Shrunken scales

B

BradleySmall

Joined
Mar 6, 2022
Messages
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Got some campers. But two of them, Camco and a camilus Cub Scout both have severely shrunken scales/handle material.

Also, an observation, the cub sideways especially in mineral oil, looks clear. Kind of like how a mirror is painted on one side.

Plenty of work on that cub, locking liner has to be remade, And the main blade is very loose. But the camco, just needs handle material replaced.

I am open to suggestions. And advice. Anyone have any?
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I just bought the this knife and have the same issue. It's kinda charming but I don't like the scale edges catching on the fabric of my jeans.
 
If the shrinkage is minor, the entire frame can be gently ground down to fit the handles.
Otherwise, the handles have to be replaced. The knifemakers' supply houses have many materials available-though I am unaware of any blue jigged plastic being available.
 
Joshua91 said:
I just bought the this knife and have the same issue. It's kinda charming but I don't like the scale edges catching on the fabric of my jeans.
Click to expand...

Bill DeShivs said:
If the shrinkage is minor, the entire frame can be gently ground down to fit the handles.
Otherwise, the handles have to be replaced. The knifemakers' supply houses have many materials available-though I am unaware of any blue jigged plastic being available.
Click to expand...
Do you have any idea why the scales shrink?
 
They're likely made of celluloid. Nasty material that used to be used on a lot of old knives. As it degrades it shrinks and becomes brittle. It also releases corrosive gasses as it does, that can and will corrode anything near it.
 
I don't think those are celluloid.
Plastics-especially early ones, tended to shrink as they aged.
 
I agree not celluloid. I call it shrinky dink. Perfectly safe to leave and use as is. But they would look great with some jigged bone covers.

There was a arts project when I was a kid, you colored a piece of plastic then baked it. The plastic shrunk and the color was intensified. It looked like stained glass. They were called Shrinky Dinks.
 
When I worked in an upholstery shop back in the '70s, my job was stripping old sofas and chairs, and down inside one sofa, I found an old pocket knife that looked pretty much exactly like the right-hand knife in the first post, and the knife shown in post #9 above, but the scales had shrunk and curled at the edges far more. Not sure why I even saved the knife...

I just went to take some pics of it, and one of the scales disintegrated like a mummy's shroud due to handling, revealing that the scale was apparently attached to the liner with a staple, presumably at each end:

 
The knife would have to be partially disassembled to properly replace the handles properly. It's what I do, but it's expensive.
You could break the handles off, remove the pins, and just glue something on. It might even stay on for a while.
 
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