Boker 93Y Celluloid Destruction & Restoration

[herbva]

This normally isn't my favorite style of knife, but I saw it on the bay, it was cheap, and looked like an interesting challenge. The first 5 pics are before, and the last 5 are after. I've worked on it off and on for a few weeks and just finished up. I've worked on a LOT of knives damaged by celluloid outgassing, but don't recall seeing this kind of damage. In fairness, the seller did mention that the liners were "broken". I can only assume that the corrosive gas produced by the outgassing basically ate through the liners. I didn't have any brass sheet on hand, and my buddy Jeff (Jeffin) was kind enough to send me a couple of pieces of 1/32" brass sheet. (Thank you Jeff! I now have some 1/32" sheet on order.) The brass that Boker used for the liners was amazingly thin, at most 1/64", and this knife really feels much more solid with the thicker liners I made. Also, if you ever wonder why so many of these German made knifes are missing a bolster or two, I found that the bolsters on this one were only attached to the liners with a tiny dot of solder. The scales I put on are a synthetic (man-made) ivory product that the manufacturer calls "alternative ivory". I'm still learning to be more careful working with it, and this one didn't come out totally perfect, but at least no pin cracks this time!

[kennedy knives]

Wow great job

[Jeffinn]

That turned out great! Nice work!
Jeff

[Meridian_Mike]

Great job Herb!
(That was a BROKE-(er) instead of a Boker!)

That is a sure 'nuff keeper now!
VERY nice!!

[rea1eye]

Exceptional job Herbva!

Bob

[glennbad]

Man, that thing was a wreck! Nice save indeed!

[Steve Warden]

And THAT, Gentlemen, is how it's done.

Great job!!

[Doc B]

Nice job, Herb!!! Were you able to use the old bolsters...or did you remake them?

[Rossr]

Wow that is a great remake of that knife. Hope.its a delight to use

Ross

[FRJ]

It's a brand new knife. Good job.

[Froe]

Very nice.

[rustyoldknife]

Great save That is now a good looking knife

[herbva]

Nice job, Herb!!! Were you able to use the old bolsters...or did you remake them?

Doc, I just transferred the bolsters. All I had to do was basically clean them up. That was probably the easiest step since they were attached with such a minimal amount of solder to begin with.

[tinkerer]

That's a fantastic restoration.

[Doc B]

Nice job, Herb!!! Were you able to use the old bolsters...or did you remake them?

Doc, I just transferred the bolsters. All I had to do was basically clean them up. That was probably the easiest step since they were attached with such a minimal amount of solder to begin with.

[Reverand]

That looks better than new! I was pleasantly surprised to see that you were able to clean up the blade but still save the etch. I have rarely seen outgassing that bad without a lot more damage to the blade.
And the faux ivory is a 100% improvement!

[herbva]

That looks better than new! I was pleasantly surprised to see that you were able to clean up the blade but still save the etch. I have rarely seen outgassing that bad without a lot more damage to the blade.
And the faux ivory is a 100% improvement!

Thanks Reverand. I did go very lightly on cleaning the blade and was very happy that the etch was still visible, although somewhat diminished. I was also amazed that the outgassing hadn't damaged the blade, but for some reason the back of the spring is a bit pitted. Almost always, I see the pitting on the top half of the blade (exposed portion). Maybe the knife was stored in some odd position? I'm sure this knife has a story to tell, but we'll never know. Thanks for kind words!