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The Textbook of Stage Violence

 

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Maintaining the "switchblade"

 

Naturally, these things don't last forever, but before you throw it away, try these quick fixes. One of them just might prolong the life of your prop.

 

First, keep in mind that the handle is where the blade lives, so is of necessity hollow. It is also made of soft aluminum, so each time that you press the release button, or even stick it in your pocket, or even when we wrap them up to ship to you, it compresses slightly. Not enough so that you would notice, but every time it's used the handle gets just a little bit squished.

 

The first clue that something is going wrong is that the blade won't pop out, or if it does, it seems that the spring seems weak. It's never the spring. The very first thing to do is the easiest - add a drop of WD-40 on each side of the blade right where it pivots on the handle. It can't hurt, and every once in a while that's all there is to it, problem solved!

 

OK, so that didn't do it, so you have to try the next step - opening up the handle. In order to do that, you need to have the knife open, so you may need to hold the release button down and give the blade a good strong pull to release it. Then stick a wide blade into the handle just above where the release button is (as shown). Twist it back and forth a couple of times until the handle opens a bit. This should do the trick.

 

It didn't? It could be that the blade itself is slightly twisted or bent and is rubbing against some part of the inside of the handle. The blade is made of soft aluminum too, so if you can spot the bend, you should be able to twist it back using a pair of pliers.

 

After that, you're on your own. But seriously, most times these will get the prop working again in only a few minutes.

 

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