Posted 8 years ago
shea37
(9 items)
Hi , Can Anyone Tell Me Any Information About This Old Knife Which Belonged To My Late Dad, Also Why The Big Blade Wont Fold Down Completely Into Its Right Position, Thanks
Old Pen Knife E F.A James Barber Any Info | ||
| SEAN68's loves16857 of 52230 |  |  |
Need to know the complete name stamped on the tang, and what exactly do you mean by "Blade Won't Fold Down Completely Into Its Right Position."
It Is Stamped E.F.A James Barber And There Is A Word Which Is Hidden By The Brass End, When I Fold Down The Big Blade It Sits Out a Few mm compared To the smaller Blade
Maybe It Is E.R.A, I Need To Clean It, Can Anyone Tell Me The Best Way To Clean The Blades
It is ERA. James Barber, Sheffield, England is listed ca. 1840. The ERA brand name was sold several times and was still in use as of 1995. From what little I can see of the knife it may well be 175 years old.
As for the blade sitting "proud", the first thing to suspect is that the blade was much wider and has been sharpened away. Also, the geometry of the blade's tang, spring, and pivot is complicated and as any part wears the relationship of the parts to one another charges. Imagine the knife lying on its backspring and you're looking into the end between the handles. The part of the tang that rests on the spring when the blade is closed is usually slightly "hollowed out" lengthwise in an arc so that it touches the spring at its ends but not in the middle. (In the case of your knife, it has a "Long Square Kick" - the portion that sticks up when the blade is open - at one end, holding the blade away from the spring at that point.) The first place that usually wears is the corner of the tang that you can see against the spring when the blade is closed. As it wears away the spring "rises" up pushing the OTHER end of the tang (the kick) upward too and raising the blade out of the handle. Trying to adjust this is tricky and you can lose all spring tension on the blade if you do it wrong.
As for cleaning: first put some light oil on any rusted parts and let it sit for several days. You can then scrape gently on the rust with the blade of another knife (do not use steel wool, sand paper, or a Dremel tool). Wipe and refresh the oil as it gets dirty. Once there is no more active rust coming off, a polish like Simichrome can be used with a cotton ball to remove some of the discoloration but your blade doesn't look too bad and it won't ever look a lot better. Your blade has been miss-sharpened. A skilled person could improve the appearance but it will always look worn when open.
Thank you UncleRon For Your Information And All Your Help