Guess what arrived today?
It showed up a lot faster than I was expecting- Canada Post needs to go on strike more often, the level of service I've been getting lately is stellar!
As you can see, it's not a
new blade, but it is much nicer than the one that was on it.
I couldn't wait to get the knife refurbished, so out came some tools- first my trusty Husky screwdriver, which has all the Torx bits you need for fiddling with knives. It was a gift from someone at KF long before MTO was even a thing, and I love it. It has an awful lot of miles on it. I also needed a flathead so I grabbed the Leatherman Sidekick, because that was what was most handy when I started.
Unfortunately it failed instantly- the one job I needed the Sidekick for was doomed from the start, as the flathead is a bit too wide to fit in the slot in the screw.
No problem, out comes the SOG PowerLock....
...which also promptly failed.....
.... or did it?
The flathead on the bottle opener fit the slot so perfectly I have to wonder if there has been any hanky panky behind the scenes at SOG and CRKT?
Step One completed, pivot screw removed.
Unfortunately, Step One should have been the removal of the pocket clip!
No matter, my Husky screwdriver got it undone in moments and I was able to move on to the small screws holding the handles together which allows us to have a look at how the knife works.
You can also see how grungy this poor knife is by looking at the spacers and washers.
As if that battered blade wasn't enough to let you know this poor knife hasn't had a good life, the innards prove it.
After pulling the blade I could do a much better direct comparison of the two of them, and you can really see how much better the new blade is than the old one.
With the blade out you can see that there's a plastic washer underneath the blade just like the one we found on top, followed by the Lake and Walker LAWKS mechanism, followed by a brass washer. None were very happy looking, and I did a thorough cleaning of each.
The liner locking layer is permanently attached to the pivot, and so could not be removed from the lower handle slab. They were seriously grungy, so I gave them both a good cleaning, as much as I could. LOTs of cleaning....
But it seemed like it wasn't enough, so I thought a little upgrade was in order....
After cleaning the gunk off the LAWKs mechanism and brass washer I decided to coat them with the
graphite spray I'd used on the Leatherman Brewzer copy a while back to see if it would make a good tool coating. I coated both sides and let them dry before returning to the work bench (aka kitchen table) to finish reassembly of the knife.
It went back together as well as it came apart, just in reverse order to earlier... as if I needed to say that part!
A few quick tests to make sure the flipper launched the blade at the right tension and it was time to decide what to do about the pocket clip.
Or should I say
clips, because, as a bonus, the individual that I obtained the blade from also sent along a brand new clip, four new screws (one extra since in only takes three!) and a wrench for assembling and disassembling the knife and removing, moving and re-attaching the pocket clip.
The other neat thing is that the new clip is the opposite hand clip to the original, which means that this knife now has twice as many clip and carry options as the knife's standard four options would originally offer.
In the end I think this knife has turned out much better than I was expecting it to- with the graphite coated washers, extra clip option and all the cleaning, not to mention the spare tool that could be used to flip the clip or take apart the knife for cleaning.... I think this blade is going to be a superstar- and the best part, it's already scratched up so you can't feel bad about using it!
I'm glad this knife has a new lease on life, and I'm proud I had a hand in it. And for you, the nameless shadow in an alley, skulking behind the dumpster, you are not just the supplier of parts, you are a solver of problems, and I appreciate it greatly!
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