Old Solingen Bowie gets facelift

[t1mpani]

Picked this up recently--decent condition, unused but neglected. The stag scales had shrunken and pulled away from each other, also pulling away from the ends of the pins a bit. The blade was about as sharp as could be expected on such a low saber grind---meaning not. If I'd pressed really hard and sawn back and forth it probably would have eventually broken skin. Where most of the blade was ground too thick, the tip was much too thin and had already developed a good bend in it.

Now if I'd really wanted to do this right it would have been a complete re-handling, but I just decided to see what could be done with the original setup.

Naturally, my initial overall shot of the knife came out as a corrupted file, but here's the two-parter to start:


Stab from the left...


One way to finish off a swedge that's not cooperating, I suppose...


Oil your stag, please...


Gee, do you think it's watertight?


Okay, first things first. Devcon 2 ton clear isn't the strongest epoxy in the world but it's clear and so great for filling. Little playing around with white and yellow dyes to try and match the stag. Of course it ends up a uniform color so it will never fool anybody, but it looks pretty good from two feet away. Filled in and drying...


After a day, it's dry enough to mess with (I don't like to sand it before 48 hours at least) so take care of reprofiling: The whole upsweep on the tip was just clumsy--lots of graduating straight lines instead of a smooth curve. Then of course there's the aforementioned swedge foible and the skinny tip. So, a little file, sander and stone work (and a lot of pretzels) later, and we're reshaped, convexed and sitting pretty (although not polished yet of course):


continued below...

 

[t1mpani]

Okay, enough time has elapsed, sanding the epoxy flush with the scales, getting close on the belt and then finishing with white emery paper so the creamy color doesn't get dark streaks.


Now, I didn't want to seal moisture in when filling the guard, so first I did a full-on dunk of the handle in mineral spirits, poured it out and let air dry for a couple hours. Then did a submersion in mineral oil overnight, taking it out and resting it on the tip to let the excess drain out but leaving an oil residue on the open parts of the tang. Two days later, oil is still leaking out...

Okay, fast forward four days, oil has finally run out, so a wash of the guard and ricasso as far down as mineral spirits on a cotton swab will reach to remove oil from the gluing surfaces, and then Acraglass gel the hell out of it. I didn't want it to just drain through the hole into the handle so let it set up on the table for about 20 minutes before putting it in. Even so it sank a bit and I had to add more. A good helping of atomized steel helps make it harder and also gives it a sort of gunmetal gray color that at least looks better than the original caramel color would have:


Sand a bit once it's dry, realize that the acraglass mix is harder than the aluminum and start sanding a LOT more carefully, close enough for government work. Oh and I fixed the little spots where it clearly isn't square with the edges of the guard slot, this is just in progress.


Time to actually sharpen it up--blade is fully convexed up front, and turns into a scandi-convex (term stolen from Dan Koster) as it moves back towards the guard. The "shelf" in the middle where it drops from full thickness to the plunge has been softened significantly--the main section of the blade actually slightly tapers down from the spine now instead of being square. Didn't blend it all the way--kept the original look, but it doesn't hit a brick wall now in deeper cuts.

 

[t1mpani]

Push cuts, not slices (only really impressive if you experienced it's Tactical Butter Knife beginnings firsthand )


About as pretty as she's gonna get. All polished up again and scratch-free. Kept the guard and pommel satin--mirror aluminum just marks up too easily, as the beginning pictures demonstrate. Pins are shortened where necessary and re-peened. All in all, I'm happy with it--nothing that's going to show up in a magazine anytime soon, but an improvement on where it started at least.

 

[blgoode]

looks like alot of heart went into that job Warren:thumbup: Thats the best place to start in my opinion. Where there is a will there is a way and remember that any mistake or problem delt with now, is one to lear from and use down the road

Now get out and get that knife used!!!

 

[t1mpani]

Thanks Brian---I hope it feels loved for a $40.00 fleamarket pickup.

 

[blgoode]

best kind of love is free baby $40 bucks is almost free these days