Re-Handling a folder

John Wilson

John Wilson

Well-Known Member
It's funny how things tend to come full circle. Friends ask me how I got started making knives, and the truth is that I sort of fell into it. I would sharpen knives for friends and that progressed into reconditioning old knives. Reconditioning became making new handles and guards, and then it dawned on me when I'd finish that the only part of the knife I didn't make myself was the blade. So, I began making knives.

For the last several years I've been so busy making knives that I had to turn people down when they asked me to rework an old knife. This one was different. I've been kicking around the idea of making folders for a very long time and when this request came in, the timing was just right. I'm glad I did it. After doing this one I think I'm ready to start making folders.

I'll quit jabbering and get to the point. A good friend of mine asked me to dress up an old pocket knife he had. He wanted nice scales on it. "What the heck" I said, "I'll give it a shot."

New scales turned out to be just the beginning. I reground the blade, replaced the worn out nylon washers with bronze ones I made, and then I couldn't send it back with all the play it had in the blade when locked open, so I make a new stop stud to take out the play.

So, when I say full circle- it once again dawned on me that the only part I didn't make from scratch was the blade and the liners.
 

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Thanks Justin. That's the only reason I took the job- if I completely botched it up I could have bought the guy lunch and called it square!
 
Thanks guys! It was a good project for me. I paid real close attention to how it was made and brainstormed how I’d improve it. Great learning experience for me.
 
Very nice work! I gotta say, my hats off you ya! What you've done is a good way to understand folders, and that's the first step to learning how to produce your own.

I've had so much "repair" work over the years that I've grown to just hate it. For me the issue has always been that somebody brings an old, el cheapo pocket knife/folder to me, and wants it "repaired" or "upgraded"...... but expects it to be done for $25. I try to be as gentle as possible, but for the most part the repair costs would far exceeds the value of the knife. I still have 2-3 completed renovations hanging around the shop, that the owners never came to pick up.
I've come to the point that when somebody wants repairs on anything that I didn't make..... it's $70 per hour, with a one hour minimum. That's just my attempt to keep from having to do it. Just recently I had a fella stop by the shop with a replica sword, and wanted me to "refinish" the blade.....all 34" of it! :) When I told him the hourly repair rate, he wasn't too scared....until I said he'd be looking at 18-32 hours. :)
 
Ed, that’s a huge compliment coming from you. Thank you very much.

We are on the same page with repair work. This was definitely one of those things you do because it’s a friend, and a job you want to do. I don’t mind trying new things, but it’s way less painful to study something that already works than to try to reinvent it myself.
 
Smallshop said:
WOW...very nice! I guess the next step is....
Click to expand...
Yep, wondering the same thing... When are we seeing the first John Wilson prototype.
Great work you've done on that knife, John. I suspect the owner will struggle to recognise his own knife,.. and consider himself a very lucky man indeed.
 
You guys are too kind. The real question is when we will have a John Wilson folder that can be successful enough to be shown to anyone! Ha!
 
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