Beauty of Old, Worn Knives

[Obsessed with Edges]

I acquired this one secondhand (or 3rd, 4th??) some years ago. It's a 1965 Case 6265 SAB Folding Hunter. I have no idea what sort of life it lived before I found it. But the thing that appealed to me was that it had seen obvious use, but it also had been well taken care of and in great working shape when I came to own it. Nothing loose or excessively worn and with great walk & talk. There was a little bit of blade loss from sharpening, but not too much. And the bolsters at some time I think had been 'cleaned' by sanding, as there are noticeable scratches that look like those left by some relatively coarse sandpaper on them. Having noted that, they also had the sort of burnished shine I'd expect to see from pocket-worn carry. The handle slabs of jigged wood laminate also showed an obvious polish from handling and/or pocket wear over many years of use. The only thing I did to it, after buying it, was put my own edges on both of the blades. Both took screaming-sharp edges that've also held very well over time. This blade steel is superb - I haven't seen any better in any other simple carbon steel blade I own.

ALL of those attributes left by its history have made this knife maybe my most favorite to carry and handle, even if this pattern is somewhat unrealistically large for my typical uses. These are the things I'd hope to find in literally any 'old' knife that still has lots of life left to live.

 

[ShaiHulud]

I dont currently have any carbon steel knives, but I let the knives wear and age on their own, I decided I dont really like the look or feel of forced wear and tear and forced patinas

 

[Slice-and-dice]

Not sure of this counts as "old and worn out" but they're 10+ years old at this point,

View attachment 2957466

I'd much rather have these than a new blade. Just something about a tool with a little use wear on it!

 

[waynorth]

A nice old Curved Russell Barlow!! Lightly cleaned, but still retains its crisp edges!! It also qualifies the carrier for the Barlow Bearcats club!!

 

[runninmike]

I just use my knives through their stages…..they each gain some patina along the way….the knife ages as we do, no need to accelerate something to show experience it did not earn. I wipe a little oil on my knives-especially the non stainless ones, but I do use a little oil on the stainless joints. Some accidental patina is warranted “ok” by me as it wasn’t intentionally placed there…
Here is an unintentional patina on a 6375 amber bone…

https://imgur.com/a/7nVSqYl

https://imgur.com/a/7nVSqYl

 

[sceva]

This has become one of my favorites. It is an older John Primble that I suspect may have been made by Boker. The pattern number 5753 does not appear to match up to what I see in a 1950 or 1970 catalog and the star is above the number instead of below it. I suspect it is from the early 1940's in the interim between the IKW knives and the Belknap HDW ones. The blade(s) are not full but they have a lot of life left and get wicked sharp. IF ANYONE has a Belknap catalog older than 1950 ( between 1940 and 1950) I would be interested to see if this is listed

 

[mph57]

Mid 1950s Camillus 66 Stockman. Always keep this one in my pocket or by my chair. I don’t “age” the look of any knife that I have. I just let it happen naturally.

 

[DaveHS]

old Curved Russell Barlow

Charlie, are curved barlows made by starting with the same frame / covers as other traditional “curvy” handles, like the 47 & 74?

 

[JM2]

My 6.575 Bonestag stockman has went through some changes. I don't have a picture of it new.

Immediately before dying, after 2-3 years of use and pocket wear.

Immediately after dying.

As it is now.

 

[waynorth]

Charlie, are curved barlows made by starting with the same frame / covers as other traditional “curvy” handles, like the 47 & 74?

The curves are slightly different - I think they make/made specific liners to shape the knives!!!!

 

[Buck_Fan]

 

[Murphy Slaw]

This thread reminds me of my Grandpa.

That’s a good thing.

 

[black mamba]

Pre WWII Keen Kutter junior cattle knife. Looks to me like an earlier owner had an electrical discharge hit the clip main, leaving a divot. Still works fine.

 

[Daddyo16]

Old John Primble that was in my dad's collection. Blade tang is stamped "India Steel Works", which apparently was a premium brand of the Belknap Hardware Company from around 1890 to around 1940. I cleaned it up best I could (don't have before photos), gave both blades a sharp edge and was pretty pleased with how well it turned out. Don't know where he picked it up or exactly how old it is. If the India Steel Works brand ended around 1940, then I'm guessing it's at least that old.

 

[meako]

Beaten up Excalibur I rescaled for old mate Brian at the brewhouse...not sure what wood it is ...somethimg out of the
" valuable rare bits of wood" bin ..I like the way it turned out...Cheers.

 

[meako]

Dogwood.


I can tell by the bark.
G'hukk.

 

[Ironbut]

A couple flea market finds from a few years ago. $2 for the Schrade, and $3 for the Kutmaster.

 

[SteveC]

A well loved Taylors lambfoot

 

[Murphy Slaw]

True patina takes years. There is a desire to “rush” or “fake” the aging process by some. Here it’s with apple juice and vinegar and such. In the guitar world it’s a banging, scratching, finish aging process called “relic-ing”. There are people making big money doing it. Gibson charges extra for it.

A natural, well used knife (or guitar) is a tool that was loved and used for many, many years for unknown projects and tasks and is a thing of beauty.

 

[lutejones]

Here are my two favourite knives,
One is a 2011 GEC #62 whittler and the other is a 65-69 Case 6318PU purchased almost new in 2012 if I remember correctly.
Both have countless hours in the pocket and in the hand while carving
This is when it came

This is three or four years in and the first main blade regrind

And here they are today