M.Price SanFran. - Michael Price fixed blade restoration advice.

[mikey488]

I've inherited a potentially really nice knife, probably carried during WWII by a relative by marriage that is now deceased. I never knew he had this knife until after he had passed.
Now it belongs to me, and I would like advice as to whether I should restore the surfaces that are damaged by improper sharpening. So, looking for advice
on how much to do, or have done. This knife, for certain, has been in the family since at least the 1940's. It appears to be circa 1860-70's in my opinion, but I've never handled another
Michael Price / San Fran blade, only seen photos. It would be a beautiful knife if the surfaces were refinished, and it doesn't seem to me that it would be worth less that what is with
the damage done by the sharpening. Advice appreciated.

 

[fishface5]

If you don't care about selling price then clean it up, but if you do care about value then I would do research first - I know for antique swords they advise not to clean them up because that can hurt their value a lot.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

That's a very nice knife.
I don't advise trying to clean it yourself, but professional restoration is a good option. It certainly won't devalue it, and may increase value considerably.
Let me know if I can help.

 

[sceva]

That's a very nice knife.
I don't advise trying to clean it yourself, but professional restoration is a good option. It certainly won't devalue it, and may increase value considerably.
Let me know if I can help.

Now there is an offer you shouldn't refuse.

Nice knife The accumulated damage lowers it's value as an M. Price knife. On the other hand it is all part of it's history and there are those that say it should be left alone.

Just my opinion; if you have no close ties to the relative and want it restored, go ahead. But a knife like that deserves professional restoration by someone who knows what they are doing and can do it right. If that is not you don't attempt to restore it yourself as you'll do more harm than good.

 

[Mark D Zalesky]

It's important to understand that the people who collect these aren't like the collectors of pocket knives, military knives, custom knives, or whatever; they have a different view about what their knives should look like and what is and is not acceptable. Refinishing a blade qualifies as "major surgery" as it changes the entire look of the knife. Quite honestly, most of the work that I see being done is attempting to fix something that someone else has already "fixed" -- someone who apparently had no idea what the finished job should look like. Please, don't make that mistake.

What you've got here is a bulb-handled Price with the cheapest handle material then and now, elk stag. This style is better than a California hunting knife, but not fancy like the dress knives of about the same pattern that bring the big bucks. These knives usually came with silver sheaths, but there's a clue here that yours may not have had one.

This particular Price marking and the oversized ricasso are signs of an earlier knife. Difficult to say with certainty, but probably 1860s era. I tend to think that the bulb handle evolved into more of a wasp shape over the years.

 

[mikey488]

The knife was in a sheath when I got it, but my uneducated opinion was that the sheath was added later, possibly WWI time period.
Not in a hurry to do modifications, but every time I look at the damage to that blade, it makes my heart sad that someone abused it that way, almost certainly in ignorance.
maybe there is no "gentle way" to keep all the original profile and just get rid of the coarse "sharpening" damage in an appropriate way.