Need Help Replacing Handles on vintage Knives

Joined
May 15, 2019
Messages
10
Hello hopefully helpful hand makers,

I was recently asked to replace the handles on (2) vintage knives that were presents to a couple off good friends of mine on their wedding day 50 years ago. One is a 10" carbon steel chef and the other is a SS Japanese boning knife. The knives can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMkR_cZjcFD/

I figured it would be a fun project and a nice gift for their 50th anniversary.

Chef's Knife:

Yesterday afternoon I took the old handles off and found a rather deteriorated tang on the chef's knife. I am hoping that some of you might have some suggestions on how to prepare this knife (tang) for the new handle as well as maybe some tips on preserving the patina throughout the process. I want to keep all of the exposed patina the way it is.

There is also a crack on the cutting edge, about 1" from the tip. We have discussed reprofiling the knife to remove the affected portion of the blade but know that I have it, I dont think thats the best course of action. Thoughts?

Boning knife:

This knife has an interesting handle construction. The handle is one solid piece with slots cut in with a large diameter saw blade. The knife and spoon are shaped to fit into the recess created by the saw blade and pinned into place. The owner has asked me to make this knife "dishwasher safe". I will caution him against it, but realize this knife has been placed in the dishwasher for 50 years and its not gonna change now. That said, I am looking for suggestions in case they trump my own plan to use laminated G10 (to get the thickness I need) attached with corby fasteners and G-Flex epoxy.

Any and all suggestions are welcome and greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Brady
 
For "dishwasher safe - you are going to need to use Micarta or G-10. Use a good grade epoxy like West system or System Three. USA Knifemakers has some new "BladeBond" knifemaking epoxy resins that are supposed to be even better, but I haven't used them yet. The word out on the street is the BladeBond Extreme is the best for knives that may go into the dishwasher.
Adhesives (usaknifemaker.com)

The slot tang (sometimes called a half-tang) construction isn't as hard as it looks. The simplest way to make it is use two scales and recess one part way to match the tang thickness. Use good epoxy and Corby bolts to assemble it. You can slot a solid block by hand, but it takes some skill and injury risk is high without the right equipment.

As far as the chef's blade goes, just clean off the surface rust with a wire brush. Use good grade epoxy to glue on the new scales. Again, Corby bolts are recommended as the rivets.
 
On the chef, you have to remove the scale on the tang. It doesn't have to be smooth, but all rust needs to be gone. The patina on the spine of the handle will be gone in handle sanding, but the rest can be preserved. The blade you can leave alone if they have lived with that crack for years, no need to change it.

On th boning, you could do stacked G10 laminate, or micarta. If micarta, using 2 scales you can carve out the tang shape with a router or an end mill, drill pin holes, then glue the halves together onto the tang.
 
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