Moore Handley restoration

[Reverand]

A local guy I know handed me a handful of old knives to see if I "could do anything with them ".
I failed to take "before" pictures, but I recorded this job. When I get back home this evening I will try to pull a still shot from the video and post it.
I had very little hope for this one: The main was rusted and tipped, both blades had been sharpened and cleaned with a bench grinder, the secondary was worn down to a toothpick, the black composite handles had shrunk, and then both handles broke when I removed the center pin. It is the only Moore Handley Hardware knife that I have ever seen, and I knew that I would never find any blades for it.
According to posts by Charlie (RobesonsRMe) they were a hardware store out of Birmingham AL - my parents remember the store. I do not know who manufactured it for them, but after taking the knife apart I suspect either Camillus or Boker USA. This is a big, hefty knife with thick blades.
I first thought of doing a blade delete on it, then I thought of how the secondary almost resembled a punch blade. (Sigh) This might be a good time for me to quit thinking! I failed to remove all of the grinder marks and pitting, but I got tired of removing metal.
It turned out better than it had any right to. Video to follow in the next few weeks.

[herbva]

Nice work Reverand! It's obvious that you put a lot of work and love into it. I love sturdy, old knives like this one, and you did a great job restoring it! And, a nice choice with the green bone. I can't wait to see your video.

[Reverand]

I was able to take a couple of screenshots of the knife from the video, before I took it completely apart. They are not great angles or lighting, but it shows you how hopeless the knife looked.
The handles looked good before I started, but they were VERY brittle. I was able to reuse the original shield. The bone slabs that I had look similar to the original handles in pattern. They were too thin, so I added blue G10 spacers. I should have used green.

The knife is 4-1/4" long, 3/4" wide, and weighs 5 ounces. It feels heavier than that in the hand - it is very beefy!

I believe that the secondary blade was a spey blade or a spear blade. If so, I guess that would make this guy an equal-end cigar Moose, maybe? Whatever it is, it was a fun challenge and I left it better than I found it.

[glennbad]

Nice save, you brought that one back from the brink!

[Meridian_Mike]

Very nice work Reverand!

[orvet]

Nice save, Scott!
That green bone looks good on there.

[Reverand]

Thank you, everyone, for your comments!

Here is the video of the repair. It includes:
Making a punch from a worn blade.
Soldering a worn spring.
Inletting a shield.

https://youtu.be/k4cUrMrkhX4?si=AHuBIGgPr1oCq5iG

[Bloodhound]

New life for an old knife...very well done!

Thanks for the video

[Doug N]

That was a fun and informative video, thanks for posting