Slipjoint openers

[dks]

Some slipjoints tend to be nail breakers/extractors, even after a good cleaning (some RRs come to mind…), but for one reason or another you may not want to replace them.
Also if you like playing with slipjoints and open and close several of them in a short period of time your nails may suffer (no, I am not talking about scratched nail varnish..).

So:

• Anybody use a knife opener?
  Which one?
  I see some RR (expensive) and Remington for sale (cheaper).
  
  How about a watch case opener, they are quite cheap on ebay, anybody use them for knives?
  
  Can you make one easily?

I assume it has to be made from a relatively soft metal (?) so that it will not scratch the knife if it slips.

Thank to all.

[Sparky415]

Some slipjoints tend to be nail breakers/extractors, even after a good cleaning (some RRs come to mind…), but for one reason or another you may not want to replace them.
Also if you like playing with slipjoints and open and close several of them in a short period of time your nails may suffer (no, I am not talking about scratched nail varnish..).

So:

• Anybody use a knife opener?
  Which one?
  I see some RR (expensive) and Remington for sale (cheaper).
  
  How about a watch case opener, they are quite cheap on ebay, anybody use them for knives?
  
  Can you make one easily?

I assume it has to be made from a relatively soft metal (?) so that it will not scratch the knife if it slips.

Thank to all.

If you have some tools Dks I reckon you could make one easily enough 

Mmm.... A bit of reciprocating saw blade and a dremel 

now I need some pictures

[Sazabi]

I have a GEC Knife Opener that I got recently for some stubborn knives.

I wouldn't call the Rough Rider knife opener expensive... eBay has some Buy-It-Now for just over $5 shipped.

[dks]

Sparky, I have used some pieces of 1mm sheet metal, or cheap, blunt, blades, credit card multitools (the $1 ones), and of course pliers to open knives but I am always worried that I may scratch the blade I am opening.

I don’t know if a purposely designed opener will be less likely to slip and/or scratch… That’s why I was looking at the watch case openers, which should be strong enough, but soft at the same time (and cheap).

Sazabi, the only RRs I see are $18, with $29 shipping, to EU. Maybe these $5 are only for  the US market. Sent me a link if you can.

[Sazabi]

Ah, I didn't realize you were abroad.  This is $18 shipped in the US.

This is BIN with free shipping in the US.  If you like that one, or see any others, let me know, and I can forward it/them to you.

[David]

A. G. Russell makes one. Don`t know if they ship outside the US.

[dks]

Thanks to all, the RRs looks nice, but the cheaper ones don’t have non US shipping. Thanks for the offer Sazabi; I will keep it in mind,  I still think $18 for a single  RR blade is a bit over the top.
I am sure an ebay seller had them for much less, I remember seeing them some time ago, but he is probably out of stock curently, as he does not appear in the search.

The money the A.G. Russel will probably cost, I should be able to pay someone to open the knives for me. 

[Sazabi]

Well, if you try sniping, there is one for sale for $0.99 plus something like $4.25 shipping in the US; it ends in three days' time.

[Sparky415]

If you don't mind me asking where in the world are you Dks?

Looks like they are made from steel, I would have a go with my Dremel
I want one of these now

http://cgi.ebay.com/Winchester-USA-1990-Knife-Opener-Highly-Collectible-/290559288393?pt=Collectible_Knives&hash=item43a6aee449

[dks]

..it seems I will probably end up making one, and probably buying one of the cheap, yellow, watch openers to try. I have a wenger watchmaker's knife but it does not work well as a knife opener..

Its just a piece of metal, how hard can it be?? 

PM sent to Sparky

[David]

Thanks to all, the RRs looks nice, but the cheaper ones don’t have non US shipping. Thanks for the offer Sazabi; I will keep it in mind,  I still think $18 for a single  RR blade is a bit over the top.
I am sure an ebay seller had them for much less, I remember seeing them some time ago, but he is probably out of stock curently, as he does not appear in the search.

The money the A.G. Russel will probably cost, I should be able to pay someone to open the knives for me. 

They start at 5.95 and go to 10.95 so that's pretty reasonable

[dks]

They start at 5.95 and go to 10.95 so that's pretty reasonable

That is pretty reasonable. I could only find their knives on Ebay, so I made a guestimate based on these prices. 

Thank to all for the sugestions, and to Sazabi and Sparky for their offers. 
I have found an old latch and some door keys and I will  see if I can turn them, with my limited skills, into knife openers.
If not then I will follow one of the other options the forum members sugested.

[Sparky415]

You know we will need some pictures of how it turns out 

[dks]

…so I went ahead and made one, as it was said before, by others, it was not that hard.

Making a slipjoint opener.
I wore safety glasses, gloves and used an RCD.
Depending on the original shape of the metal you use, some steps can be omitted and other steps can be added.

I wanted a comparatively soft metal that would not scratch my knives (I did not want, for example, a worn metal file), 1 to 2mm thick (to resist bending) and 1.5 to 2 cm wide (to fit in the nail nicks). The length had to be enough to provide good leverage, but not so long that it would be awkward to use and carry.


Part 1.
I finally settled on an old door latch.
It was 2mm thick, 2cm wide and 12cm long.

It had a protruding spine, that added strength, but which needed to be flattened at its end. It also had a handle at the end that I had to remove.

I was able to bend the latch, with some effort, so I knew it had good elasticity and was made from a reasonably soft metal (steel).

continues...

[dks]

Part 2.
I marked the latch and cut off the last bit, the bent handle of the latch that I did not need. I used a power tool but I could have just as easily used a metal saw (but that would have been less fun).

continues..

[dks]

Part 3.
I flattened one end with a hammer, removing the protruding spine and marked with a pencil the shape I wanted to give to the nail opener. I tried to imitate the shape of a thumb nail.

continues..

[dks]

Part 4.
I ground off the metal I did not want, shaping the knife opener.
I gave it a blunt chisel ground edge, at about 45 degrees, so that it would fit nicely in the nail nicks.

I did the same to the other, narrower, end of the latch so that my knife opener has two usable “nails”, one narrow one wide.

I used a bench grinder (with two stones) for the shaping, but I could have also used an angle grinder (using a vise to hold the knife opener), or a metal saw.

I also used a rough sharpening stone and sandpaper to smoothen it a bit.

continues...

[dks]

Part 5.
That Rough Rider Scout knife does not look so tough anymore! 

Many thanks to all!! 

[Sparky415]

Looks like a good job Dks 

[Zed]

That is cool dks, ive not seen these beofre but do have a few nail breakers so very handy 

[dks]

..and I saved money, i think...

... and managed not to hurt myself too!

Thanks for the comments, and sorry for taking up 4 posts instead of one; I dont have a picture account.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

Nice work dks

I have several openers but they're never handy when I need them. I usually use the edge of a Penny when I need one.

[Sparky415]

..and I saved money, i think...

... and managed not to hurt myself too!

Thanks for the comments, and sorry for taking up 4 posts instead of one; I dont have a picture account.

Maybe next time 

[dks]

Maybe next time 

and I dont even have to try....

Nice work dks

I have several openers but they're never handy when I need them. I usually use the edge of a Penny when I need one.

If I had a penny I would not need to make my own openers...

[Sparky415]

Maybe next time 

and I dont even have to try....

Nice work dks

I have several openers but they're never handy when I need them. I usually use the edge of a Penny when I need one.

If I had a penny I would not need to make my own openers...

If you ever get very bored you can look back through some of my posts
Cut fingers 
sanded fingers 
Ground fingers 

Its funny now 

[ryan1835]

Maybe next time 

and I dont even have to try....

Nice work dks

I have several openers but they're never handy when I need them. I usually use the edge of a Penny when I need one.

If I had a penny I would not need to make my own openers...

If you ever get very bored you can look back through some of my posts
Cut fingers 
sanded fingers 
Ground fingers 

Its funny now 

well i found it funny at the time, wouldnt a small pair of pliers with a bit of blu tack on the end work as an opener?

[Sparky415]

You are always the first one to laugh when I cut something off 





 

[gustophersmob]

IN the past I have used a medium or heavy nylon guitar pick/plectrum.  Seemed to work ok, with little risk of scratching.

[dks]

From my, definitely limited, experience I think any nail shaped material, that fits deeply and securely in the nail nick should work (I know, I am stating the obvious  ). It should definitely be a “soft” material, so as not to scratch the knife if it slips.

I assume any material with an edge thickness of 1mm or less should be ok, for most nail nicks.

The one I made has an edge about 0.5mm thick (down from 2mm) and works fine with my small slipjoints too.

Going too thin (thin depending on the material) will make it more likely for your knife opener to break; lets not forget that you will use it on knives that could potentially break your nails as you try to open them.

What you use has to be of a reasonable length, so that it can be used comfortably.

Originally I was going to buy one of the cheap watch case openers from ebay; they seemed like they would work OK.

[Outback in Idaho]

Some slipjoints tend to be nail breakers/extractors, even after a good cleaning (some RRs come to mind…), but for one reason or another you may not want to replace them.
Also if you like playing with slipjoints and open and close several of them in a short period of time your nails may suffer (no, I am not talking about scratched nail varnish..).

So:

• Anybody use a knife opener?
  Which one?
  I see some RR (expensive) and Remington for sale (cheaper).
  
  How about a watch case opener, they are quite cheap on ebay, anybody use them for knives?
  
  Can you make one easily?

I assume it has to be made from a relatively soft metal (?) so that it will not scratch the knife if it slips.

Thank to all.