Fine tuning: blade - handle line

• with the blade open look at the line along the back of the blade into the handle
• if the blade sits too high, you will need to cut a new blade or spring
• if the blade sits too low, take the knife apart and either remove a little from the blade ‘run up’ or the end of the spring
• put it back together and check again - take it slowly so you don’t go too far!

Fine tuning: adjust spring

The spring should lie flat in the handle when the blade is both open and closed, so with the blade open clean up the top of the handle at the bolster end, taking care to file the spring completely flat to the liner:

Then close the knife

If the spring sits lower than the bolster -

• take the blade out and remove a little material from the back square:

• put it back together; the spring should now be low when the blade is both open and closed
• with the blade open file the top of the knife flat again and it should now be flat when both open and closed

If the spring sits higher than the bolster -

• take the blade out and remove a little material from the kick and walk

• put it back together; the spring should now be flat both open and closed

Fine tuning: walk & talk

Open and shut the knife several times, feeling and listening to the action - look out for:

• Fit crisis: the blade has two places where it will sit open:

• Tang run-up: the blade starts to open well, but then becomes really difficult to snap around to the half stop as the round end protrudes too far beyond the end of the spring:

• Oversized tang: very difficult to get blade open at all as the tang is too much longer than it is wide:

Fine tuning: blade point

• the point of the blade needs to sit fairly well inside the handle, particularly if the knife is going to be used and sharpened which will reduce the blade edge over time
• gently file a little off the kick, closing the knife frequently to check progress because it is difficult to resolve if the blade goes too far inside the handle