Newbie w/ questions and pics!

[harvey88210]

Hello all. New enthusiast to the hobby and new member to the forum. I recently inherited an antique(?) butcher knife from my grandmother. She told me how it belonged to her grandpa who owned a butcher shop in the early 20’s/30’s. I thought it was really cool that it’s been in my family for so long preparing food and cutting meat. I’d like to be able to use it on occasion as my bbq knife just as a nod to my forefathers but not as an everyday day tool obviously. I had some questions regarding the temper on it..

Assuming the knife hasn’t been heated via grinder or some other heat source, is the heat treat/temper still solid? The knife has noticeable chips along the blade that almost seem like a sort of “delamination.” Can these be ground out on a course stone and a new edge be formed? I would like to keep the patina and original handle. Any other things I should think of. I’ve posted pics. Thank you in advance for any help!

https://imgur.com/gallery/wlnWjs4

 

[knarfeng]

the temper of a knife does not change without exposure to temperature.
Looks like exfoliation corrosion to me. That would require removing a lot of steel in order to smooth out the edge. I think that knife has seen its day.

Going to move this to the Maintenance and Tinkering Forum.

 

[Ourorboros]

While a different metal, the Sword of Gougian (really a quality fake) has been found after a couple thousand years in a tomb, with some exposure to water.
The temper is still fine, as is the edge.

Unless a metal is heated several hundred degrees, the temper stays.

 

[TRfromMT]

If it were me and I wanted to use it, I'd put a simple edge on it as it is. I'd not try to reprofile or clean up any major damage. Just get it back to a good working edge like your grandfather would have. I'd be careful using it and keeping it clean. Don't let it stay wet and those corroded areas shouldn't get much worse.

I have a vintage block plane I inherited from my Father in Law, and as far as I can determine it is nearly 100 years old, maybe as much as 120 years. I simply cleaned it up and put a good edge on the bit, and use it now and then. It makes my arms sore and usually gives me a hot spot pretty quickly. But I use it in his memory.

I'd keep the repairs and sharpening to the very minimum, but heck yeah, I'd use it!

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

( Speaking very selfishly, if the knife were passed down to me... )

If it were mine, I'd give thought to some very careful sanding away of the damaged surface metal, keeping the blade low (angle-wise), so little is taken away from the cutting edge itself, which still looks to be in pretty good shape. Would obviously give up some of the patina near/behind the edge with sanding, but patina still comes back in an old knife that still gets used after it's cleaned up.

I'd take my time deciding what to do and committing to it; don't rush a fix, by any means. But I'd certainly be giving a lot of thought to giving it new life. I'd still focus on removing any of that lifted (appears to be) or damaged surface metal, so moisture and other stuff won't be trapped underneath it, with more use.

Wouldn't seem right to me (selfishly again), to just leave it and not use it. But it is an heirloom and I wouldn't hold it against anybody for setting it aside in permanent memorial to a cherished family member. I'm not interested in trying to coax anyone into doing what I'd do; that doesn't matter at all.

That's a very special keepsake. Great that it's still in the family.