Project for fun

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beresman
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Project for fun

Post by beresman »

This is my second successful re-handle, and I'm pretty excited about it. This was an old Sabre stockman with a broken secondary blade. I took it apart and removed the two secondaries, the spacer and back spring, and cleaned (and straightened) the remaining parts. It was missing a bolster, and with no good way to make one and no donor knife, I just decided to eliminate them.

The handles are an acrylic from Jantz, which forms easily and polishes up pretty well. This is good, since I'm using all hand tools (with the exception of a Dremel and an electric drill). I suppose some day I'll get a band saw and a belt sander and a drill press and a...

I chickened out and decided to glue the handles on this knife, because I've so far managed to crack almost every handle I try to pin. I'm sure it's a technique thing, but I don't have it figured out yet. Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the way it looks, and as long as the epoxy holds up, it should be fine. It's going to be an EDC, but I'm not too hard on knives, so it should hold up well. The blade took a great edge, by the way. I guess I'll see how long it lasts.
Brent
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Brent
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glennbad
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Re: Project for fun

Post by glennbad »

Love the colors on the acrylic, nice work!
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Madmarco
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Re: Project for fun

Post by Madmarco »

Nice save Brent, ::tu:: good for you! 8)
8)
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Meridian_Mike
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Re: Project for fun

Post by Meridian_Mike »

Man, that acrylic is some wild stuff!
Nice job!

::tu::
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dlr110
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Re: Project for fun

Post by dlr110 »

Brent, you did a great job. You and I are in about the same stage of knife repair and restoration. I've been practicing on some Kit Knives and some old beat up ones I had. Take a look at the Trapper I just finished viewtopic.php?f=2&t=70083&p=901042#p901042

Keep working and be sure to share your projects with us. We love seeing and hearing things like this from everyone. ::tu:: ::groove::
David R (United States Navy Retired)
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herbva
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Re: Project for fun

Post by herbva »

Beautiful work! I really like the way that old Sabre turned out. I used to have the same problem with pin cracks. Finally, I realized that you only need to peen the scale pins down until they are just, lightly, locking the scales down to the liners (Not Any More Pressure Needed). It's just a "touch thing" and with a little practice you will get the hang of it. ::tu:: ::tu::
"Better to do something imperfectly, than to do nothing flawlessly." ~ Robert H. Schuller

Herb
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Re: Project for fun

Post by Reverand »

Herb nailed it (no pun intended) with his post. I used to want to flare my pins out like the head of a nail, but it only needs to peen outward just a little.
I still crack bone scales pretty much every time, but I am getting better!
That Sabre turned out better than I had expected. And that Japanese steel will hold a wicked edge and stand up to some good use.
Great save!
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beresman
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Re: Project for fun

Post by beresman »

Thanks, fellas!
dlr110 wrote: Thu Mar 04, 2021 11:54 pm Brent, you did a great job. You and I are in about the same stage of knife repair and restoration. I've been practicing on some Kit Knives and some old beat up ones I had. Take a look at the Trapper I just finished viewtopic.php?f=2&t=70083&p=901042#p901042

Keep working and be sure to share your projects with us. We love seeing and hearing things like this from everyone. ::tu:: ::groove::
Nice handles on that trapper! I started with a kit, too (Rough Rider), which came out pretty well. restoring an older knifes more of a challenge, but it's starting to become fun, and I can tell I'm going to be doing more of it.
herbva wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 1:01 am Beautiful work! I really like the way that old Sabre turned out. I used to have the same problem with pin cracks. Finally, I realized that you only need to peen the scale pins down until they are just, lightly, locking the scales down to the liners (Not Any More Pressure Needed). It's just a "touch thing" and with a little practice you will get the hang of it. ::tu:: ::tu::
That's kind of what I was thinking. Is that also true for the center pin through the spring?
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herbva
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Re: Project for fun

Post by herbva »

beresman wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 4:58 pm Thanks, fellas!
dlr110 wrote: Thu Mar 04, 2021 11:54 pm Brent, you did a great job. You and I are in about the same stage of knife repair and restoration. I've been practicing on some Kit Knives and some old beat up ones I had. Take a look at the Trapper I just finished viewtopic.php?f=2&t=70083&p=901042#p901042

Keep working and be sure to share your projects with us. We love seeing and hearing things like this from everyone. ::tu:: ::groove::
Nice handles on that trapper! I started with a kit, too (Rough Rider), which came out pretty well. restoring an older knifes more of a challenge, but it's starting to become fun, and I can tell I'm going to be doing more of it.
herbva wrote: Fri Mar 05, 2021 1:01 am Beautiful work! I really like the way that old Sabre turned out. I used to have the same problem with pin cracks. Finally, I realized that you only need to peen the scale pins down until they are just, lightly, locking the scales down to the liners (Not Any More Pressure Needed). It's just a "touch thing" and with a little practice you will get the hang of it. ::tu:: ::tu::
That's kind of what I was thinking. Is that also true for the center pin through the spring?
The answer is yes and no. The rocker pin (center pin through the spring) is of course critical to holding the spring "loaded" and in the right position, but it also helps hold the middle part of each side of the frame together. But, like the scale pins, if you overdo it you can cause pin cracks in the usual spot between the rocker pin head and the edge of the scale. Or even worse, if it is too tight it can eventually cause that entire little piece next to the rocker pin head and the edge to crack and pop off. That's why you see that little chunk missing so often. So, you want to get it flush, but just tight enough. There are a few tricks which can help prevent cracks or chips in that area. The one I use is I drill the hole in the scale material just ever so slightly larger than the hole in the metal liner, so all the stress from the pin holding the spring loaded and in place is on the metal liner, not the scale. Or, sometimes I just use the burr that I am using to taper the bolster holes to widen that hole a tiny bit. Others might have different approaches. I hope this helps and doesn't just confuse. :D
"Better to do something imperfectly, than to do nothing flawlessly." ~ Robert H. Schuller

Herb
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