Bent shank on a othwerwise really nice straight, what to do?

[honed]

I just got a Heljestrand that was horribly off center in it's scales.
The scales were worn&torn so I took 'em off & pinned the blade in a pair of fitting scales I had.
Still same problem.

I then I saw that it wasn't the scales, it was the blade.

Right at the stabilizers there is a serious bend to the left if looked at from above.
It was certainly a few millimeters off. This thing will never fit into any normal set of scales.

But there is no warping & distortion otherwise. The edge/blade is dead centered.
The blade lies absolutely flat on the hone, shuffles a nice bead of water thru-out on both sides of the blade as it glides down the hone.

The sorry part is that this is a MK6 blade.
A 6/8 half hollow. An amazing shaver & pretty rare, so I really like to save it.
It's basically a MK32 with a stiffer grind. Yes I know, those of you who have treid a MK32 are drooling now

With any other piece of steel my plan would have been to put it on the ol' anvil & give it a few blows with the hammer ( ther eis actually some marks
on the shank indicating taht someone tried that before) & if that failed blast it with the propane torch & hammer away some more.
Something tells me that it isn't a very good idea with this one...

Can it be saved or should I just make a japanese style handle & shave with it as such.
Because during the shave I didn't notice the bend. Just the amazing quality of the shave was present

 

[Aquanin]

Do not hit it with a hammer...Please!!

In the right hands, it will fit in scales. Almost all Friodurs that I have handled are exactly like what you describe. The are bent right at the shoulder. And you can get them to center in scales with a little creative planning.

 

[honed]

Do not hit it with a hammer...Please!!

In the right hands, it will fit in scales. Almost all Friodurs that I have handled are exactly like what you describe. The are bent right at the shoulder. And you can get them to center in scales with a little creative planning.

I promise not to hit it

Nice to hear that it's not only mine then...

So maybe some bent scales & some creative filing on the wedge could do it then?

 

[lindcruiser]

Hey Honed,

How's the weather in Sweden? Here's a link to one of the best US knife makers out there http://www.dfoggknives.com/shop_tips.htm The pictures aren't the best but you should be able to get an idea what he's doing. Whatever you do, go slowly. Your last couple sentences may say it all, "Because during the shave I didn't notice the bend. Just the amazing quality of the shave was present" Maybe just leave it if you can, don't worry, I'd have to straighten it, too!

 

[professorchaos]

Do not hit it with a hammer...Please!!

In the right hands, it will fit in scales. Almost all Friodurs that I have handled are exactly like what you describe. The are bent right at the shoulder. And you can get them to center in scales with a little creative planning.

Bingo. One of my Friodurs is bent at the shoulder. Had it rescaled and while it does come close to one side, it definitely fits.

 

[Seraphim]

JUNK!


Pure and simple, that razor is JUNK!


Similar quality to a Gold Dollar, so I'll offer $15 for it......









(hey, it's worth a shot!)

 

[Joe Edson]

JUNK!


Pure and simple, that razor is JUNK!


Similar quality to a Gold Dollar, so I'll offer $15 for it......









(hey, it's worth a shot!)

It's not complete junk. Definitely only worth a wapi price. I'll offer you $35 for it

 

[honed]

It's not complete junk. Definitely only worth a wapi price. I'll offer you $35 for it

Before or after I try to restore it

 

[Seraphim]

Ican promise you that a hammer is absolutely the wrong tool for the job and that you will break that razor if you go that route.

 

[Baartel Van StratenShaven]

If you bend it, hit it, heat it, etc.. it all affects the temper and weakens the steel. A particularly bad idea for a razor.

 

[Seraphim]

The easiest thing to do is to remove material from the inside of one of the scales to adjust for centering.

Without seeing it, I will say that most likely what you have is not a bent tang, but simply one that is tapered on only one side (see pic). Trying to bend the tang to adjust for that is not the way to go.

Adjust by adding an angle to the inside of the scales on the same side as the flat portion of the tang. The portion in yellow is what I recommend filing away.



Or sell me the razor.............

 

[honed]

The easiest thing to do is to remove material from the inside of one of the scales to adjust for centering.

Without seeing it, I will say that most likely what you have is not a bent tang, but simply one that is tapered on only one side (see pic). Trying to bend the tang to adjust for that is not the way to go.

Adjust by adding an angle to the inside of the scales on the same side as the flat portion of the tang. The portion in yellow is what I recommend filing away.



Or sell me the razor.............

What's up with you guys today. THE HAMMER WAS A JOKE

I picked up some nice maple wood yesterday, a tad thicker the usual, so I can make a hollow in one of the scales or both if needed.
I came to that conclusion from Aquanins post.
And now you seconded it! Nice.

I double checked. It is indeed bent, like in really bent.
The tang looks very nice & even & so does the blade.
It just turns a hard left right at the shoulder.
Hopefully some careful filing & placement of washers should do it.
Otherwise acrylic might work, since it's more flexible.

If all else fails, I'll trade it in for one of those Seraphim GD Specials.
Then you could do your first reversed thumb-notch
Were a thumb-notch actually is filled up instead of created...

 

[Seraphim]

Aha, a truly bent tang!


For that you WILL need a hammer......


Or you can do as I have done:

put the body of the blade in a vice, then get a nice long pipe, whose inner diameter closely matches the size of the tang. Slide it over the tang and make use of that leverage.

 

[Seraphim]

Any updates?


Honed?




Honed? Are you there?

Are you weeping over a shatered Mk6? Or recovering from a binge to celebrate the sucessful straightening of the tang?

 

[pz93c]

A tang usually doesn't have the same temper as the blade, at least on some knives.

It "may" bend right back, with a little persuasion, once you get it out of the scales.

Best of luck to you.

 

[honed]

Any updates?


Honed?




Honed? Are you there?

Are you weeping over a shatered Mk6? Or recovering from a binge to celebrate the sucessful straightening of the tang?

Well...
I gave the "new scales idea" a go, but sanding away material from the inside didn't do much. Didn't get it right.
And I just didn't dare to try to force the tang back.
I applied moderate force, but it was dead still.
And the blade wouldn't have been the only thing broken if I had broken the tang of. My soul would had taken a beating to...

So, I sucked it up, toughened up & handled it like any real man would have.
Lying on the floor in the shower in the fetal position, crying

The next day I rummaged around in one of all the boxes of unindentified stuff harvested thru the years at fleamarkets & auction sales & found a simple, yet brilliant solution.

Gutta Percha scales from a broken Eskilstuna blade!

Very flexible stuff, it sure didn't care about the bent tang, I probably could have mounted an axe in those scales & it still would have fit like a charm.

I made a wedge from some orange acrylic, didn't taper it as to leave more room.
Put it together with microfasteners as to give room for some adjustements, added some purty silver floral washers & the 'ol gal is more ready for service then ever!

I rarely appologize for lousy pics, because I am by nature a lousy photograper, but these are bad even for my standards, so...sorry

 

[pz93c]

Cool!

Looks great.

 

[Luc]

That looks nice!!

 

[mskembo]

That is a mean looking blade! I like it.

Mike

 

[honed]

Thanks guys!

Next time I sit down to do some honing, I'll put a edge on it again.
I'm thinking of giving it a lapping film edge, to honor Seraphims concern & very generous offer to take care of it