Refurbishing very old 110

S

Screaming Eagle

Joined
Dec 3, 2009
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I picked up a very old 110 with the original (I think) sheath today. The blade just has:

Buck
u.s.a.

on the blade (no model number, no dots) and has two brass rivets and one steel pin in the handle. It's got two brass rivets in the bottom bolster and one in the top bolster.
The blade has been essentially ground down (sharpened down) through the hollow part presumably as a working knife. I don't think (unless someone has info I don't know about) that I'll be able to get an original type steel blade to replace the one that's there now.
What I would like to do is to restore the original wood on the handle and just keep the old blade on it as a memorial. It's filed all the way down to the point of the original 'drop' part. The original wood is actually in good shape and looks like it has very nice grain.
What's the best way to get down to the original wood and restore it? Maybe put some linseed oil on the wood to bring out the original grain? The steel pin is palpable (both sides) so sanding would mar it. I'm assuming brasso would take care of the bolsters?
Any other suggestions? I figure the sheath alone was almost worth the price (black with 110 stamp at bottom on the back). The guy threw in another very old folder that might be worth an attempt at restoration (to some degree) as part of the $14 deal.
Thanks for your suggestions.
 
Screaming Eagle said:
I picked up a very old 110 with the original (I think) sheath today. The blade just has:

Buck
u.s.a.

on the blade (no model number, no dots) and has two brass rivets and one steel pin in the handle. It's got two brass rivets in the bottom bolster and one in the top bolster.
The blade has been essentially ground down (sharpened down) through the hollow part presumably as a working knife. I don't think (unless someone has info I don't know about) that I'll be able to get an original type steel blade to replace the one that's there now.
What I would like to do is to restore the original wood on the handle and just keep the old blade on it as a memorial. It's filed all the way down to the point of the original 'drop' part. The original wood is actually in good shape and looks like it has very nice grain.
What's the best way to get down to the original wood and restore it? Maybe put some linseed oil on the wood to bring out the original grain? The steel pin is palpable (both sides) so sanding would mar it. I'm assuming brasso would take care of the bolsters?
Any other suggestions? I figure the sheath alone was almost worth the price (black with 110 stamp at bottom on the back). The guy threw in another very old folder that might be worth an attempt at restoration (to some degree) as part of the $14 deal.
Thanks for your suggestions.
Click to expand...

I have one of those. It's early '70's with 440C steel. Murphy's oil soap will help the wood. Put a bit on a cotton cloth and rub in, then polish with a dry cloth. Do likewise with brasso on the brass. The leather sheath can be oiled with a 50/50 mixture of lanolin and neat's foot oil. Just put a light bit on your fingers and rub into the leather. It will darken some leathers slightly, especially old leather, but old leather is usually dried out and needs help. It will lighten up after awhile, but not to the original degree. I just did that to an old 111 Classic tooled sheath and it now looks fantastic.

P.S. the lanolin and neat's foot oil is NOT to be used on sueded leather or the semi-sueded leather splits called "distressed leather". It's only for leather with a polished surface.

P.P.S. For the lanolin/neat's foot stuff, try Mother's Leather Conditioner at an auto parts supply store. It's about as cheap as you can get it prepared. If you can not find it at a store you can get it online, but you will pay for shipping. Try here:

http://www.amazon.com/Mothers-06312-Leather-Conditioner-12/dp/B0007TF766/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
 
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Mother's Mag (wheel) polish is awesome on the blade and bolsters. Will make then look like new. Almost. I've turned many a nasty, old Schrade LB7 into something nice looking with that stuff.
 
Actually, I find that the Rem oil I use on the metal parts tends to pep up the wood as a sort of bonus since there's always a bit of oily residue on my fingers.

Sanding seems a bit extreme.

Brasso works fine and I suspect some of the newer miracle shiners like Powernoodle suggested may work even better, although I haven't tried them.

I use Mink Oil on leather and I don't have any suede stuff.
 
No sanding! that would diminish its value unless it was absolutely necessary to sand. Use the ready to use Murphy's, not the stuff you dilute. Just rub into the wood and polish off.

I've never used mink oil, don't know much about it. Lanolin and neats' foot oil in a roughly 50/50 mixture is what I've used in leather book restoration for years to re-oil leather. (Old leather loses its natural oils.) However, with antiquarian books we also use a solution to de-acidify the leather for archival purposes. The preferred de-acidification solution has changed over the years.

Here is a link that some here may find interesting:

http://www.jarnaginco.com/leather preservation original.htm
 
Buck_110 said:
Would that be good by itself? Is that good enough for repelling water so that I can skip using mink oil? Can I just use saddle soap and then apply that and be done?
Click to expand...

Lanolin and neat's foot oil does repel moisture. Apply only to the polished side of the leather. It will penetrate. If you want to waterproof something like sheath for outdoor use, I don't see why you couldn't apply the lanolin and neat's foot oil first and let it penetrate, then apply a little mink oil over that to waterproof the surface. It would be an interesting experiment.

And yes, that's all I use on leather sheaths. Lanolin and neat's foot oil works on both vegetable tanned leathers and chrome tanned leathers. Use sparingly so as not to totally saturate the leather which will loosen the fibers and leave a residue on your knife when you put it in the sheath. But that would only happen if you poured huge gobs of oil on , which we don't here :D

Just put a little on your fingers and rub it into the leather. Dry leather will soak it up fast, you'll see. Just use as much as needed. (You'll learn from experience.)
 
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