All About Pocket Knives

Does anyone else still have the first knife you repaired or restored?

Here are a few pictures of the first knife I successfully repaired when I was 13 years old.
I am now 50, “do the math“.
It is an old Schrade Walden from the 50's I found on the side of the road in 1973.
I suspect it was in the trash and was dropped by the garbage men.
It also looked like it had been run over a couple of times.
Only two blades were left on it. The main blade and the can opener which was broken.
One of the steel springs and spacers was also destroyed. The handles being made of plastic saved them from destruction.
Not having much money when you’re a Kid, no internet back then and limited to using your Dads hand tools I was determined to salvage a knife from this mess.
I thought, why not try to make a single blade out of it.
Using just a screw driver, hammer, hand drill (not electric), a metal file, pliers and some sandpaper I created this knife. Notice I used the one undamaged steel spacer and replaced the other with the center brass one.
I used a piece of brass like coat hanger for the new center pin and replaced the bolster and pivot pins using iron nails.
This knife was all hand done. No electric tools at all.
Took me weeks of filing and sanding and hand polishing with my Dads Turtle Wax after I got it put together.
This knife still operates perfectly with a good strong snap and not one bit of wobble.
I still to this day use this knife every once and awhile.
I think I’ll bring it along with me this weekend when I go fishing.

jamie~ "knives are quiet

Very nice, tho i think its because of your amazing photography

Thats really nice shame no before pics i wish i still had the first knife i repaired as it was a really nice kukri from the around 1940's no pics im afraid as i sold it in about 95 i got it in 83 when i was 13 i even took it to school and repaired the blade as had a little nick in the blade my teacher helped me and i filed it down and sharpened it up , it still could cut through wood pretty easy, i miss that one a lot,

zed6309 wrote:Thats really nice shame no before pics i wish i still had the first knife i repaired as it was a really nice kukri from the around 1940's no pics im afraid as i sold it in about 95 i got it in 83 when i was 13 i even took it to school and repaired the blade as had a little nick in the blade my teacher helped me and i filed it down and sharpened it up , it still could cut through wood pretty easy, i miss that one a lot,

I didn't own a camera back then "or much of anything" to take any before shots and if I did it would have used film. No such thing as digital back then.
I did do a little research on the knife after the internet came to be.
The knife was manufactured in 1954 and sold as a Scout/Camp knife.
It's retail price was $5.29 cents.
The knife originally had the main blade, bottle opener/standard screwdriver, can opener/smaller standard screwdriver and leather punch.
The plastic handle color is called peach pit.

You should have kept that knife and sold something else.
I'll never get rid of this one...
jamie~

http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... 04&start=0
This was my first re do. Pics should enlarge. I didn't have nickle silver, so the pins in the bolster are steel.

This one- a 50's era KaBar Trapper that belonged to my Grandad. I just re-scaled it, did not pull the whole thing apart. It was a learning experience for sure. The old scales were black synthetic and shrunken. Replaced with walnut.
Thanks for lookin'
Dave

Granddad would be proud.
You can't go wrong with using hardwood handles.
They keep that old world look and to the knife's time period made.
The scales look like they belong on that knife.
Perfect job...........

"Wood is Good"
J W

wow great job guys ! . my first was last month i did a old Colonial and a kit. i really stink at it but i'm not giving up

paulsvintage wrote: wow great job guys ! . my first was last month i did a old Colonial and a kit. i really stink at it but i'm not giving up

Both those knives look fine.
The more you practice the better you will get.
The most important thing is that you enjoyed building them.
If so, then that’s all that matters even if your not satisfied with the outcome.
I still to this day am never really satisfied when I finish a knife.
I always think I could have done it better.
But another thing I have learned is when to just let it be.
If you keep messing with your work trying to get out every little scratch you'll end up making it worse. These are old repaired knives or ones put together from a kit by hand.
Hand crafted by you. They aren't supposed to be perfect.
That's what shows that they were hand done.

J W

knives-are-quiet wrote:

paulsvintage wrote: wow great job guys ! . my first was last month i did a old Colonial and a kit. i really stink at it but i'm not giving up

Both those knives look fine.
The more you practice the better you will get.
The most important thing is that you enjoyed building them.
If so, then that’s all that matters even if your not satisfied with the outcome.
I still to this day am never really satisfied when I finish a knife.
I always think I could have done it better.
But another thing I have learned is when to just let it be.
If you keep messing with your work trying to get out every little scratch you'll end up making it worse. These are old repaired knives or ones put together from a kit by hand.
Hand crafted by you. They aren't supposed to be perfect.
That's what shows that they were hand done.

J W

JW, thanks i'm trying a couple of walnut now and thanks for help

Jaimie, thats a super job on that old Walden! Considering what you had to work with.....it`s incredible! I`m hoping when I retire to repair and rebuild a lot of "junkers"(to some) I`ve collected over the years. My imagination runs wild when I think of the possibilities! Bob

trutemper wrote:Jaimie, thats a super job on that old Walden! Considering what you had to work with.....it`s incredible! I`m hoping when I retire to repair and rebuild a lot of "junkers"(to some) I`ve collected over the years. My imagination runs wild when I think of the possibilities! Bob

You don't need to be retired to repair knives...I do it in my spare time...
I'm not retired and I don't think I ever will .......
J W

Phenomenal Jamie, Paul and David.

Right now all I can do is clean 'em up with 1500 grit sandpaper, elbow grease, and some Quick Release Oil.

I am not sure exactly which was the first knife I repaired.
I think this Queen was the first or second one I repaired.

It was missing a lot of the handles from both sides.
I replaced them with Osage orange wood.
It looks like I peened to hard and cracked the wood, a common rookie mistake.

I think this was the first I ever did. The cell/comp handles were shrunk and corroded. I put some Burl on it, and even made a lame attempt to reattach the shield. I did not take it apart, I was too scared to do that at that time.



This was a gift for my father, which he still has.

Glenn

J.W. being 60 years old and still putting in 50-60 hrs a week in a manufacturing job leaves me a tad "pooped" , and just enough time to sell a few knives on Ebay.....collect even more, go to estate sales, auctions, and a few garage sales looking for that next stag bone beauty or another"junker" like the couple hundred I have stashed back that I want to work on when I have more free time or to build another vintage set of baseball cards and maybe do a little fishing or shooting at the range (oh yeah, my wife tends to make a honey do list from time to time ........I guess "retire" is a relative term eh...... . I`m learning a lot here about different methods of doing things with knives and really appreciate the guys who are sharing their info. Some really beautiful work being done!!!! Thanks for the ideas and info guys!!!

trutemper wrote:J.W. being 60 years old and still putting in 50-60 hrs a week in a manufacturing job leaves me a tad "pooped" , and just enough time to sell a few knives on Ebay.....collect even more, go to estate sales, auctions, and a few garage sales looking for that next stag bone beauty or another"junker" like the couple hundred I have stashed back that I want to work on when I have more free time or to build another vintage set of baseball cards and maybe do a little fishing or shooting at the range (oh yeah, my wife tends to make a honey do list from time to time ........I guess "retire" is a relative term eh...... . I`m learning a lot here about different methods of doing things with knives and really appreciate the guys who are sharing their info. Some really beautiful work being done!!!! Thanks for the ideas and info guys!!!

Wow, may you always be so busy~
My Dad is 85 and is always doing something.
He told me ~never stop moving and always stay busy.
Sitting still and just lazing around will just consume you and shorten the time you have left.
These are true words of wisdom to "live by"..... literally...

You'll get to those knives eventually, Trutemper.........

You bet I will J.W.! and I totally agree with your Dad! I sure wish my Dad was still around. I still have every knife, every rod and reel, and every gun that he gave me over the years and and a whole lot of memories of great fishing and hunting trips from years gone by. I was so lucky to grow up in an age where "grandads" and "dads" made sure that their son(s) knew how to handle a rifle and how to catch a bass or a big mess of crappie! One of my fondest and most frequent thoughts back in time are of us setting in front of the TV watching bassmasters in the winter time and watching him flick open and shut his favorite pocket knife which he handled constantly while "relaxing". Dad knew how to "pocket wear" a knife in a lot more ways than one...... . Sorry for kind of getting away from the subject matter here.....I`ll be watching for more of those "first knife" fixes in the coming days!