Real Ruby Scales on a J. Russell Butter Knife?

[FortyTwoBlades]

Alright boys I appreciate the colorful opinions and snark as much as the next guy but I don’t remember submitting my knife to the internet committee for historical restoration approval Just a guy bringing back a blade the way I like it

Some folks chase perfect mirror finishes some leave it looking like it got drug behind a horse cart I went with what makes me smile after a long day in the trenches if it baffles some folks well welcome to the club because aspirin and penicillin baffled people too

I’m not here flipping these I’m not selling them I’m not preaching gospel I’m just keeping old steel alive one project at a time And like ol Jack Burton says at a time like this…
It’s my knife pal I’ll do what I damn well please with it

No hard feelings fellas see you on the next thread when I try boiled motor oil or whatever else triggers the collector police

Bud, you are perhaps a little thin-skinned about all of this and I suggest you take a few deep breaths. You posted your process in a public space and people commented on it. Not all comments will be praise, and those that have not have been wholly constructive criticism.

 

[Hickory n steel]

restoring

You keep using that word but I do not think it means what you think it means.

Taking a worn out old blade to a buffing wheel to make it shiny is not a restoration, really doing anything besides carefully expertly bringing an item back to it's confirmed original factory condition fails to meet the definition of " Restoration ".
Rehabilitation maybe, but that implies an intent to merely restore the functionality.
It seems like you've been watching too many of those " restoration " YouTube channels and reading all the ignorant worshiping comments, because you came here thinking you could polish a turd and have people tell you it belongs in the window of Tiffany's.


Calling anybody who questions your choices " knife police " is like calling somebody " food police " for telling you that chicken Sashimi is a bad idea.

 

[vsndesigns]

Bud, you are perhaps a little thin-skinned about all of this and I suggest you take a few deep breaths. You posted your process in a public space and people commented on it. Not all comments will be praise, and those that have not have been wholly constructive criticism.

No worries FortyTwoBlades I get it This is BladeForums not a group hug corner and if I came across thin skinned that’s on me not the crowd I can take critique I just don’t buy into the idea that every project needs to follow the same gospel I restore to the rhythm of my own hammer sometimes that means traditional sometimes it means coffee dips and ruby scales At the end of the day this wasn’t about approval or praise it was about enjoying the process documenting it and maybe inspiring someone else to grab an old junker blade and give it a second shot So all good here no hard feelings from my end I’ll keep hammering away and you can keep reminding me where I’m off the rails That’s what makes it fun!

 

[vsndesigns]

You keep using that word but I do not think it means what you think it means.

Taking a worn out old blade to a buffing wheel to make it shiny is not a restoration, really doing anything besides carefully expertly bringing an item back to it's confirmed original factory condition fails to meet the definition of " Restoration ".
Rehabilitation maybe, but that implies an intent to merely restore the functionality.
It seems like you've been watching too many of those " restoration " YouTube channels and reading all the ignorant worshiping comments, because you came here thinking you could polish a turd and have people tell you it belongs in the window of Tiffany's.


Calling anybody who questions your choices " knife police " is like calling somebody " food police " for telling you that chicken Sashimi is a bad idea.

Hickory no offense taken but you’re reading way too much into it I’m not here fishing for anyone’s approval and I’m definitely not trying to pass anything off as a factory original far from it I’m fully aware that what I’m doing isn’t textbook restoration I even said it myself—this is about preservation and rehabilitation breathing life back into discarded steel for my own enjoyment Not flipping these not mislabeling them not scamming anybody just showing the process warts and all and having some fun with it along the way If calling it restoration gives you a rash I can roll with rehabilitation revival rescue whatever gets you through the day At the end of it all the knife’s alive again not rusting into oblivion in a landfill That’s a win in my book whether it meets a collector’s dictionary definition or not

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I, personally, tend to prefer the terms "refurbishment" or "customization" since it's actually not placing an emphasis on preservation, which would be treating the item as an artifact and avoiding doing things like refinishing or removing patina, and is instead bringing the tool back into useful service, which is typically a very different process. Similarly, "restoration" is usually bringing it back to a like-new (or at least "like new-er") finish while "conservation" is preserving the item in its current state. When making pragmatic repairs that place a higher emphasis on bringing a tool back to functioning shape without major concern for period-correctness or aesthetic enhancement it's refurbishing, when adding embellishments that are not original to the piece, it'd be customizing.

 

[Nuker]

vsndesigns Nice work, Brother.
Glad to see you found a neat project to tinker with and have fun. Thanks for sharing all your great effort.

The nit-picking, back-handed suggestions. nose in the air comments were a detractor for me. Sweet Jesus… this is a hobby… it’s supposed to be fun. Let the guy have his fun.

 

[Kiteman72]

I don't see any "Real Ruby Scales" on anything here.

Zero stars.

 

[vsndesigns]

Alright fellas story time when this started I bought a pile of what I thought was ruby rough I even ran it through a Presidium gem tester and guess what classic flea market curveball turns out it’s Spinel nice enough material but not the ruby I was after even had this cool red dye in it that fluoresced like a lightning storm in a bottle which was fun for a minute until it started bugging me like a splinter in the back of my head So I did the thing we’re not supposed to do bought more rocks only this time we’re talking straight from overseas cutting grade material heading my way as we speak See I’m not here doing museum conservation or custom shop replicas I’m here pulling old knives off life support getting my hands dirty maybe breaking a few rocks and having fun So stay tuned because the real ruby scales will be landing soon and if it’s good enough for a kings crown it’s good enough for a butcher blade

Oh and Kiteman zero stars that’s fair I’m planning to get it up to at least a three star Michelin restoration by the end of the month wink.

 

[Kiteman72]

I'm gonna bump this up to 1.5 stars!

 

[vsndesigns]

Alright legends while I wait for the real ruby to arrive figured I’d show you what this flea market batch looked like under UV Classic spinel glow hot pink borderline neon with that signature cracked earth spiderweb running through it You can really see how the fracture lines light up like little lightning storms under the black light Definitely no illusions here this stuff screams lab grown but it still makes for a fun inlay experiment Yeah I know who the hell puts a knife handle under a black light Oh hell I would just for shits and giggles
Not every project needs to be factory spec or historically pure sometimes it’s just about having fun turning scrap into something cool Next update coming when the proper ruby lands Honestly when I scaled these fractured pieces out I realized I’d have to epoxy the heck out of them and I’m just not in the mood But for now here’s a little glow show straight from the flea market jungle.

 

[Nuker]

Pretty neat stuff. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses. This is going to be a cool handle