Question on Knife Repair

[PRM]

I have purchased a Hubertus Knife in like new condition off of Pinterest. The blade makes a slight pop if you push on it from the side (wiggles except for sound almost not visible). I think this is beyond my expertise to fix. Any suggestions or vendors who can do this.

 

[hso]

I suggest you contact Hubertus. Anyone else is going to charge too much to make it worthwhile vs. Hubertus that may address it as a warranty issue.

 

[PRM]

The only authorized U.S. distributor's website says they are out stock. Plus the latest ones I've seen do not have the stag this one does. Most of the knives of this type I've seen have a nut in the end that you can tighten with the right tool. I've not seen one like this. I'm thinking it was just pressed into place. Don't know if it could be peened with a brass hammer or not?

 

[sgt127]

Well. Not knowing how it’s assembled makes it trickier. If it’s just peened, it might work. If it’s a hidden nut, that’s ground flush, peening it won’t make a difference. If the tang is loose in the handle, it’s got to come apart and filled with epoxy. If it’s just the guard with a little play (assuming it’s not silver soldered) a light peening on the guard may solve it.

No easy solution short of going to the people that made it.

Easiest solution is to quit wiggling it in the direction that causes the slight pop.

 

[hso]

Give us a color picture of the butt. Is that fill?

If fill, you may excavate it carefully and see if there's a nut. Try a heated metal tip and find if the fill will soften. If so you may just try a heat gun to find out if it will pop out.

 

[PRM]

Here is a picture. I just got the email for the guy in Germany who makes them. Hopefully, I can get info on how it was put together.

 

[Bazoo]

Looks like a metal nut that's been ground flush. If so, it could be removed by drilling two holes in it and using a spanner wrench.

If the popping is the handle moving a bit, which it sounds like, the only option I know of is to remove the handle and epoxy it when reassembled.

If it is the guard rattling, a few judicious taps to squeeze it together would likely fix it with no damage.

Easy enough fix for a knife crank.

 

[PRM]

I agree with the epoxy part. Just trying to figure the best way to get it apart.

 

[Bazoo]

To get it apart, figure on replacing the tang nut. It likely was slotted, then after tightening, ground flush. So the way to remove it will be to carefully drill two holes in the nut, one on either side of the tang... 1/8" maybe? Then take either a spanner wrench that happens to fit or make one by drilling matching holes in a piece of scrap metal and inserting pins to correspond. I'd make the pins out of tapered pins, and such that they would be snug to the hole.

If you get lucky, they won't have epoxied the tang nut in place. If so, you'll have to heat it.

Once you get another tang nut, and figure if epoxy will do what you want, reassemble. Once it's dry, and to suit, grind the tang nut off flush with the pommel and polish it back up.

Most of it could be done with a drill and hand tools, and a belt sander of some sort for flushing the tang nut. I spose you could hacksaw it close and file it and sand it with sanding blocks if you don't have a belt sander.

Sounds hard, but it's not too bad if you don't run into trouble.

Id put a dab of epoxy on the handle layers when reassembling so they don't slide, if there is play in them. Not enough to squeeze out.

 

[PRM]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I was able to contact the person who makes these knives in Germany. I have included his response. Short of totally destroying everything but the blade I guess it is what it is. Upside, the issue appears to be the leather spacers. I have been applying oil to them and the issue has stopped for now...

"Thank you for requesting.

The handle parts are being stacked and a squeezing machine does fix under pressure the comple handle parts including the aluminum cap in vertical position.

A hole in the aluminum cap is then filled up with heatened liquid metal.

This liquid does fix the cap and the slim tang of the blade, which has deep notches at the bottom end, while cooling (?) / chilling (?).

Possibly the handle is a little loose due to moisture, having made shrunk handle parts.

It is quite difficult to re-tighten the handle.
Our only advise for fixing: use superglue / instant adhesive to fill possible gaps of the handle parts.

We like to wish you great success by such work and great servie of you knife!

Kind Regards"

Hubertus Solingen Cutlery

Henning Ritter
Wuppertaler Str. 149
42653 Solingen
GERMANY

 

[Bazoo]

Liquid metal, I wonder which one. Tin?

That does present a different set of challenges.

Lexol is the best stuff I've seen for keeping leather from drying out. They have a conditioner and a cleaner best I recall. It was the conditioner I used. It worked wonders on an old dry knife sheath.

If there is any space between the leather spacers at all, you might could get a needle applicator in and squirt super glue in at the tang.

 

[Mk-211]

Did you tell them that it's stacked stag and not leather? If you screw it down any harder, the stag will crack and will have to be replaced.

Did they really attach it that far out? My guess is that when you do get it apart, something is going to be off. If you have a small strap wrench, that might be the best option to get a hold of the end cap and spin it off.

You might need a small torch to soften up the epoxy. I think Home Depot or any other hardware store will have one of those small pencil torches. That should get the epoxy hot enough to loosen up the end cap.

If you have to use channel locks or another type of plier, try wrapping some double sided tape to the jaws. That way they still have grip and won't damage the cap.

 

[PRM]

"Lexol is the best stuff I've seen for keeping leather from drying out. They have a conditioner and a cleaner best I recall. It was the conditioner I used. It worked wonders on an old dry knife sheath." - Bazoo.

Thanks, just ordered some. Always in need of a good leather conditioner.

 

[Bazoo]

I was at a friends house and they had some. I had an old buck 119 from the 70s. The sheath had cracks in the belt loop from age, at the top rounded part. And if you moved it you could see it tearing a little and hear it. I lexoled it and in 5 minutes it went from that, to pliable and not dry. It remained that way until I traded it a year later. I was very impressed.

 

[PRM]

Liquid metal, I wonder which one. Tin?

That does present a different set of challenges.

Lexol is the best stuff I've seen for keeping leather from drying out. They have a conditioner and a cleaner best I recall. It was the conditioner I used. It worked wonders on an old dry knife sheath.

If there is any space between the leather spacers at all, you might could get a needle applicator in and squirt super glue in at the tang.

I think I have caught it early enough, that may not be necessary.