A while back I bought a small bunch of old folders in semi rough condition. I have cleaned up and restored a number of them but a few have loose blades with some movement side to side. Before I grab a ball peen hammer and start whacking the bolsters to tighten up the pivot pins, are there some tricks to these kind of repairs? The knives are the old Ulster brand and both have solid metal bolsters.

As I am sure you are aware, a hammer will tighten them up just fine but will also dent the heck out of the bolster. What I've found that works pretty good with bolsters like that is to make a pair of swages out of micarta (I suppose you could use aluminum or any hard plastic) and hot glue them to some vise jaws and use it to gently squeeze them tighter. Just grind in a slightly shallower radius that what the bolster is and try using a bunch of really small squeezes. I hope that makes sense to you (long day, been up since 5) but if it doesn't let me know and I'll explain it differently.

Mark,
I got your idea. Thanks!

Mort