Restoring a very old knife

[Agent X68]

I am restoring a case looking knife that belonged to my great grandfather, it has three blades. Here are the before pics, will post after pics when I am done.

[Gareth]

Looks like a Stockman type pattern, best of luck and I look forward to the end result.

[Agent X68]

Thanks, I did a little research, and it does look like a stockman.  I am going to have to rescale it, and I discovered that the bracket in the 1st pic is actualy silver with a bit of cleaning.  It is not case, but appears to be good quality.  The original scales are plastic shaped to look like horn.

[Neil]

That does look like a nice project.  Best of luck

[Agent X68]

Question for sparky, how do you get your blades so shiny? Mine only get to a dull glow.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

That does look like a nice project.  Best of luck

+1

[Sparky415]

As Neil says that looks like a great project 

Question for sparky, how do you get your blades so shiny? Mine only get to a dull glow.

First I rub the blade on a piece of very fine emery cloth/wet and dry until the 'deep' scratches have gone then polish with a buffing wheel (the emery is glued or pinned to a flat piece of wood)

How have you done yours before? What tools do you have available to use?

[Agent X68]

I have only cleaned gunk off a SAK before.  I have sandpaper, a dremel (w/ wire brushes, and a fully stocked kit), and other basic tools, feel free to ask about specific tools.

[Sparky415]

Other members here get a better finish than I do, I think it might be because they use a finer compound or have more patience than I have 

I'm sure there will be more suggestions with other ways of doing this job but this is what I do



A; If the blade edge needs work you can re-profile it using some emery cloth/wet & dry glued or pinned to a board, a ¾ thick piece of MDF would work well as it is very flat

B; Polish out the scratches on the side of the blades
I lay the blade flat on a piece of a very fine grade wet & dry ( 1200grit )

once the blade is looking how you want and the scratches have disappeared you can try polishing
C; You can use the Dremmel with a polishing mop
D; Or a drill with a polishing mop

E; You need to apply a compound to the mop
F; if you don't have any you can try autosol or T-cut the kind of stuff you use for polishing
out scratches on car paintwork (wear goggles)

Hope this is some help X68 and come back with any more questions 

[Vladimir]

F; if you don't have any you can try autosol or T-cut the kind of stuff you use for polishing
out scratches on car paintwork (wear goggles)

Always wear safety goggles - Two days ago I used my Dremel with rubbing compound to polish a knife blade, and I didn't put my goggles on, and I got some of the compound right into the eye.

[Neil]

If using a polishing mop be careful.  Two things, you can get the blade hot very quickly, be careful not to ruin the temper.

More importantly it can very easily grab the knife and fling it at high velocity.  You may think you have a grip of iron but this can and does happen.  Most people fail to realise or believe just how dangerous mops are until they've had the piece they're working on ripped from their hands.

Goes without saying that safety goggles or a full face shield are a must.

[AHB]

Be very careful mate and I look forward to see the progress..  

[Mr. Whippy]

If using a polishing mop be careful.  Two things, you can get the blade hot very quickly, be careful not to ruin the temper.

More importantly it can very easily grab the knife and fling it at high velocity.  You may think you have a grip of iron but this can and does happen.  Most people fail to realise or believe just how dangerous mops are until they've had the piece they're working on ripped from their hands.

Goes without saying that safety goggles or a full face shield are a must.

...and body armour.

[Neil]

A full leather apron isn't a daft idea.  But don't wear gloves as they can snag too easily.

[Agent X68]

Thanks for all of your advice, haven't been able to work on it lately, due to being really busy.

[Neil]

That reminds me..... take your time

You're less likely to make a mistake (another good reason for using hand tools over power ones).