Imperial Boys Knife

[Eric H]

After seeing these pop up every so often on here, I had to have one. I probably paid twice what I should have in it, but it was still only $20.

When it arrived, the blade had a lot of deep scratches all over it that I hadn't expected (they hadn't shown up in the auction pics):

The sheath was nothing fancy, but the leather was in decent shape for a 40+ year old knife. I only plan on tossing it in my EDC bag, so it'll work fine for what I need.

The very tip of the blade was also broken:

I started by sanding the scratches out of the blade. I think I went down as low as 320 grit (automotive sandpaper), and worked my way up quickly to 2000 grit and then some red polish compound on a cloth wheel. I didn't try to get the blade mirror smooth at all, and it went very quickly with great results.

Once it was sanded to my liking, I forced a patina on the blade using paper towels soaked in Apple cider vinegar. One side turned out nice:

The other, not so uniform:

I suppose I could polish it off and try again, but I'm not going to bother.

I was also able to sharpen out the broken tip with minimal loss of metal.

It was super easy to get this knife hair popping sharp on my Sharpmaker--I'm very impressed with it. The plastic handles aren't cracked, but I may try my hand at replacing the scales with something a little 'harder use' at some point.

 

[Hickory n steel]

After seeing these pop up every so often on here, I had to have one. I probably paid twice what I should have in it, but it was still only $20.

When it arrived, the blade had a lot of deep scratches all over it that I hadn't expected (they hadn't shown up in the auction pics):

The sheath was nothing fancy, but the leather was in decent shape for a 40+ year old knife. I only plan on tossing it in my EDC bag, so it'll work fine for what I need.

The very tip of the blade was also broken:

I started by sanding the scratches out of the blade. I think I went down as low as 320 grit (automotive sandpaper), and worked my way up quickly to 2000 grit and then some red polish compound on a cloth wheel. I didn't try to get the blade mirror smooth at all, and it went very quickly with great results.

Once it was sanded to my liking, I forced a patina on the blade using paper towels soaked in Apple cider vinegar. One side turned out nice:

The other, not so uniform:

I suppose I could polish it off and try again, but I'm not going to bother.

I was also able to sharpen out the broken tip with minimal loss of metal.

It was super easy to get this knife hair popping sharp on my Sharpmaker--I'm very impressed with it. The plastic handles aren't cracked, but I may try my hand at replacing the scales with something a little 'harder use' at some point.

Looks good, and like mine the blade hasn't been sharpened down
My Imperial H6 costed me 18$ to my door but the sheath was so petrified that the leather cracked in half ,so I'd say even though the sheaths aren't great still being usable made yours worth the extra couple bucks.

Imperial sure did use a great steel, I don't have anything fancy and even I can get mine hair popping in under 2 minutes.

Your example is a bit interesting, the delrin on mine looked black no matter what lighting but I like how yours is actually a very dark reddish brown.

Of course I've replaced the scales on mine, made a different guard , and added a swedge to mine, but nothing says you have to do all that.


Btw do you have some steel wool or something to remove the rust right in front of the guard ?
Seeing it in the picture is driving me crazy

 

[Eric H]

Lol, I actually already removed the rust after noticing it in that pic! (It wasn't as bad as the pic looked)

 

[Rich S]

I have this same knife and also the fish scaler model one. Both from my childhood. The plain edge is well used but still in good condition. I use Ren Wax on the sheaths to keep them soft and the blades lightly oil. Nice old knives. Good job in restoring an old knife from my (and others I'm sure) childhood.

Rich

 

[Hickory n steel]

I have this same knife and also the fish scaler model one. Both from my childhood. The plain edge is well used but still in good condition. I use Ren Wax on the sheaths to keep them soft and the blades lightly oil. Nice old knives. Good job in restoring an old knife from my (and others I'm sure) childhood.

Rich

That's pretty cool that you were able to get the standard H6 and H7 with the fish scaler spine.
I'm still hoping my dad's original that went with the hatchet is in storage somewhere where my uncle put all the stuff from my grandparents house , if not I've already got one. It may not have any sentimental value but I still love it.

 

[Ernie1980]

It turned out nice, that will make a great user! That was a well loved knife in it's previous life, even though it was obviously used hard it was in decent shape

 

[Eric H]

Looks good, and like mine the blade hasn't been sharpened down
My Imperial H6 costed me 18$ to my door but the sheath was so petrified that the leather cracked in half ,so I'd say even though the sheaths aren't great still being usable made yours worth the extra couple bucks.

Imperial sure did use a great steel, I don't have anything fancy and even I can get mine hair popping in under 2 minutes.

Your example is a bit interesting, the delrin on mine looked black no matter what lighting but I like how yours is actually a very dark reddish brown.

Of course I've replaced the scales on mine, made a different guard , and added a swedge to mine, but nothing says you have to do all that.


Btw do you have some steel wool or something to remove the rust right in front of the guard ?
Seeing it in the picture is driving me crazy

Here's a pic of the edge of the scales:

 

[Hickory n steel]

Here's a pic of the edge of the scales:

That's what I thought, I'm pretty sure this scale variation is the least common. The black ones and the animal head ones are definitely the most common.
If I were you I might keep them on there, but that's just me.