New to Vintage knives...What to look for?

[hkpokes_you]

Hi everyone!

The school year is going to start up soon - and I'm going to have to get back to grading papers, and hammering away at my dissertation proposal - so, I'm going to have a lot less time to devote to 'arts and crafts.'

So, rather than throwing together my own knives I think I'm going to repair and restore old ones. Baltimore is a great place for thrift shopping and pawn shop scrounging - and there's probably a lot of treasure among the rusty piles of flea-market garbage.

I know a litte about traditional and vintage knives - but I also know that the collective brain trust over here is extremely well versed in this sort of stuff.

So - is there anything that I should keep my eyes open for? I'm mostly interested in older non-stainless fixed blades with superior heat treatments or metallurgy. Cleaning, re-handling, sharpening, and (as could be necessary) re-grinding are all on the table.

And before anyone expresses a worry about my destroying something with collector value - I'll say that I have no plans to 'Bubba' a forty year old Puma that I rescue from a flea market. I'm a poor grad student who makes knives for a hobby. (I'd probably sell anything like that to one of you guys.)

So? Any advice?

I know that 'Pumaster' knives are something worth my time to restore. I know that 50100-b knives with Camillus' heat treatment are a pleasure to work on. I don't know much about any of the specific manufacturers from Solingen or Sheffield -- or their relative pecking-order so far as quality.

Thanks for reading this. I'm looking forward to learning from you guys.

 

[Blues]

...So, rather than throwing together my own knives I think I'm going to repair and restore old ones. Baltimore is a great place for thrift shopping and pawn shop scrounging - and there's probably a lot of treasure among the rusty piles of flea-market garbage...

...So - is there anything that I should keep my eyes open for? I'm mostly interested in older non-stainless fixed blades with superior heat treatments or metallurgy. Cleaning, re-handling, sharpening, and (as could be necessary) re-grinding are all on the table...

...So? Any advice?

First, good luck with school, getting your graduate degree and securing your future. :thumbup:

I think you'll get plenty of practical advice from other members so I'll just stick to ethical advice. (Which I'm in in no way implying you need.)

If you work on, repair or otherwise alter a collectible or vintage knife, please mark it somehow (in a clear but unobtrusive manner) so that if it leaves your hands it cannot be sold to the gullible as being an unadulterated example of the given knife.

While most folks in the knife world are honest, this is one of the few issues that detract from the experience for new (and even experienced) knife aficionados.

Best of luck to you.

 

[VCM3]

HK,
It seems you are in tune with the idea,that once a straight forward genuine old collectable knife is tinkered with,it is devalued and undesireable to collectors of them.

I'd suggest,finding old jacknives,collectable tang stamps,big time swedged blades!, that have good natural scaled frames & full or near full main blades,with secondary blades that are snapped,break them down & re assemble,making them into single blade versions.Change/ upgrade scales where necessary & of course,mark them visibly with some type of mark,so it is genuine to what it is.

If you could pull that off & deliver a good functioning knife,I myself would be interested in one,and I'd bet others would,too. I have seen so many really nice jacknives with one snapped blade,or cracked scales/good blades.Looking at them,saying,I wish I knew how to make that into a single blader,or repair it.if you already have knifemakers tools & skills,try that & good luck with it
-Vince

 

[VCM3]

Regarding old fixed blades,good steel,look in this thread,I posted an I. Wilson knife

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=746043&highlight=wilson

A great write/explanation of the steel by Dennis

This particular steel,whatever they did,its an unbelieveable cutter.No wonder,in it's day,it was asked for by name.

This name can be found,along with others,kitchen kives are always very useful.I see a lot of worn out chef knives,IMO,that could be reprofiled into different style cook's type knives
-Vince

 

[hkpokes_you]

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=746043&highlight=wilson
-Vince

Thanks! Keep these sorts of comments coming, guys!

It's funny though - I actually picked up an old Solingen butchers knife from the Dundalk flea market that is almost exactly the same as the first one in that thread. Even down to the 'for cutting not chopping' warning...

It cleaned up pretty nicely - and is doing a great job in my kitchen.

The stock on it is actually pretty thin, and the blade has quite a bit of flex to it, but half an hour on the water stones got it absolutely screaming sharp.

 

[DennisStrickland]

vintage knives is a vast field. really reading several of the collector knife manuals will help you a ton.also spending time in levines forum will aid yourself.
dennis