handle scale problems

khukoo head

khukoo head

Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
712
So I was using my 5.1 to do some carving on some fairly hard wood. When I got toward the end of my project, I noticed that the canvas micarta scales no longer matched up flush like they had previously. It almost seemed like they had torqued around the tang. I am right handed and the top scale (on a cut pushing away from me) was pushed ever so slightly away from the spine of the knife while the bottom scale (where my fingers were) was pushed the opposite direction. Not more than a few millimeters, but still... I decided to remove them and realign. They lined back up okay and I tightened them down pretty tight hoping to avoid having that happen again. My second problem appeared when I had the scales off and noticed some dark spots on both sides. They are not really rust colored, but a sort of darker gray, and didn't really clean up like I hoped. Anyone else have this experience? I'm kind of stumped, so any help would be appreciated...

I didn't take pics, but I'll do some more work with it tomorrow, and if it happens again I'll try to take some good pics.

Thanks
 
Odd. I wonder if the screws were not seated all the way and when you were torquing down on it there was a little bit of wiggle room created? If you have to take the scales off again I'd look for any deformation on the screw threads.
 
Pictures, please! I'm having a hard time imagining the problem, especially a few mm. Anything handle related gets my interest though...
 
I didn't take pics before I reset them, but they looked a bit like the pics in that instagram post, which was odd because they had been perfect before I used it hard. It could be that they weren't set properly. I'm gonna repeat the usage today and see if it happens again (and take pics this time).

Do you guys think the discoloration is corrosion under the scales?
 
Discoloration is possibly just staining of some kind. Patina, maybe. I take it this is a 3V bade, new spec? Highly unlikely to be corrosion (by that I mean actual, oxidized, rusty metal). Hard to say.
 
It's probably patina. Gray is fine. Red is not. When we "force a patina" on our knives, we are intentionally creating a gray "rust" to keep it from forming a red rust. I use a TufCloth to wipe down my knives. I never store them in leather, and never put them away long term if they're wet/bloody. Moisture can creep under scales, which is the beauty of removable scales. It makes maintenance easy.

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Give S!K a call and leave a message about it. If you don't hear from them in a few days try again. You will get through or they will get back to you.
 
It is a 3V 5.1. I didn't think stuff would be going on under the scales that much, but I have learned from experience and from all your helpful replies. I think I have it sorted out for now, but if not I will contact the shop, and of course keep y'all posted. Thanks for the help guys.
 
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