From Ad Knife to Beauty Queen

[orvet]

Here is a Schrade 175 Grafting knife that started out as an ad knife. Somewhere I think I have a before picture, I will have to find it.

I put smooth bone on for the handles and some rope filework on the backspring. It really gave my right hand a workout; that was the hand I had the surgery on. My hand is so sore now I can hardly type, but I survived.

Here is the final product that will end up in my store in a day or two.

Please ignore the scratches on my scanner glass. I just noticed them right on the filework.

I used my new stencil for my etcher. It is too wide to use on most blades, but it barely fit on this blade. For some reason the etch does not show up too well in this stainless, even though it is a deep etch.

What do you think of the new stencil?

[tjmurphy]

I like the etch and I really like the rework on the knife

[FRJ]

I think the stencil is great, and I think the knife is mighty fine.
Nice work Dale, smoth bone is nice stuff. And what a nice rich color.

[knives-are-quiet]

Very nice work Dale.
The knife looks more like an old rope knife or whaler.
And that rope file work would fit that type of knife perfectly.
What’s the blade steel, stainless or carbon?
How much will you be asking for this knife?
I've been keeping an eye on your store and your work.
This knife is my style and greatly interests me.

JW

[orvet]

JW,
PM inbound

[Ramrod]

Dale,
Cool etch!
And the filework is very classy. I'm not huge on filework, but that is GREAT!!
Mark

[orvet]

Thanks guys I appreciate all the nice complements & kind words.
I am glad y’all like my new etch.

Dale,
Cool etch!
And the filework is very classy. I'm not huge on filework, but that is GREAT!!
Mark

I am with you Mark, I am not a fan of filework on a knife I use.
He main reason is I don’t like the feel of the sharp edges.
The rope pattern as I do it doesn’t have a lot of sharp edges, and then when I am finished the spring gets a trip to the buffer and goes through 4 different wheels and rouges. When I am finished the very smooth. I probably spent more time buffing the filework than I spent filing it.
I think the result is worth the effort.

[PigSticker]

Nice work Dale-Your new etch is vrey coolf

I just bought a 175 in a lot off of Ebay the seller didn't have but one pic without blades open so I took a gamble on it-hope the blade is that full.

[TripleF]

I love it Dale!! Awesome!!

[gino]

Nice work as usual Dale!

[glennbad]

That's a beauty Dale. Is that Culpepper bone?

The stencil is nice, really takes your work to the next level.

Like Mark, I am not a huge fan of filework,but that pattern is basic, and seems to fit well with that piece.

It looks like you used a pin spinner. Do you prefer that to just peening and then sanding out the pins?

Nice work as usual. Do you ever make one where you end up saying, "I just have to keep this one"? The only one that's done that to me is that TL-29 I just finished with the red smooth bone handles. However, that was already going to someone.

Glad your hands are working well enough to play in the workshop!

Glenn

[orvet]

That's a beauty Dale. Is that Culpepper bone?

The stencil is nice, really takes your work to the next level.

Like Mark, I am not a huge fan of filework,but that pattern is basic, and seems to fit well with that piece.

It looks like you used a pin spinner. Do you prefer that to just peening and then sanding out the pins?

Nice work as usual. Do you ever make one where you end up saying, "I just have to keep this one"? The only one that's done that to me is that TL-29 I just finished with the red smooth bone handles. However, that was already going to someone.

Glad your hands are working well enough to play in the workshop!

Glenn

Yes, the bone is from Culpepper.

I do prefer using a spinner on my pins; it adds a finished look, imo, & it cuts way down on cracked handles.

There have been a few I have kept. They are usually single blade knives or ones I have made into a single blade. I guess I just like them. One of my favorites that I kept is an early one I did; a 123OT with some stag from the Henckel’s factory. I made it with the intent of keeping it, and so far I have. Here is a pic of it-

[knives-are-quiet]

Very nice work Dale.
The knife looks more like an old rope knife or whaler.
And that rope file work would fit that type of knife perfectly.
What’s the blade steel, stainless or carbon?
How much will you be asking for this knife?
I've been keeping an eye on your store and your work.
This knife is my style and greatly interests me.

JW

Haven't checked on this knife for awhile...
Wow~ Look how much this Friedrich Olbertz knife has tarnished up.
The picture above is after I cleaned it about a year ago.
Been stitting in a drawer since then.
Now it looks like a 100 year old knife again.
I like it all antiqued up and aged.
You can't reproduce aged bone.
Don't know what the dark redish brown marks on the bone are, maybe rust.
Whatever it is I like the way it looks now.

JW

[tjmurphy]

I've not been around knives for very long but I've never seen bone do that. Are you sure it's bone?

[orvet]

JW,
What did you put on the handles when you worked on it?
I have seen oils do that, one of the reasons I like to oil my stag & bone, especially the lighter bone.
It looks oil soaked to me.

[knives-are-quiet]

I've not been around knives for very long but I've never seen bone do that. Are you sure it's bone?

Yea,
I had this knife looked over before I cleaned it at a knife shop.
The gentleman stated that it was bone and probably whale bone.
When I cleaned the knife I had to soak the whole thing without dismantling in a solution of mine that contains vinegar.
Some could have gotten behind the bone and reacted with the steel liners intern affecting the scales.
I'm not complaining. I like this look.
All the exposed carbon steel does not have any rust just a dark tarnished patina.
The bone scales are tight to the liners and are not separating. no cracks or shrinkage.
The only problem the knife has is a very, very slight wobble in the blade side to side which I'm not worried about fixing unless it gets any worse.
After cleaning the knife a year ago within a few days the steel started tarnishing up very quickly.

JW

[knives-are-quiet]

JW,
What did you put on the handles when you worked on it?
I have seen oils do that, one of the reasons I like to oil my stag & bone, especially the lighter bone.
It looks oil soaked to me.

Dale,
After cleaning the knife in a solution mostly made up of vinegar I soaked the bone in mineral oil which was suggested to me from this website to keep it from drying out.
This steel must have a lot of carbon in it to tarnish up so quick with out being used and just kept in a drawer.
I did lightly oil and wipe down the blade and steel a couple of time through out the year.

JW

[tjmurphy]

If the bone was/is oil soaked (mineral oil), mineral oil, I believe, will oxidize and darken. Also, I don't think that it is a good thing to expose bone to vinegar. Vinegar is a mild acid (acedic acid) but is still an acid. Bone is calcium and will tend to soften and dissolve in acid, ever put vinegar on a sea shell or on limestone? Just my thoughts.

[orvet]

I think the tarnish you are seeing on the blade is caused by the acid in the vinegar. With the handle, the vinegar probably loosened the rust under the scales and the oil is bringing the rust up through the bone.

I am not sure it would have as much effect on a newer knife, but it may really damage that old steel. I think I would avoid acids on old knives, even vinegar. Depending on the solution, because some vinegar can be very acidic. If it were mine, I would wash the knife in water mixed with baking soda to neutralize the acid. Then I would wash it in mild dish soap & water. After that I would blow it out with air and then put it in a warm dry place for a while, (like next to a heat vent or something), to get it good and dry. In a plastic bag with some desiccant packets would be good too, just to get it good and dry inside & out.

After that I would lightly wipe the steel with oil, and perhaps a light rub of mineral oil on the handles.

Those are my thoughts on the issue.

[jerryd6818]

ever put vinegar on a sea shell or on limestone?

City water here is very hard so I use vinegar to clean off the lime build up in my C-Pap machines humidifier reservoir and the lime ring in my toilet. Not as quick as Muriatic Acid but much more household friendly. It would be interesting to take a piece of bone handle and soak it in vinegar for a long time to see what effect it has, although whale bone might react entirely differently than cow bone (just speculating).

[knives-are-quiet]

I think the tarnish you are seeing on the blade is caused by the acid in the vinegar. With the handle, the vinegar probably loosened the rust under the scales and the oil is bringing the rust up through the bone.

I am not sure it would have as much effect on a newer knife, but it may really damage that old steel. I think I would avoid acids on old knives, even vinegar. Depending on the solution, because some vinegar can be very acidic. If it were mine, I would wash the knife in water mixed with baking soda to neutralize the acid. Then I would wash it in mild dish soap & water. After that I would blow it out with air and then put it in a warm dry place for a while, (like next to a heat vent or something), to get it good and dry. In a plastic bag with some desiccant packets would be good too, just to get it good and dry inside & out.

After that I would lightly wipe the steel with oil, and perhaps a light rub of mineral oil on the handles.

Those are my thoughts on the issue.

Dale,

I took your advice and did the above procedure.
It didn't change the antique look that was created, which I like.
I also saw no rust or brown water coming out from behind the scales when rinsing.
The knife is drying on top of one of my radiators in the house.
If anything is happening behind the bone this should neutralize it.
After it dries I'll lightly oil it up.

Thanks for the advice.
J W

[orvet]

I am glad it didn't change the look, but I didn't expect it would.
My main concern was neutralizing any remaining acid from the vinegar.

Doing restoration work on old knives is generally a learning process, for me at least. I am pretty careful with any chemical type solutions I use on them until I find out how they react to the materials in an old knife. Oftentimes I will experiment on old junker knives to see how old materials react to a chemical or a process. I have the advantage of having a bunch of old junker knives that are really beyond saving. Occasionally I am very pleasantly surprised.

Some time back I got some knives that were extremely rusted and gunky. Now sure what the gunk was, oil, grease or something mixed with rust & dirt and remnants of off-gassed celluloid. I removed what as left of the off-gassed celluloid handles and soaked the knife in a glass cigar tube of mineral oil and Birchwood Casey gun cleaner. I put a cork in the tube so the gun cleaner would not evaporate and let it set for about a week. It worked better than I thought and it appears I may be able to salvage enough of the knife to rebuild it as a single blade EDC. The knife was a 4-line Camillus stockman.

A lot of the things I learn in doing this, I can incorporate into my bag of tricks for cleaning and restoring old knives; but the learning process is pretty much trial and error. If you have old knives you are not particularly attached to and that have no great value, go ahead and experiment with them. That is how you will learn.