Question

Pushbutton · Post by **Pushbutton** » Sat Apr 10, 2004 5:44 pm

Bill
I have not run into this particular problem before. In a nut shell a few years ago I bot a 9",11'' and 13" from Slo-Jo it was around when that blonde was almost white on the front with green and mixed colors on the back. The propriorter did a fantastic job of matching each one so they are like 3 brothers in looks. Now the 11" was never a snappy opener but it opened no problem ever.Last night I was picking out some for cleaning and such and spotted the 11" I closed it and fired and it stopped short of the locking tab. I tried a few times and same thing both of the others fired perfectly. I took it down to my laboratory and sprayed the living shit out of it with WD-40 cleaned it out then raised the leaf a hair with a screwdriver and stuck the red straw in the hole for the locking pin and sprayed the hell out of that. I wiped the outsides down and put a little oil around the top bolster and oiled the spring ( Although the spring is one solid piece to the locking tab I did it any way). I closed the knife to put tension on the spring overnight and when I fired it this morning same anemic slow opening that stopped in the same place. Now when I have matching sets I don't play with them other to clean so after this whole longwinded description I think I know the answer you will say either replace the spring or live with it. But as you are the most familiar person here for sticky little annoying problems like this I'm hoping your going to tell me a magic remedy cause I really don't want to replace the spring since it was a $60 knife not a $700 pick.
Thanks for any light you can shed.
PB

Pushbutton · Post by **Pushbutton** » Sat Apr 10, 2004 8:35 pm

Bill
I fixed it. I checked the locking pin inside and that was fine so I took a magnifying glass and slowly went over the whole knife. What I couldn't see with even my glasses on was on the left side of the knife the blade was completley tight against the liners all the way up to the bolster. I wrapped a screwdriver in heavy papertoweling and put it inside and turned it towards the warped liner a few times. Now it fires better then it ever did since I got it. So your advise worked and I thank you.
PB

Post by **Bill DeShivs** » Sat Apr 10, 2004 9:21 pm

How about that! Telepathic advise. I may be on to something here.
Usually, horn warpage is the culprit here. The horn bows outward on the button-side scale, causing the blade to drag on the liners and causing the liners to pinch together in front of the pivot pin-compounding the problem.
You did the right thing. I'm wondering if a hair conditioner soak would help relax the horn?? WD 40 works pretty well at adding moisture to older horn, but a conditioning/relaxer might work better. Horn is hair, BTW.
Bill

Pushbutton · Post by **Pushbutton** » Sat Apr 10, 2004 9:47 pm

Bill
With 2 older daughters in and out of the house I have more hair conditioner then CVS so I will try your advise.One thing after is it ok to rinse in water dry and oil? The water won't do any damage will it?
Bob

Post by **Bill DeShivs** » Sat Apr 10, 2004 9:52 pm

Push
I would use WD (water displacing) 40 after the rinse. Then oil if necessary.
The longer it soaks, the better.
Please remember- this is an EXPERIMENT! DON'T BLAME ME IF THE HORN CURLS UP LIKE 98 YEAR OLD TOENAILS! I have never tried it.
Bill

Pushbutton · Post by **Pushbutton** » Sat Apr 10, 2004 10:01 pm

Bill
Of course I'm going to blame you

I was just looking at the scales and they really seem dried out. They look like they are pretty thirsty. I shouldn't think conditioner would be any worse then mineral oil plus the conditioners have lanolin and other chemicals to help soften. Maybe Miss Debbie would know the true answer. I'm going to check the other matching two cause all the horn is the same and it might be affecting them.
Bob

Stone Knife · Post by **Stone Knife** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 8:43 am

Perhaps you could stick them into a couple Hostess Twinkies? That cream filling seems to have a shelf-life of 50 years and might impart the delicate aroma of dihydrochloromethaline, the flavor America has been clamoring for since 1959.

Pushbutton · Post by **Pushbutton** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 4:56 pm

Well hair stylist Bill.
Seems now I have horn scales that I can't do a thing with. Dry, flyaway. No matter how many times I brush it I still get a cowlick. I'm going to try some relaxer for kinky hair and hope I can get my knife back to that teased look with bangs. If that doesn't work then I'm taking it to my barber for a haircut and start from scratch. That knife will really look silly with a whiffle.

PB

Post by **jim d,** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 6:51 pm

PB,

My daughter has this stuff called "Frizz-Ease". Perhaps that would help. Seriously, consider the fragrance factor. It is far more pervasive than you might imagine.

A few years ago I had horn warp on a 15. I had read about the minreal oil thing and decided to give it a try. I didn't have any mineral oil, but did have some baby oil which is mineral oil and fragrance. I put the knife in baby oil and our good friend tydy heard of my plight and offered to exchange the knife. I shipped it to him and he said that before he opened the package the smell of baby oil nearly knocked him out.

Jim

Pushbutton · Post by **Pushbutton** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 8:32 pm

Good point Jim thanks. At this point I would use mineral oil. I don't trust some of the things Bill tells me eversince I hid his walker and cut his crutches in half at the Blade Show once.By the time he had someone help him to the dealers with the switches everything was gone. The man is not capeable of taking an innocent joke so I have to be extra carefull when ever he offers me advise. I asked him once about andonizing some alluminium and he said the safest and best way to do it was to get in the tub of acid and hold the pieces under then switch the current on to full power. I looked like a rainbow Ken Onion knife for 2 weeks.
PB

Post by **Bill DeShivs** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 8:59 pm

Serves ya right!
Bill

Pushbutton · Post by **Pushbutton** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 9:40 pm

mrbigg · Post by **mrbigg** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 5:30 am

so if my horn scales start to flake i should use a bit of "head and shoulders"

???

Stone Knife · Post by **Stone Knife** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 8:32 am

It is amazing that nobody seems to be seriously considering my Hostess Twinkie idea. Twinkies smell much nicer than baby butts.

mrbigg · Post by **mrbigg** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 4:01 pm

Stone Knife wrote:It is amazing that nobody seems to be seriously considering my Hostess Twinkie idea. Twinkies smell much nicer than baby butts.

mr SK - i think it would be an issue of who would get more twinkie,
the knife or knife owner