Broken Back Spring 1989 Case Trapper

[knifeaddict1965]

Today I received some knives I had purchased online, and the 5254D Damascus full size trapper has a broken back spring on the secondary blade. I was wondering if any of our esteemed knife mechanics would have one of these springs and what it would cost to repair. Feel free to send me a PM with any information.

Also, somebody had written prices on the back of the blades with what appears to be a permanent marker. I have researched a few different ways to remove this (dry erase marker, Mr. Clean eraser, Magic eraser, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, alcohol, lighter fluid, WD-40, etc.) but was wondering if anyone has any advice on the best method to remove without affecting the contrast of the Damascus. I have removed rust from a Damacus knife blade in the past and it did negatively affect the look, so I was hoping to be able to avoid that. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[98src]

WD 40 on a paper towel will probably remove the marking.

[just bob]

I would contact Case chances are they will fix that spring for you. If not pm me and I'll get you a spring. Follow the info in this thread to contact Case. It works.

viewtopic.php?p=1105443#p1105443


#0000 steel wool is a great item to use for blade clean up. When you contact Case ask them what product they recommend to clean the blades. Let us know what they say.

[rea1eye]

I've always wanted a damascus blade. Nice find! Permanent marker is a non-
water soluble ink. I think I would try acetone ( or nail polish removal that is
flammable). Get the one that has no colors or fragrance. Let it sit on the blade for
a few minutes and scrub gently with a soft cloth. If you see the cloth getting dark
from the ink try it again and again. I don't think it will affect the blade but you
may want to try a very small spot first just to be sure.

Case will probably fix the spring. It might be a bit pricey and a long wait to get it back.
They do a great job however.

Let us know what took the ink off the blades.

Bob

[hardman]

You are right to be concerned about cleaning the Damascus blade and losing your contrasting colors. I have had some luck using WD-40 to remove some spots from Damascus and did not ruin the blade look.

I also had a couple of Damascus blades that I could do some experimenting on. Both had some deep pits and stains. There was no cleaning them up without losing the contrast you spoke of. In the end, the pits were mostly gone but the blades, which had been removed from the knife, were pretty ugly. I tried recovering the color by sticking them in an apple. The acid in the apple helped restore the color on the smallest repairs, but not the larger ones. I also tried using "Pewter Black" on one of the blades. It also helped to hide the damage. I tried the Pewter Black again for a spot repair with what I would say was good results.

By far though, preventing damage to the Damascus blades in the first place is the much better option.

[knifeaddict1965]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I should have thought about calling Case first. I have heard they do a pretty good job, and I would think they would cover this under their warranty. I have never used them before, but this may be a good opportunity. Not sure which route I am going to go on cleaning up the blades, but I will post the results once I decide what works best.

Thanks again to everyone for the input!

[just bob]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I should have thought about calling Case first. I have heard they do a pretty good job, and I would think they would cover this under their warranty. I have never used them before, but this may be a good opportunity. Not sure which route I am going to go on cleaning up the blades, but I will post the results once I decide what works best.

Thanks again to everyone for the input!

I have only owned one Case Damascus knife and it was an EDC. I never thought about #0000 steel wool and the finish. Sorry. You don't need to call Case. You only need to fill out the online form and include your pictures. Within a few days they will contact you and let you know if they have accepted your repair or not. I also believe for a fee they will clean those other knives for you. You might inquire about that or else include the pictures and ask them their recommended procedure. FWIW - I bought a used hobo that had never been sharpened, with a broken spring. I filled out the online form and added pictures and within 3 days they contacted me and said they accepted my knife for repair. Didn't cost anything to fix. It was back within 4 - 6 weeks, which I think is the standard turn around estimate. The quality of work is perfect.

[knifeaholic]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I should have thought about calling Case first. I have heard they do a pretty good job, and I would think they would cover this under their warranty. I have never used them before, but this may be a good opportunity. Not sure which route I am going to go on cleaning up the blades, but I will post the results once I decide what works best.

Thanks again to everyone for the input!

A broken backspring is always considered a warranty issue.

[knifeaddict1965]

Thanks again for the feedback guys!

The WD-40 seems to be doing a pretty good job and I will be filling out the online forms to send the trapper back to Case to have the broken spring replaced.