How to fix an exposed SAK tip

[Brock O Lee]

I bought this fantastic old Wenger Soldier from 1977. It cleaned up nicely, I sharpened it, and was excited to carry it. Unfortunately the sharp new tip announced itself when I handled it... It sat high in the frame and was slightly exposed in the closed position. Just enough to bite you if you run your fingertip across that area. Unsure how to deal with it, I threw it in the storage case until today.

It turned out there was an easy way to fix this. The following might be common knowledge, especially among traditional folder folks... A search here did not reveal a reference to it, so I'll post a few pictures to explain.

Before, slightly exposed blade tip, barely visible here.



After, tip seats much deeper in the frame.



The fix was to grind down the blade "kick". It rests against the backspring when closed. The shorter it is, the deeper the blade tip sinks into the frame.

Before



After









It only took a minute to grind away on the Tormek with a coarse diamond wheel. Another method would be to simply use sandpaper on a hard flat surface to get the same result.

This simple mod added many more years of useful life to this old Soldier! I promptly fixed another old cross Pioneer that suffered from the same issue.

[powernoodle]

Glad you got it fixed.  Prior to grinding, and maybe you tried this, would be to spray the heck out of the pivot with a solvent/lube to ensure that it is seating properly.  That tip was prolly not exposed from the factory.  But you showed it who the boss is, and you should get many years of good times from it.  That's an awesome Wenger.

                    

[PitCarver]

Good job.  I've had to grind down the kicks on a bunch but of slip joints over the years.

[Brock O Lee]

…spray the heck out of the pivot with a solvent/lube to ensure that it is seating properly.  That tip was prolly not exposed from the factory. 

Mr Noodle, you make a good point. 👍

When pocket lint gets trapped inside it may prevent the kick from seating fully against the back spring, and cause the blade to remain partially open.

However, this did not happen in my case. I cleaned, oiled and worked the action well. I suspect it always had a semi-exposed tip, but because the tip was not very sharp, it did not bother anyone enough to fix it.

Perhaps this flaw make it a safe queen for 49 years? It would explain the pristine condition and factory edge...

[Brock O Lee]

Good job.  I've had to grind down the kicks on a bunch but of slip joints over the years.

Thank you! 

It seems like "grinding down the kick" is common wisdom to adjust traditional slipjoints. That is how I discovered it recently, by hanging around those corners of the internet.

I fixed this nice Otter wharnie slipjoint the same way.

[AzteCypher]

That's a good fix to remember.   

That's a beautiful Otter by the way.   

[Brock O Lee]

That's a beautiful Otter by the way.   

Thank you!