All About Pocket Knives

I just received a T33 in the mail from an E-bay purchase. The pictures clearly showed the knife was in the early stages of celluloid gas out. I removed what was left of the handles so I could assess the damage and determine if it was feasible to rebuild it. The knife is a little rough but it’s components are still pretty solid. It looks like I’ll be able to save it. Here’s the components after some preliminary cleanup. I still need to do some additional cleanup but for now it’s looking okay. I’ve got a few micarta pieces that might just fit the bill for this resto. I’ll post more later this week when I get a chance to start on the handles.

Looking promising.

You're definitely off to a good start. That's usually the first thing I do clean the parts up and lay them all out to make sure everything is there.
I'm looking forward to seeing the finished knife..

Glad you decided to save that beauty.
I know it's hard to do.... but take as many progress pics as you can. I LOVE to watch (read) through a restoration. AND, it helps other people see how to do it.
I can't wait to see the next installment.

Looking forward to finished product!!

Looks like a promising re-build!

I had a little time today to start on the handles. I selected a nice bone colored linen micarta and lightly traced the outline of the handles; I took it out to the band saw and roughly cut the handles to shape; Now I need to temporarily attach the micarta handles to the knife handles. I roughed up the surface of the brass liners with some 120 grit emery cloth then wiped down the handle micarta and the knife brass knife liner with rubbing alcohol; (Dale got me started using 99% rubbing alcohol, it works great!)
I use 5 minute epoxy to attach the handle pieces to the liners. I lay out a strip of masking tape on my anvil and squeeze out two beads of epoxy (one is the base and one is the hardener). The lines of glue don’t need to be perfect just try to get them about the same size and length; I use a scrap piece of bone to mix the two together; Then I apply the mixed glue to the brass liner; Now I just clamp everything in place and wait for the epoxy to cure; I usually let my epoxy cure overnight even though it’s 5 minute epoxy. This weekend Ill sand the micarta to shape and install some handle to liner pins.
Stay tuned!

Good work Jeff....
I ALWAYS forget to clean the surfaces with alcohol. I'm glad you pointed that out!

When we post up good step-by-step threads like this, we can help each other pick up tips for a better restoration.
After all.... the knives deserve it!

Great job on the thread ..... keep up the good work!

Mike

Dang, Jeff, these page-turners are stressful! Can't wait to see how these turn out.

I am bitin' my nails to see what happens next!!