Lets talk GEC!

Tilley Knife said:
I received my ebony crown lifter yesterday. It is not the full, dark, creamy ebony of the HJ. Mine has very defined light brown streaking in the grain. I'm not complaining as it still looks great and actually like grain patterns. Both scales are matched well on my 15. I'll post some pics when possible.
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Here we go. Apologies for the poor pic

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Pomsbz said:
Can I ask the good folk here for ideas? I have a #15 Navy Knife in 'Old Barn Chestnut'. This wood is very soft and having carried it and used it since I bought it, the wood in some areas is significantly marked. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas what the best way was to smooth out and restore the wood?

sheath.jpg


Here is the knife showing the undamaged side. I bought it to be a user and it has been, daily, but this wood is so soft you can damage it badly with a fingernail.

Would steaming work or could it ruin the wood and/or shift the pins out of alignment?
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The Old Barn Chestnut that I have owned is soft to the touch. Fingernails can easily leave marks without hardly even trying. Also, there are streaks of rotten wood running throughout. These streaks can be picked at and dusty particles will fall out. These small streaks can be seen in your knife.

I refinished the knife to give it a nice hard finish which also sealed the wood. I used a mixture of linseed oil/paint thinner/tung oil mixture.
 
Pomsbz said:
Can I ask the good folk here for ideas? I have a #15 Navy Knife in 'Old Barn Chestnut'. This wood is very soft and having carried it and used it since I bought it, the wood in some areas is significantly marked. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas what the best way was to smooth out and restore the wood?

sheath.jpg


Here is the knife showing the undamaged side. I bought it to be a user and it has been, daily, but this wood is so soft you can damage it badly with a fingernail.

Would steaming work or could it ruin the wood and/or shift the pins out of alignment?
Click to expand...
I've steamed small dents out with a damp rag and an iron placed just over the dent. With some care that should lift the dents out in a localized fashion. You might try finishing with a clear epoxy lightly wiped on and sanded smooth. Of course I would suggest practicing on a snap piece of wood, oak or any size I later grain wood would be close enough for practice. I use to thin epoxy with alcohol
To increase penitratio . Just an idea.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
 
Cory Hess said:
Only synthetic options? Am I the only one that thinks that an ebony clad sodbuster would be the bee's knees? I do applaud the delrin option over acrylic, though.
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When I did my sfo run last go around of bullnoses I really wanted Ebony or Cocobolo but I would have settled for any wood or bone, they declined due to concerns of cracking around the pivot. They will probably only run synthetics or micartas on this pattern but I can dream that one day they will venture out.
 
Thanks all for the suggestions and advice! I'm thinking that if I do steam the dents, a flat headed soldering iron might be better to avoid the pins?

Here is a picture of the dents various, sorry the depth of them is not so apparent. All just honest pocket wear but happening too fast and too ugly.

dents.jpg


Travman, would you mind sharing more about your finish please?
 
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Pomsbz said:
Travman, would you mind sharing more about your finish please?
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Sure, my friend suggested it. I didn't know much about wood finishes, but my friend does some wood work and suggested a 1:1:1 mixture of linseed oil/paint thinner/tung oil. I think the tung oil is important because it provides the hardness when dry.

I taped the bolsters then sanded the wood lightly with some 2000 grit sand paper. Next I simply painted the finish mixture on and let it dry for 24 hours.

Here is a picture of a knife drying after being refinished.
IMG_4302.jpg
 
Travman said:
Sure, my friend suggested it. I didn't know much about wood finishes, but my friend does some wood work and suggested a 1:1:1 mixture of linseed oil/paint thinner/tung oil. I think the tung oil is important because it provides the hardness when dry.

I taped the bolsters then sanded the wood lightly with some 2000 grit sand paper. Next I simply painted the finish mixture on and let it dry for 24 hours.

Here is a picture of a knife drying after being refinished.
View attachment 667200
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Thanks, that's a great help! Did it change the colour much?
 
Pomsbz said:
Thanks, that's a great help! Did it change the colour much?
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No, I didn't notice any change? There is now a very thin layer of clear and hard finish. It basically just seals it up. It has added a little more of a sheen.
 
Travman said:
No, I didn't notice any change? There is now a very thin layer of clear and hard finish. It basically just seals it up. It has added a little more of a sheen.
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Many thanks indeed! I've switched back to my Queen Copperhead until I can get the oils in, the prices here in Jerusalem are horrendous so I'm going to try hitting the bay.
 
Travman said:
Sure, my friend suggested it. I didn't know much about wood finishes, but my friend does some wood work and suggested a 1:1:1 mixture of linseed oil/paint thinner/tung oil. I think the tung oil is important because it provides the hardness when dry.

I taped the bolsters then sanded the wood lightly with some 2000 grit sand paper. Next I simply painted the finish mixture on and let it dry for 24 hours.

Here is a picture of a knife drying after being refinished.
View attachment 667200
Click to expand...

Some other stuff that will seal and harden the wood are CA (superglue; apply thin type until wood is permeated, then sand and buff), slow-set epoxy (apply sparingly; let soak in and wipe off; set aside for 24 hours then light sand & buff), and there are clear 'wood hardening' products sold in the paint department of most hardware/paint stores that are made to 'save' dry-rotting wood in construction applications. I believe Min-Wax makes one for this purpose. Also, you could use clear spar polyurethane if you are neat about it. Spar varnish will also work; thin with turpentine.
 
Pomsbz said:
Many thanks indeed! I've switched back to my Queen Copperhead until I can get the oils in, the prices here in Jerusalem are horrendous so I'm going to try hitting the bay.
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That stinks. You could also try some clear polyurethane. It would probably do the same thing; provide a nice hard seal.

Here is a picture of my Old Barn Chestnut knife. I was really drawn to it because of the history of the chestnut tree here in America. I can still see shoots of the old chestnut trees which sprout up from the old roots of the trees that used to dominate our east coast forests.

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Nice looking knives :thumbup:

I was expecting long pulls on the boy's knives since the original run of beer scouts had them. Anyone know if this run of beer scouts will have nail nicks or long pulls?

Also, still wondering if this run of beer scouts will have brass liners like the original run or steel liners like these boy's knives.
 
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