Slip Joint Repair

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Mario
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:59 am

Slip Joint Repair

Post by Mario »

I got this old Japanese slip joint fish knife the other day. For some reason the main blade doesn’t snap in place when you open it and when you do it’s separating the liners from the back
spring for some reason. I’ve tried hammering the pivot down when it’s in the open position but even that doesn’t work. You can hammer it together when it’s closed but when you open it, it just spreads apart again. The other two pieces which are little scissors and a scaling blade open and snap into place fine. It’s just the main blade that’s off center and won’t open properly. Could this be a matter of a worn back spring that’s caused the pivot to get warped? I know it’s a sign the back spring is worn when it appears to sit lower in the handle. What could fix this? Would filing the blade heel down work or might I have to pry the bail off and drill the pivot pin out and replace it altogether? I look forward to your suggestions.
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sammy the blade
Posts: 4023
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2016 7:18 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Slip Joint Repair

Post by sammy the blade »

You know, it's not a switchblade so you have to open it manually. Try a wd40 douche and a little oil on it and see what happens. Good luck.
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Mario
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:59 am

Re: Slip Joint Repair

Post by Mario »

I got the pivot pin out! I’m going to put a new pin it. First I got to clean it up a bit. I’m going to polish the blades with a little Flitz, flush the dirt out of the liners, oil everything up, and make a new bail for it as that broke when I was removing it. I’ll post the finished product when I’m done.
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whippersnapper
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Location: Michigan

Re: Slip Joint Repair

Post by whippersnapper »

Good luck. Hopefully that does the trick.
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JimBrown257
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Location: Michigan

Re: Slip Joint Repair

Post by JimBrown257 »

It does look like the blade is not lined up enough with the backspring. You might just need to tighten the pivot, not completely replace it.
EDIT: I just noticed you said you already took the pivot out.

If that is not the problem, then there might not be enough pressure being put on the bottom of the backspring. Is one of the other attachments pushing on the other side of the backspring?
Mario
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:59 am

Re: Slip Joint Repair

Post by Mario »

Since I removed the pivot pin, I noticed it was bent so I’m quite certain that’s what was causing the problem. I’m going to carefully file a little material off the inner sides of the back springs with my Dremel so when I get my new pivot in and everything lined up it can fit tight. I’ll probably make a new bail out of some spring material I have before I hammer down the new pivot.
Mario
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:59 am

Re: Slip Joint Repair

Post by Mario »

After a little tweaking here and there with the Dremel, I finally got my new pivot in! I’ve tested it and the main blade opens and closes perfectly. I’m going to do a little more sanding and hammering when the Sun comes up. It was late and I didn’t want to keep my neighbors up (the joys of living in an apartment, lol). After a little more tweaking and polishing this thing should be sparkling. I’m not going to be making a new bail. It’s really not necessary and wasn’t sure it would work with the material I have.
Mario
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:59 am

Re: Slip Joint Repair

Post by Mario »

Here’s the completed repair. All the parts work properly except for the little scissors. Having trouble getting that part to open correctly. Maybe I need to oil it up and tap the rivets a little more. But my main goal was to get the main blade working and that part was a success. The knife polished up real well too! I’m fairly new to this type of work, so for my first effort, I didn’t do too bad.
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sammy the blade
Posts: 4023
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Location: Indiana

Re: Slip Joint Repair

Post by sammy the blade »

Isn't that a different knife from your original post?
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Mario
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:59 am

Re: Slip Joint Repair

Post by Mario »

sammy the blade wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:09 pm Isn't that a different knife from your original post?
No, that’s the knife from the original post. I fixed it. As I said, I didn’t bother with trying to put the bail back on or making a new one.
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