Dealing with an uncoated shorty I got in a trade.

J

JTmisterknifeguy

Joined
May 22, 2013
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477
Hey guys,
I have a USMC short Tanto that I got thrown in for free on a trade a while ago. It looks like the dude that had it before me (or before him) sanded the coating and really jacked up the serrations/added his own. I had to ghetto up a sheath from duct tape and cardboard, I'll be trying to get one from Kabar.

The Olean side...


And the USA side...


What in your guy' opinions would be the most cost efficient way of dealing with rust/forcing a patina?
I have some vinegar and bleach on hand...
I'd also like to make it look less like grinder practice...
I do have a palm sander...
Serious shop modding her is out of the question, due to time and $ constraints.
I'm looking to see some ingenuity and creativity here, especially given all the Becker fans of Kabar who are modding fiends.
 
Boy, it does look like grinder practice. And those serrations? What's that about?

If your palm sander is a random orbital one, I'd be careful with it. You don't want to make it worse. And if it has the padded/soft base that some have, be extra careful - unless you just want to convex the whole thing. Which might be kind of interesting - but probably ugly - but maybe not any worse.

The vinegar will put a patina on it pretty quick. You might just immerse the blade in some for a bit.

I'm going to have to do some imagining for a bit on what you might try to not have to hand sand forever.

Do you have a belt sander? Someone did an interesting rigging up of one to mimic a grinder. Looked a little dangerous to me, but seemed to work for them.
 
DunkEm said:
Boy, it does look like grinder practice. And those serrations? What's that about?

If your palm sander is a random orbital one, I'd be careful with it. You don't want to make it worse. And if it has the padded/soft base that some have, be extra careful - unless you just want to convex the whole thing. Which might be kind of interesting - but probably ugly - but maybe not any worse.

The vinegar will put a patina on it pretty quick. You might just immerse the blade in some for a bit.

I'm going to have to do some imagining for a bit on what you might try to not have to hand sand forever.

Do you have a belt sander? Someone did an interesting rigging up of one to mimic a grinder. Looked a little dangerous to me, but seemed to work for them.
Click to expand...

Meh,
No, no belt sander, just a pos from harbor freight. And it's square, not circular. 😒 So yeah, it tries to convex everything.
As I've said elsewhere, I've ruined lots of uber-crap knives as a kid by sanding/grinding and modding knives so much so that I'm at the point now that I rarely do anything to my newer ones, besides sharpening or knocking down the truck liner on my 1095 blades. You'll get the idea that beyond the occasional gift, I don't get too many new-to-me blades (like none!).
This shorty will probably be a gateway to modding my carbon steel.

If I could square away the hack-job grinding/sanding on it before I force a patina on it, that'd be ideal.
Keep thinking brother! :)
-JT
 
Given what you said about your lack of tools to do a radical mod, I know this won't really be helpful but I had a few minutes.

 
DunkEm said:
Given what you said about your lack of tools to do a radical mod, I know this won't really be helpful but I had a few minutes.

Click to expand...

Huh,
I never thought of a sheeps foot. It could work I guess... Modding it that much, though tough, is something I need to keep in mind, given what I have to work with.
I was thinking of running it upside down on my LBE vest with a new-from-Kabar kydex sheath.
I think the profile is too narrow and stabby to be quite useful for field craft/Bush craft, and therefore will only really shine as a small, low drag , and unobtrusive LBE knife. Maybe that's out of the question given how hammered it is...
 
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If you can, post a straight on side picture like the one from the KA-BAR site. I'm thinking those homemade serrations are going to be an issue to take into account.
 
I am new here but i have been working at a hardware store for a few years now. I think a nice long smooth or cross cut file would help with the grinding practice done on that blade. Maybe add a smooth round file for the serrations to make them more consistent and useful. Past that you could hit it with a fine wire brush on a drill just be careful it can get hot and there is a chance of throwing the blade. I have never done either of these to a blade but i have use these techniques on various metal working projects. Your sitituation is a littke out of the ordinary so these fixes fit that criteria well.
 
Just use sanding sponges and sand it best you can. Once you get a patina on it, a bunch of the look will be hidden. Main thing is, get a wicked edge on it. Ignore the "serrations", get a Ka-Bar shorty leather and you're in business. High quality reliable beater.I actually prefer my users to look old and shitty with a polished razor edge. Good luck, keep us posted with the results!
 
DunkEm said:
If you can, post a straight on side picture like the one from the KA-BAR site. I'm thinking those homemade serrations are going to be an issue to take into account.
Click to expand...

I'll try to get a decent top shot pic.
The damn fool also tried to sharpen the swedge.

I get why, but I find it annoying that A. It ain't done properly, and B. I like my fixed blades to be able to flex into both mundane and bad-guy-sticking roles if need be...
I mean, isn't the whole point of a tanto design to have a reinforced tip/point for stabbing and slashing tasks???
If you're going for the easiest penetration, get a stiletto or a bayonet!!! (End of rant)

I'll probably take a file to em' just to make them at least somewhat uniform, other than that, I'll probably vinegar patina the thing, then scotch brite it to my liking. After that, and a new sheath, she'll look pretty "Boba Fett".

NCSlice said:
Just use sanding sponges and sand it best you can. Once you get a patina on it, a bunch of the look will be hidden. Main thing is, get a wicked edge on it. Ignore the "serrations", get a Ka-Bar shorty leather and you're in business. High quality reliable beater.I actually prefer my users to look old and shitty with a polished razor edge. Good luck, keep us posted with the results!
Click to expand...

I'll def keep y'all posted, it'll be motivation to keep at it till its "Mad Max" enough. ;)
 
Start with some low grit emery cloth/sandpaper (60, 100, 150, 220), wrap it around a flat file, and flattened out the primary bevel. A 220 finish would be great.

Leave the rest of the blade rough for a great contrast.

Use a round file to even up the serrations.

Then repeated hot vinegar baths until it gets dark enough for you.

Then sharpen it.
 
Ok gents,
I had a few moments to spare, so I fired up my crappy Harbor Freight square Palm sander, and started 220, to 1000, to 1200...
(I'm running real low on my abrasives... Grrrrrr!)

And here's what I was able to do, while clenching the upside down sander with my feet (I don't have a proper work bench yet) before my paper gave up the ghost.



And a little closer...


And closer still... Get an eyeful of those serrations... I gotta add a rat-tail/round file to my list...



It took care of the myriad minor scratches, but the deeper 60 grit/grinder marks are there till doomsday.
The biggest booger for me will be reprofiling the secondary edge, it's so obtuse due to a. the design and b. being screwed up that I'm not sure quite how to fix it, or if I can. 😒

I fear that it'll never be the useful cutter that I usually have on me, but for a modern pirate/Viking/boot/LBE knife she'll do.

I'm thinking once I hit her with some vinegar or mustard, then scotch brite/steel wool, she'll be ready for a sharpening and a new thermo sheath. :)
 
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You could always smooth out the remains of that butchered tanto point and transform it into a drop point. It wouldn't take much sanding effort to achieve and would IMO, look a lot better than that chop-shop job.
 
Look at the wave in that guard - doesn't look factory to me.
For the effort involved in fixing it, I'd mow a lawn or two and buy a brand new one. That thing should be put to rest.
 
The stock guard has been straightened creating the waves. Nothing wrong with that
 
She's uglier than a swamp bred donkey, but it's still 1095 crovan.

I'm thinking that I'll fire up my grinder, and pivoting on the secondary point, remove just enough material to make it more "slashy" near the point.
 
Remember to keep it cool :cool: when you're grinding but I think that knife has a lot of "potential" as property developers would say.
If you are going to be grinding are you going to keep it as a tanto or maybe transform it into a more conventional blade shape? Enquiring minds and all.
 
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