Newest purchase and a few finds after cleaning grandmoms garage

Galeocerdoshark

Galeocerdoshark

Joined
May 21, 2011
Messages
3,132
Hi all,

Recently, I've been thinking about a few new purchases. After some reading and watching videos, comparing prices and shipping costs on eBay (and in local stores) I ended up having 3 must buys in the near future. I really like folders, so the ones I wanted were the Buck Vantage Pro, Benchmade (mini)Griptilian and the Kershaw Skyline.
For a combination of reasons, and because a good opportunity to buy one of these came forward, the first one I bought was the Buck Vantage Pro.
I must say I absolutely start to love this knife. It had a little centering problem, but I fixed that following some advice I've read on these forums.

Secondly, my mom, dad and I have been cleaning the garage of my grandmother, it was quite a mess since she almost never goes there anymore, and all sorts of stuff had piled up over the course of years. During the cleaning, I found two nice cutting devices I was allowed to bring back home. They were two meat cutters that have been lying around for quite some years... The USA origined-one is still quite sharp and looks more recent than the French one.

First picture: the new Buck. In the background you can see his virtual friends:rolleyes:
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Second: a view on one of the meat cutters. It says Briddel Solid Steel Made in USA
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Third: Close up of the Briddel stamp
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4th: some kind of old, rusty French meat cutter
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Enjoy!

Jerry
 
Thank's! The meat cleavers do need to be cleaned, especially the French one. It probably has been through a lot, and it has it's charm, but I intend to use it so it'll need some touching up and cleaning.
 
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I've been busy on cleaning up the dirtiest one. I got rid of most of the rust, what is left is deeply rusted in and I don't wish to remove it since it does give the cleaver an older look. I touched up the edge and I cleaned the handle by using a white spirit/water mixture.
I'm still planning on making it polish a bit more, but the highest grid I've found in local shops was 280... I'll have to look a bit further I guess.
However, I like the result already.
 
4000 grit ?? Just use 400 grit , all you need , and put some finish on the handle .Then catch a deer and butcher it ! These are carbon steel so they'll develop a patina .
 
personally i wouldn't touch those blades with sandpaper, you'll ruin all the history and character they have. they will re-patina over time anyway, so a good cleaning/oiling is all i would do. being that they are old and have alot of history, i wouldn't even have sharpened them, i would have retired them as family heirlooms.
 
@ timbit:

Thank's for the tip! I'll check one out this week.

@ mete:

Shooting a deer and butchering it would be a problem in Belgium without the necessary licenses, hehe. Also, here in Flanders you might have to look very hard to find one.

@ jimnolimit:

I'd like to keep them in honor by continuing on using them - remembering the history of the cleavers. I think I'd honor them more this way than keeping them in a closet. The French one is indeed over 100 years old, the one from Briddel approx 50.
 
Galeocerdoshark said:
@ jimnolimit:

I'd like to keep them in honor by continuing on using them - remembering the history of the cleavers. I think I'd honor them more this way than keeping them in a closet. The French one is indeed over 100 years old, the one from Briddel approx 50.
Click to expand...

Buy sanding, polishing and sharpening those knives, you are erasing their character and history that they earned over the years. The most I would have did to those knives would be a cleaning with soap and water and a light coat of USP mineral oil to preserve them. If you want to use a cleaver, you can buy a new one that will perform as good or better for about $30-$40. How are you honoring the knives buy wanting to alter the blades?
 
He's not altering them.... he's cleaning them up. They are tools, you do clean your tools don't you?

I carry a pocket knife that's 60+ years old, it does me no good sitting in a drawer or in a display case.

I give the OP a big :thumbup:
 
Skimo said:
He's not altering them.... he's cleaning them up. They are tools, you do clean your tools don't you?

I carry a pocket knife that's 60+ years old, it does me no good sitting in a drawer or in a display case.

I give the OP a big :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Using an old tool is sometimes ok, as long you don't erase the old. The OP has no experience restoring or polishing a knife, do you think a 100 year old knife is a good place to start? He will be altering the knife, he is going to sand it and re-bevel it. In the end he is going to take a 100 year old knife and make it look like a 1 year old knife. People destroy antiques everyday by trying to "restore" them.
 
Okay, it's an old knife... does he really need to attend a class on how he should treat his knives?

Yes, you and I just stated the same thing, he's going to make it usable again.

He's going to use them, I fully support that, as much as I would fully support you if you got an old blade and decided to keep it in a museum.:thumbup:

This thread isn't about destroying antiques:confused:, his knife, his choice and I see that as a good thing.
 
if he plans to keep it as a user, he isnt doing anything wrong... users get sharpened u know
 
Haha, my grandmom is ok with this. She hasn't used it in over a few decades since it got rusty and dirty. Now that I've cleaned it (not altered it), she wants to use it again herself, as did her mother in law back in the days. I'm very willing to give it back, it'll come my way again in the future. In the meantime, the cleaver gets even more time to acquire more of that family history ;-).

I'm not going to polish it anymore, I like it the way it is (and granny is happy so I am happy). I still want those high-grid sandpapers for polishing up some Opinels of mine and do some experiments on those.
 
You did a seriously good thing . Keeping family tools in the family , and keeping them working .
 
No need to apologize. This is an interesting thread, and I never would've seen it if it hadn't been bumped.
 
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