Repairing these three knives.

[JAC]

First off, hello my name is Jon and I am new at anything revolving around repairing knives.

The Buck 303V I have, the blades wobble back and forth and I wold like to fix that.




The old Imperial knife I have seems to have rust everywhere and I would just like to make it as new as possible. I am also wondering if the stainless steel look to it is original or if it's missing the handle parts. From little research I found out it might be from the late '20s, but I am not sure.




The other knife is just a random "Made in China" knife I received and the blades have been sharpened inappropriately (I think with a grinding wheel) and I am wondering on how to fix and make it look normal and clean.

[glennbad]

First off, welcome Jon!

I'll speak about the Imperial. That particular knife uses a stamped shell construction. That means thin stamped formed metal was used for those handles. They usually had a thin celluloid or plastic pattern sheet wrapped around the metal to give it color. They would typically tear or get worn away over the years.. Also, the stamped metal was more prone to denting. They are held in place by little tabs at the ends that are bent in to hold things in place. It is possible to take them off if you are careful, but you need to be careful not to bend them too much, as they can break off easily. It's not uncommon to swap these out with another style that's the same size.

The guts of the knife are usually made pretty tight and solid, and the steel is good carbon stuff that will take a good edge.

I have even heard of people doing rehab projects on these with regular handle materials like wood or bone. I probably have some stamped shells in that size somewhere, I'm sure quite a few of us have parts for those. Might be worth looking into.

Those Imperials don't have alot of monetary value. They were made as inexpensive knives to start with. But they do cut pretty well.

Glenn

[knives-are-quiet]

A cheapy Imperial I rehabbed and posted about a year ago.

http://allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_f ... 37&t=22987

It had those snap on type handles.
Like the previous post stated, the blade steel is excellent on those old Imperials.
They are worth rehabbing if most of the blades are still there.

JW

[JAC]

Thanks a lot for the information and help.

[Joe Dirt]

Welcome Jon!

There are some excellent knife repairmen around here - they have all the tricks and "how to's" and are more than willing to share!
Be prepared... there's a LOT to learn!

First, about the Imperial, they were first produced with the "shell handle" in 1936 under there Jack-Master line of affordable knives.
Here is a pic with the different dates the numerous different stamps were used. The handle is made from an alloy they called "Nuloy."
A magnet WILL stick to it - that tells you it isn't made of Nickle Silver as some people think. I'm not sure what the alloy really is, but it WILL rust if
exposed to harsh conditions. Other than that, it will shine-up and is durable other than the fact it IS hollow.

As for the wood handle knife, folks are going to tell ya it's a piece of crap... throw it in the trash. But hang-on, in fact it's a great learning tool.
My suggestion would be to use a sharpening system, such as the "Smith's" available at Lowe's for under 30 bucks.
This type of sharpening system holds the blade and sharpening hone at the correct angles for ultamate cutting edges.
You've got your work cut-out for you on that one.
Also it would be a good one to take apart to see what makes um tic.

The Buck needs a bit more of a procedure to repair. I'll let someone else fill ya in on that one.

..... Joe

[orvet]

If the Buck belonged to me, I would send it back to Buck for repair instead of repairing it myself (or paying someone else to repair it).
Buck has an excellent service Department! Their service is fast and free.

[JAC]

Thanks for the extra info and replies. I think for the imperial ill just leave it, I don't really know what to do with it. I don't want to take it apart and use it as a learning tool. The china made wooden handle one I will try and use a sharpening system or try and get better at using wet stones etc. I will probably use this as a learning tool.

@Dale So I just send it in and they repair it and send it back for free. It seems to be not old but an older knife, will they add newer parts or use parts from older versions of the knife. It seems repairable, but if for some reason it is not will they send it back? I'm sure they will, but just wondering.

[orvet]

I have NEVER had a problem with Buck's customer service.
They bend over backwards to make the customer happy.

Here is a link to their website- http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?eve ... t.warranty
Call the number on that page and talk to them. I think you will be very pleased.

[jkpq45]

Joe Dirt;

Sorry for off-topic reply/thread resurrection, but I have an old Imperial Barlow whose tang stamp reads "Imperial Ireland."

Any way to date that knife?

Thanks,
jkpq45

[TripleF]

Knice projects you got going Jon!! Welcome to AAPK!

[jerryd6818]

Jon, I see it's been six months since your last post but you visited today. How about letting us know how all that came out. Did you send the Buck back to Buck for repair. Did you get the Chinese knife sharpened. Would love to hear from you.

[Joe Dirt]

Hay jkpq45! First, I'd like to welcome you to the gang!

I just got off the http://www.collectors-of-schrades-r.us/ site after researching
the Imperial Ireland stamp. They were made in Listowel Ireland. Man-O-Man, you
can get lost in so many directions browsing all the catalogs and information
on that site!

From what I have seen, the stamp dates from 1984(?) - 1999.
(1999 date is from price list - no catalog info. beyond that I can find)
In 1980 they were made in the US. I don't know about '81. '82, or 1983???
I couldn't find an example from those 3 years.

Your knife is a model # AL-46.

The frame & handle of the knife dates back to the 1960's Imperial Knife Company.
It is the predecessor of the celluloid handle Barlow knives.

Hope this helps ya out a little!

..... Joe

[orvet]

Joe Dirt;

Sorry for off-topic reply/thread resurrection, but I have an old Imperial Barlow whose tang stamp reads "Imperial Ireland."

Any way to date that knife?

Thanks,
jkpq45

Roughly the dates of the knives made in Ireland was about 1977 to March 2004.
Beyond that the only way to date the knife further would be to look in the old catalogs and see when the pattern was introduced and when it last appears in the catalogs.

[Joe Dirt]

Thanks for correcting the dates, Dale! I will pencil it in - in the encyclopedia.
I had been intending on asking you if the "Jack-Master" line was carried all
the way to the end.

Sometimes posting a wrong answer will get you a response with the correct info.



..... Joe