldn't be worth it.

Here is a set of razor blades I welded

I think the guys who weld blades usually use the laser welders that are used in the jewelry industry.
With that technology the weld is nearly invisible & there is no need to re-heat treat. Of course it is so expensive that the knives that receive this treatment are usually safe queens, so no one ever knows if the blade has lost temper.
I priced a laser welder the other day & they start about $30,000, so I don't have one in my near future.

Dale

On a similar note....Does anyone have the ability to build up the kicks of blades that have worn so badly that there is no open/close snap left? Seems that this service would be much in demand for older knives that have seen better days.

it's not the kick that affects snap. the kick keeps the blades edge off the spring when closed. more likley fatigued spring or wear on heel of tang or wear on spring face. or both is the cause of spring weakness.

what johnnie said

That's what I get for trying to post just before heading out the door. lol I did mean the heel of the blade of course. Is anyone proficient in this?

A person with a MIG welder might be able to build up the heel of the tang without getting the blade too hot.
It probably depends on the welder, wire size, ect.
I think my old cracker box welder would get it too hot.

Dale

knfcollector wrote:That's what I get for trying to post just before heading out the door. lol I did mean the heel of the blade of course. Is anyone proficient in this?

there are many who are known to build up the tangs/springs to improve weak snap, and with re-heat treat it does work. I tend to kink the spring and true the tang to put snap back in, since I don't like welding on knives.

To add to what MM said, I have also expanded the tang a bit to make it bigger (ie, hit near the edge with a punch). this has improved the snap on a few blades, but I do not think it is the only solution.
Cheers,
Jaye