Knife Renewal & Restoration

[Buckeye Sharp]

I have always liked tinkering with old or used knives to renew them by improving their action and appearance. I‘m not really a “modder” in that I generally don’t take knives apart, but I enjoy breathing new life into old knives, mainly slipjoints by cleaning and restoring them by using various hand processes. I’m a longtime collector and enjoy finding that knife that just needs a little TLC to make it “collection worthy”. Here‘s an example of a GEC White Owl that i picked up a few weeks ago and got around to restoring today.

 

[catspa]

That turned out nice.

You’re a braver man than I, pushing it open with your thumb like that.

Parker

 

[nickycat]

beautiful work friend

 

[Buckeye Sharp]

Thank you! C catspa & nickycat

 

[R_Shackelford]

Nice work! What steps did you take to get it cleaned up so nicely?

 

[Buckeye Sharp]

Nice work! What steps did you take to get it cleaned up so nicely?

I’m going to make a video of my process, but basically I start in the well with scotchbrite and clean that area. I then start on the blades at the tangs with some specialized sanding sticks with various grits to get that area cleaned. From there I progress to the blades and use various grits of wet/dry abrasive mounted on a block. I keep the blades flat and move them spine to edge on the block to get to the bottom of the deepest mark, scratch or pit. Then I work my way up the grits until I get the desired blade finish. When the blades are done, I work on the bolsters, covers and back spring area with similar abrasives and then buff to high polish. The last thing I do is sharpen the blades close to the factory angle. I have another to do soon…I’ll post the video here when finished.