Welding a knife blade??

[KaminskiJL]

Hello,
I was just wondering if you can repair a broken knife blade by welding a piece of a new blade onto the ricasso of an old broken blade. Example: I have a Challenge Cutlery 2 blade jack. The main blade is okay, but the secondary pen blade is broken off at the ricasso. Both of the ricassos are tang stamped. I know that I can replace the pen blade in it's entirety with a new blade that doesn't have a tang stamp, but I was wondering if I can I cut the pen blade off of a donor and weld it onto the ricasso of the original blade? That way I would restore the blade and keep it's original tang stamp. I know that I will have to heat treat and temper the blade, but I was wondering what a repair like this would do to the value of this collectible knife. Any thoughts on the repair process or the value will be greatly appreciated!

[New_Windsor_NY]

Hello.....

I once asked about welding a broken pocket knife blade.
This is the response I received.

Broken knife blades should not be welded.

[OLDE CUTLER]

There has been a lot of discussion about this in various threads and many people, myself included, believe this to be deceptive. Many counterfeit knives seen for sale on Ebay are made this way. I know what you are going to say, "I am never going to sell it", but eventually after your time it will be for sale and a victim will lose their hard earned cash.

[Mumbleypeg]

To answer your question, welding ruins any collector value a knife may have IMHO. There are some who do such welding, but those capable of doing it well are a very few. Most collectors consider it a deceptive practice. In his book Counterfeiting Antique Cutlery, Gerald Witcher discusses and shows examples of welded blades and describes some ways to detect them.

At best it would be acceptable on an heirloom keepsake, only if the knife was marked as "welded" on the blade or inside the liners, so it would not be possible to pass it off as a legitimate collectable piece. JMO

On that note many who have such work done say they would never sell the knife. All well intended but as OC has said we know we will at some point in time not be in control of items in our current possession.

Ken

[Bill DeShivs]

Better to find an original donor knife with a good blade.

[Reverand]

I agree fully with all of the advice that you have been given.
Any welding above the tang is, in my opinion, counterfeiting. Those blades never came out of that factory.
If the knife has great sentimental value and you want it done anyway, have a hole drilled through each tang, or something marked inside of the knife such as stated above.
Doing such work to "improve the value" of a knife is unethical, dishonest, and deceptive.
I have no problem with a repaired knife - I repair them myself.
As long as the knife is clearly represented as a repaired knife. I mark my repaired knives to prevent fraud.

[KaminskiJL]

Hello,

I want to thank all of you for your responses! Being new to slipjoint repair and restoration, I wanted to know what was acceptable and what was not. Based on all of your responses the replacement of a broken blade by welding a new blade onto the original ricasso crosses the line, and is not an acceptable practice. I wonder though about those who modify knives by removing broken blades or otherwise changing the characteristics of the original knife, especially if there is a pattern number stamped onto the knife which can be decoded to show the "as-built" configuration of the knife. Do such repairs as these cross that same line?
Finally, from a collectibility standpoint is it better to leave the broken blade stubs in the knife or can they be removed without affecting the collectibility/value of the knife?

[bestgear]

…..I wonder though about those who modify knives by removing broken blades or otherwise changing the characteristics of the original knife?

As long as it’s a 1-for-1 substitution, I have no problem with this change, but those in the know will know the knife has been apart.

from a collectibility standpoint is it better to leave the broken blade stubs in the knife or can they be removed without affecting the collectibility/value of the knife?

in the case of this knife in my collection, I would never consider repairing the bail, can opener, awl/punch, or mark side handles; it has too much historical value left as-found.

[Mumbleypeg]

I wonder though about those who modify knives by removing broken blades or otherwise changing the characteristics of the original knife, especially if there is a pattern number stamped onto the knife which can be decoded to show the "as-built" configuration of the knife. Do such repairs as these cross that same line?
Finally, from a collectibility standpoint is it better to leave the broken blade stubs in the knife or can they be removed without affecting the collectibility/value of the knife?

IMHO a knife repaired with original parts taken from a “donor” knife of the same pattern and relative age, is not a counterfeit. As Tom has said however, an astute collector will be able to discern the knife has been repaired (especially with said knife in-hand). If properly repaired its value should not be significantly diminished if at all.

However replacement of broken or missing blades with new parts from a knife made by another maker, from a different pattern, welded, etc render the knife not “original” nor authentic. Period. Again, an astute collector should know the pattern, it proper blades and blade configuration, etc. Better to leave a broken stub in place, or advise any potential buyer of its removal. Given the condition, the knife’s value will be diminished accordingly. The buyer may already have a suitable blade, or may be buying it as a “donor”.

Provided the knife is not misrepresented as being original, this in no way reflects poorly on those who modify knives to salvage their suitability as “users”. Which is why I respect highly those who stamp or mark such knives indicating they have been modified. That practice is not only honest, it protects the ignorant novice collector from buying what they believe to be a “collectable”, only to learn later they bought a fake. Those who misrepresent such knives are nothing less than thieves.
JMO.

Ken

[Mumbleypeg]

To quote the late Jim Sargent

There is absolutely nothing wrong with restoring a knife using original parts that are available. Most of the time it makes a knife even more desirable than one in worn condition. We can draw a parallel here with the restoration of antique and classic automobiles. When one of these is restored with original parts you can be sure it is more valuable

(than a worn one like it). Parentheses is mine to provide context.

Ken