- Joined
- Dec 9, 2015
- Messages
- 392
A while back I bought a quartet of dirty old knives at auction. I got them cheap just to try out the patterns, sold the ones I didn't like and got my money back. Two of those knives were 108OTs, one with very good, solid blades with nearly all the metal left, and one less so. I cleaned up the better one and carried it a bit, and it turns out I'm not a stockman kind of guy. The blades are all too similar in size for my taste. But I can't deny that these little guys have character. So I sold the better one and kept the ugly one for myself as a project. A project that I finally got around to.
Disclaimers:
-Safety first people! In the same way that a gun should always be treated as if it were loaded, a knife should always be treated as if it were razor sharp. They may seem dull when they're all rusty and gunked up, but remember that there is a sharp edge underneath that rust that will bite you if you aren't careful. Always wear glasses, respirators, gloves, and whatever else when you need them.
-This is not a SEMA-bound Cobra. This is an Old Timer, a working knife. What you see here is just a quick and easy way for you to get that two dollar flea market find back to cutting line and skinning squirrels and whittling marshmallow sticks. It could have been a lot nicer, but I only spent about an hour and a half on this, and that includes pictures, misplaced tools and distractions.
Here is the "before" picture. I'm surprised I actually remembered to take one this time! Note the broken tips on the clip and pen blades.
The first fix on the list is the pen blade. This one is easy. When fixing broken tips like this, you usually want to bring the spine down, not the edge up. If you file from the edge, you will be increasing the thickness of the metal behind the edge and making it a less efficient cutter. I'm using soft plastic vice jaws and an "up and over" motion with the file. You use flat files for the outside of a curve, round files for the inside.
You generally want to avoid power tools for this kind of work. A file does two things for you, first it forces you to go slow and be careful. In going slow, you also don't build up heat that could ruin your temper.
Here it is compared to the pen blade of my current favorite knife. I think the profile looks pretty good. Don't mind that nick in the edge, that will sharpen out.
Now, the clip point blade was not as easy. First, the plastic pads were too soft to really grip the knife on the very corners the way I have it here so I had to improvise with a few layers of tape.
I started the same way as I did on the pen blade, just to knock as much as I could off with the file.
Here it is after the file. Notice the weird little hump just behind the tip.
This is where I cheated and used a Dremel. I tried using a file to round out the clip but it was just chattering too much. If you choose to go this route, turn your speed down and use a sanding drum, not a grinding wheel. The idea is to go slow and work gradually as possible. Watch your heat.
Here we are comparing it again to my current favorite. I'll let you all in on a little secret: I'm not too crazy about clip points.
For me to like a clip point it has to be a long, sweeping, crisp point. I hate stubby clip blades with a steep up-turn.
Here's where I break the rule, er, guideline. Using a needle file I remove as little of the edge as possible while thinning out the tip to my liking. This also could have been fixed while sharpening, but I wanted to be sure I got this part right.
Better
Here's the two repaired tips together.
Now on to the sanding. Most production knives have slight hollow grinds, so you can't use a block here. You'll have to either use a leather pad or fold the sandpaper a couple times. Luckily traditionals have small blades so our arms won't turn to noodles from using less-than-perfect sanding techniques.
If you put your knife in the vise like this, be sure that the closed blades are not hitting the inside of the knife, especially if your back springs have a hump at the center pin. You will notch your blade and/or crush the edge.
I'm only using 500 grit in this case. I don't really feel like putting in the extra hours (and trust me, it will be hours with an "S") to get all the pits sanded away and then bring it up to a gleaming 1000+ grit finish. The upcoming vinegar etch will smooth things out a bit, but you still get what you pay for. A higher grit finish will etch to a more smooth and consistent color.
Something I learned from another member is that hand sanding is the best way to remove pits. Using some kind of wheel (including buffing or wire) will only spread them.
I used a brass brush to clean out the tang stamps and nail nicks. Welding brushes are too unwieldy for something this small, but this brush meant for a Dremel works great when used BY HAND. Use the smaller version to get inside the knife.
Here we are with all the nasty sanded away. Off to the kitchen!
Time to make knife soup. Degrease the blades in your chosen fashion, I use brake cleaner but many others use acetone or even plain old dish soap. Heat vinegar up to a boil and then move it off the hot burner. Let it sit for a second then put the knife in. You could ruin your temper if you leave it on the hot burner... I think, but I'm not willing to risk it. Let it sit in the vinegar for about 20 minutes. If you used cold vinegar this would take hours. The hot vinegar will not affect the brass, nickle silver or delrin. It WILL affect wood. I have not tried it with any other materials so proceed with caution.
There are two reasons I use vinegar. First, it's a completely food safe way to finish/patina your blade. Second, it will neutralize any little rust spots you missed.
I'll spare you the chemistry lesson. If you see bubbles, then it's working.
After about 20 minutes you can pull the knife out. It will be all black and sooty. Use warm water, soap and the scrubby side of a sponge to get this soot off. Remember that you are not trying to scrub it back to bare metal, just remove the soot.
Sooty:
No soot:
Now we're pretty much done. All it needs is a sharpen, a final cleaning and some oil. After you sharpen open and close the blades a bunch of times under running water. This will help wash the grit out. Then work some oil into the pivots and call it done. Here is a picture of the pen blade with the nick sharpened out, just like I promised.
Tomorrow I'll get some nice "after" pictures in the daylight.
Disclaimers:
-Safety first people! In the same way that a gun should always be treated as if it were loaded, a knife should always be treated as if it were razor sharp. They may seem dull when they're all rusty and gunked up, but remember that there is a sharp edge underneath that rust that will bite you if you aren't careful. Always wear glasses, respirators, gloves, and whatever else when you need them.
-This is not a SEMA-bound Cobra. This is an Old Timer, a working knife. What you see here is just a quick and easy way for you to get that two dollar flea market find back to cutting line and skinning squirrels and whittling marshmallow sticks. It could have been a lot nicer, but I only spent about an hour and a half on this, and that includes pictures, misplaced tools and distractions.
Here is the "before" picture. I'm surprised I actually remembered to take one this time! Note the broken tips on the clip and pen blades.
The first fix on the list is the pen blade. This one is easy. When fixing broken tips like this, you usually want to bring the spine down, not the edge up. If you file from the edge, you will be increasing the thickness of the metal behind the edge and making it a less efficient cutter. I'm using soft plastic vice jaws and an "up and over" motion with the file. You use flat files for the outside of a curve, round files for the inside.
You generally want to avoid power tools for this kind of work. A file does two things for you, first it forces you to go slow and be careful. In going slow, you also don't build up heat that could ruin your temper.
Here it is compared to the pen blade of my current favorite knife. I think the profile looks pretty good. Don't mind that nick in the edge, that will sharpen out.
Now, the clip point blade was not as easy. First, the plastic pads were too soft to really grip the knife on the very corners the way I have it here so I had to improvise with a few layers of tape.
I started the same way as I did on the pen blade, just to knock as much as I could off with the file.
Here it is after the file. Notice the weird little hump just behind the tip.
This is where I cheated and used a Dremel. I tried using a file to round out the clip but it was just chattering too much. If you choose to go this route, turn your speed down and use a sanding drum, not a grinding wheel. The idea is to go slow and work gradually as possible. Watch your heat.
Here we are comparing it again to my current favorite. I'll let you all in on a little secret: I'm not too crazy about clip points.
For me to like a clip point it has to be a long, sweeping, crisp point. I hate stubby clip blades with a steep up-turn.
Here's where I break the rule, er, guideline. Using a needle file I remove as little of the edge as possible while thinning out the tip to my liking. This also could have been fixed while sharpening, but I wanted to be sure I got this part right.
Better
Here's the two repaired tips together.
Now on to the sanding. Most production knives have slight hollow grinds, so you can't use a block here. You'll have to either use a leather pad or fold the sandpaper a couple times. Luckily traditionals have small blades so our arms won't turn to noodles from using less-than-perfect sanding techniques.
If you put your knife in the vise like this, be sure that the closed blades are not hitting the inside of the knife, especially if your back springs have a hump at the center pin. You will notch your blade and/or crush the edge.
I'm only using 500 grit in this case. I don't really feel like putting in the extra hours (and trust me, it will be hours with an "S") to get all the pits sanded away and then bring it up to a gleaming 1000+ grit finish. The upcoming vinegar etch will smooth things out a bit, but you still get what you pay for. A higher grit finish will etch to a more smooth and consistent color.
Something I learned from another member is that hand sanding is the best way to remove pits. Using some kind of wheel (including buffing or wire) will only spread them.
I used a brass brush to clean out the tang stamps and nail nicks. Welding brushes are too unwieldy for something this small, but this brush meant for a Dremel works great when used BY HAND. Use the smaller version to get inside the knife.
Here we are with all the nasty sanded away. Off to the kitchen!
Time to make knife soup. Degrease the blades in your chosen fashion, I use brake cleaner but many others use acetone or even plain old dish soap. Heat vinegar up to a boil and then move it off the hot burner. Let it sit for a second then put the knife in. You could ruin your temper if you leave it on the hot burner... I think, but I'm not willing to risk it. Let it sit in the vinegar for about 20 minutes. If you used cold vinegar this would take hours. The hot vinegar will not affect the brass, nickle silver or delrin. It WILL affect wood. I have not tried it with any other materials so proceed with caution.
There are two reasons I use vinegar. First, it's a completely food safe way to finish/patina your blade. Second, it will neutralize any little rust spots you missed.
I'll spare you the chemistry lesson. If you see bubbles, then it's working.
After about 20 minutes you can pull the knife out. It will be all black and sooty. Use warm water, soap and the scrubby side of a sponge to get this soot off. Remember that you are not trying to scrub it back to bare metal, just remove the soot.
Sooty:
No soot:
Now we're pretty much done. All it needs is a sharpen, a final cleaning and some oil. After you sharpen open and close the blades a bunch of times under running water. This will help wash the grit out. Then work some oil into the pivots and call it done. Here is a picture of the pen blade with the nick sharpened out, just like I promised.
Tomorrow I'll get some nice "after" pictures in the daylight.
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