High Carbon Steel camper/scout

[OLDE CUTLER]

I acquired this a while back from philco. High Carbon Steel knives were made by Camillus and sold by Sears. It is in decent shape except for having a broken spring that works on the bottle and can openers. I have some 1075 spring steel on hand to make new ones from, so a new one was traced out using the remaining good spring as a pattern. Cut it out, shaped to size, heat treated and polished. Fitted it in and it now works great. Thanks Phil.

Spring steel assortment, available from Brownells

Contains several different widths and thickness

Scribe the existing spring or broken pieces onto the spring stock

Heating the spring on a couple of fire bricks with a MAPP gas torch, note can of oil on right to dunk spring into once it has reached non magnetic
After repolishing spring, let it set in 425 degree oven for a couple of hours.

[SwedgeHead]

Sweet, nice quick little tutorial there - nice job and an old camper back in action!

[doglegg]

You do great work OC. Knice save.

[FRJ]

ICut it out, shaped to size, heat treated and polished. Fitted it in and it now works great.

Very nice end result, OLDE CUTLER.

I enjoyed your procedure.

[CarMan]

I acquired this a while back from philco. High Carbon Steel knives were made by Camillus and sold by Sears. It is in decent shape except for having a broken spring that works on the bottle and can openers. I have some 1075 spring steel on hand to make new ones from, so a new one was traced out using the remaining good spring as a pattern. Cut it out, shaped to size, heat treated and polished. Fitted it in and it now works great. Thanks Phil.
IMG_5990.JPG
Spring steel assortment, available from Brownells
IMG_6021.JPG
Contains several different widths and thickness
IMG_6022.JPG
Scribe the existing spring or broken pieces onto the spring stock
IMG_6029.JPG
IMG_6030.JPG
IMG_6031.JPG
IMG_6067.JPG
Heating the spring on a couple of fire bricks with a MAPP gas torch, note can of oil on right to dunk spring into once it has reached non magnetic
After repolishing spring, let it set in 425 degree oven for a couple of hours.

If I can ask, how hard is it to heat treat that steel please? I have a couple Camillus I would like to make back springs for, but I am clueless on the heat treat. And, how exact does the spring have to be, meaning does it have to be EXACTLY the same size as the one removed or is there a little leeway there?

[OLDE CUTLER]

As I mentioned in the description, heat the spring until you get to the point where a magnet does not pick up the spring, which will be beyond red hot, try to keep that temp for a minute or so, then dunk it into some oil. Polish off the black coating, then place the spring in a 425 degree oven for a couple of hours and don't open the oven door til done. I use this procedure for 1075 and 1095 steels. Other steel may require different procedure or Temps. In this case I was able to lay the other spring on the blank and mark the hole. Drill the hole first, that is the main reference point. Then put the two together with the drill bit and scribe the outline. Cut down to the line on the inside and the 2 ends exactly. Leave a little extra on the outside that will be taken down flush after the knife is pinned back together. I have made a few dozen springs this way and have never had one break, ( knock on wood). It is not that difficult to do, but does require attention to the details. I should also mention that after the spring is cut, before the heat treatment, test fit it into the knife. DO NOT open or close the blades while doing the test fit or the spring will bend and may be damaged.
Thanks everyone for the comments.

[CarMan]

As I mentioned in the description, heat the spring until you get to the point where a magnet does not pick up the spring, which will be beyond red hot, try to keep that temp for a minute or so, then dunk it into some oil. Polish off the black coating, then place the spring in a 425 degree oven for a couple of hours and don't open the oven door til done. I use this procedure for 1075 and 1095 steels. Other steel may require different procedure or Temps. In this case I was able to lay the other spring on the blank and mark the hole. Drill the hole first, that is the main reference point. Then put the two together with the drill bit and scribe the outline. Cut down to the line on the inside and the 2 ends exactly. Leave a little extra on the outside that will be taken down flush after the knife is pinned back together. I have made a few dozen springs this way and have never had one break, ( knock on wood). It is not that difficult to do, but does require attention to the details. I should also mention that after the spring is cut, before the heat treatment, test fit it into the knife. DO NOT open or close the blades while doing the test fit or the spring will bend and may be damaged.
Thanks everyone for the comments.

I very much appreciate the detailed explanation, thank you. You make it sound so easy which I know it isn’t. But, now I have to try it. Thanks again sir