All About Pocket Knives

I have a Western 648 that I found while hunting in Colorado several years ago. The knife has been in a shoebox all these years, and now I would like to restore it as much as possible. Attached are some photos. I'm not sure when the knife was made. I believe in the 70's. I know the handles are Delrin from the "6" in the model number.
What is the best way to remove the oxidation from the Delrin handles and restore the brown coloring? What are the black, tan and red/orange bands on the handles made of and what is the best way to clean them? Also, I do not have a sheath for it and would like to find either an original one or a reproduction. Any other tips for restoring this knife would be appreciated.

Jerry Johnson

Some 3-in1 oil and a soft cotton cloth will restore the color to Delrin handle covers. Apply the oil liberally on the cloth and rub it into the handle material, which will remove the oxidation (most here call it “Delrin haze”, a term coined by one if the long time members).

Other tips on cleaning up the knife can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=37&t=54157

Ken

Based on the stamps, it was made between 1967, when guard stamped model numbers started, and 1972, the last year Boulder Colo was part of the stamp. The pile side "2" is not a typical stamp seen on Westerns. The only thing I can thing of there would be that it was a "2nd". Most of the time, 2nds had a small gouge ground across the stamp.

The colored spacers are usually refered to in advertising as being "fiber" and "decorated handles" used to describe handles with the spacers.

Basically, they are colored materials (cloth, paper, etc) that have been "stabilized" using some kind of plastic material.

Ken and zzyzz, thank you both for the information. It dawned on me that the "2" stamping might indicate a second knife. The only imperfection I can find in the workmanship of the knife is the lower pin through the knob (pommel) is not flush with the knob on both sides. Otherwise, I don't see anything else. Thanks again.

Jerry Johnson

A misaligned pin would have been enough to throw it into the 2nds bin when it arrived at final check before boxing up for shipment.

Thanks zzyzz for confirming what probably put the knife in the seconds bin.

I have been cleaning the knife by hand following the suggestions offered. Here are the results so far. I'm not sure why the brown on the handle on the pile side is darker than on the mark side. I didn't do anything to the handles but apply 3 in 1 oil. Also I cannot get the bands clean on the pile side. I don't know if I should leave them as is or if there is some way to clean them. The mark side bands came out good.

Any further advise will be appreciated. Also, any ideas where I might find an original or replacement sheath?

Jerry Johnson

Your knife sure is looking a LOT better!
Good job on the clean-up.

First of all for the sheaths, I saw a nice copy of the Western sheath on ebay recently for $35 + shipping. It was a better original ones came with a knife, at least from the pictures. That's not a bad price at all for a custom-made sheath.

The pile side handle may be in worse condition from exposure to the sun. For example if it was left laying on the dashboard of a truck in the sheath, a right-handed sheath would have the pile side of the handle exposed to the sun. The ultraviolet light from the sun is very powerful and affects a lot of man-made materials, plastics being among them. When I managed the cutlery store and smoke shops we had to get special filters put over our fluorescent lights to block out the UV rays because they were causing the vulcanite pipe stems (a form of hard rubber plastic), to oxidize very badly. Filters on the lights eliminated 95% of the problem. I have even seen Delrin handles affected by florescent lights in a cutlery store that was in the basement of a mall.
I am thinking that your knife was heavily exposed to ultraviolet light, especially on the pile side. Having grown up on a ranch I have known ranchers to leave hunting knives, fencing pliers and other tools that they think they might need on the dashboard of their trucks. That seemed to be their permanent home.

Working on so many Old Timers as I do, I have seen Delrin oxidization so bad that the you can scrape it off with your thumbnail. At that point I usually put new handles on the knife. You might try scrubbing the Delrin down with fine steel wool or using a small brass wire brush in your Rotary tool to remove it. Sometimes that can be successful other times the Delrin is too far gone. The oxidation for some reason seems to make the Delrin soft on the surface but if you go down too far it's pretty obvious that part of the handle is missing.
One product I have seen that does help t with the deterioration of the Delrin is an automotive product made for plastics. The one I've had the best luck with is called Black Again it seems to work quite a bit better than Armor-All. Black Again want to penetrate real deep into the Delrin and harden it back up, but it will certainly help clean off the surface and make it look nice again.

Just a couple of ideas, I hope they help.

Thanks for the comment, Meridian_Mike. I couldn't believe how the brown color popped out from the oxidized handle when I applied the 3 in 1 oil.

Also, Dale, thanks for your input. I'll keep my eyes open on ebay for a sheath. Also, I'll try the Black Again and see if that will bring out more of the brown color on the mark side of the handle. That is very interesting about what UV can do to plastic. It has been so long ago when I found the knife and of coarse I don't remember which side was up when I found it, nor do I have any idea how long it was exposed to the sun. But that could also be the cause of the more severe oxidation on the mark side.

Jerry Johnson

Another thought would be to find a Tandy Leather store or order one online. They do have kits to make a sheath that are pretty easy to do. I think there's only three pieces to them, you just lace them up and they look pretty good. If you don't have a Tandy Leather store around you look for Tandy Leather online.

Let us know how you do!

You've done good on the clean up. She looks ready for use. I have a WELL worn one, slightly older that is my favorite knife in the world for field dressing deer. Your's looks ready for many more decades of use!

Just got some great pics that I will uploading in a bit. They are pictures of pages from a 1970 Whitney Sporting Goods Store catalog. Page 1 shows that the model 648 came with a tubular style (not a flat/pancake) sheath that has the keeper strap right above the sheath throat. A similar picture is in the 1968 catalog pages in TKMWWW. Both pictures show that this particular model knife had a sheath that did NOT have the acorn/oak leaf pattern stamped on it, just a simply fold over taco sheath.

Here's page 1 of 5 that shows the 648...

Thanks for the comments, Colonel 26. I don't know about carrying it in the field as I haven't been hunting in quite a while. However, it will make a nice knife to pass on to one of my grandsons.

zzyzz, thanks for the catalog illustrations. It's great and I'll keep a copy with the knife. I have also found pictures of a 648 and original sheath. I really like the looks of the tubular style. Hopefully I can find an original for my knife.

Jerry Johnson