Restoration - 'relic' to user (pics fixed!)

T

toflick

Joined
Jun 10, 2013
Messages
84
Hi All

First of all, thanks to everyone here for being an inspiration and for your kindness and willingness to share your knowledge about traditional knives.

I always like to tinker... and since I caught the bug I've been wanting to find an old beater that I could restore into a user.

I found an old Robert Klaas (supposedly 1894 according to the auction listing I purchased it from... ???). It came with a spear point blade and a broken blade with ebony (if i'm not mistaken) covers, Kissing Crane stamp, and made in Solingen. I was stunned that the snap of the blade (walk and talk?) was so clean and strong for such an 'old' knife! It was purchased it at a price I wouldn't cry over if the project went south. I just hope I didn't manage to get a deal of the century on some rare old knife, then proceed to butcher it...!! (I did look around for details on it but didn't find much info that made me think otherwise...)

I really admired the look of the knife and didn't want to replace everything on it with new materials and managed to re-use everything that was on the knife including the original pivot and pins, so that was kinda cool. (...used to tinkering with modern folders where everything unscrews so the pins were somewhat intimidating).

So... before (not my pics):

klaas1.jpg

klaas2.jpg


After...:
I think I may have reworked the handles too much but the covers cracked a bit when I was separating the knife. The pins are a bit big but I didn't want to file them down anymore for fear of damaging the wood. I had trouble centering the blade until, upon closer inspection, I found that the blade was not actually ground straight. It was ground in more of a wedge shape than an even 'V'. The blade does not rub, but does not look centered either. It is straight and tight to the liner on the one side and angles away from the liner on the other side to the point of the blade...

klaas-2.jpg

klaas-4.jpg

klaas-5.jpg

klaas-7.jpg

klaas-9.jpg

klaas-12.jpg

klaas-13.jpg

klaas-20.jpg


Thanks again to those who posted their own projects for the inspiration and knowledge!

:)
 
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Looks like you got the pictures figured out. :)

So, holy schmoley that knife turned out beautiful. You turned a near wreck into a work of art. And using the original materials, I wouldn't have thought you'd be able to save those covers after you took the knife apart. Great job, thanks for sharing.
 
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thanks Cory... I finally figured it out as you kindly corrected it for me... much appreciated!! I'll delete the other to clean up the thread... sorry about the mess everyone!
 
You were editing yours while I was editing mine to not have doubles, now the pictures are gone altogether. :o
 
I think you've done a very nice job of breathing new life into that lovely old knife. Well done :thumbup:
 
I'm a sucker for a great mod. This is the definition of one. It came out really good, considering what you had to work with and you didn't replace any parts. Honestly, I think those covers were already cracked when you got the knife, but taking it apart opened the cracks up more. I wouldn't be too concerned with the lay of the blade. It may have got out of sorts over the years, or just rough from the factory to begin.

Now it looks like it will ride in the pocket nice and slim, but still work hard. Anyone should be proud to have that as a user!

Nice job.
 
Thanks everyone for all the kind words! And, Cory again for giving me a helping hand at my first 'contribution' post. It was my first venture into working with a traditional so I'm glad it still works... lol!

The blade (compared to what I am used to) seems to have been sharpened with some pretty rough grits... I would hazard to guess a grinding stone based on some of the marks. After having spent some time with it I do like that the blade is 'what it is'... straight-but-not-straight.. and it doesn't bother me as much any more... definitely character! If the blade rubbed... well, that would be another story!!

Regarding the questions about the wood...

The covers were filled with a bit of epoxy and cyanoacrylate (sanding in between to even them out), then finished with tung oil. I believe the epoxy and cyanoacrylate have porous surfaces when cured so any of the wood that is exposed and the filled areas after sanding will hold the tung oil. (Kinda like oil on acrylic but not acrylic on oil, for those of you who are familiar with painting (art)).

Thanks again for the encouragement... my first, but probably not my last...!

:)
 
I forgot to ask... if anyone can tell me any more details about this knife that would be greatly appreciated! From what I could find most of the knives I found for reference were stamped ROSTFREI, not SOLINGEN. (I would like to know if this is truly an 'old' knife, or if it was a 'newer' knife that was horribly abused...)

Thanks again!
 
Looks to me like you did a great job bringing an old knife back to life. I really wish I had the skills for that.

I think it's a nice thing to see these old pieces rescued like that.
 
Nicely done! Isn't it so gratifying to breathe new life into an old knife??! Great job keeping everything original!
 
very good work! and great idea to remove one layer so that youre able to reuse all original parts.
 
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