Restore Kukri

A

alexjohnson

Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
1
Hi There, I have a Kukri that was passed to me from my father that has sat for years in the bottom of a box that I now would like to restore.

The blade is a a bit rusty, how do I restore this blade, the handle is in fantastic condition on the big and small blades, the sheath is a bit nackered where the small blades go in, and I would like to repair that also if possible.

From what I read, I need to sand paper it until I get the finish I want and then cold blue?? the blade - does that sound right?
I don't know if we have cold blue in New Zealand..

The knife is about 16" long has what apears to be a lion face on the end of the hilt.
kukri001.jpg

kukri010.jpg

kukri011.jpg
 
Whoa , can you post bigger pics next time ?

:D

If you cannot find your bluing , you can order it.
Birchwood Casey.http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/

There are a few ways you can go about this.
You could soak it in wd-40 for a day or so and loosen up the rust, being careful not to get it in the handle if it is horn or something exotic. Then clean off with some steel wool , at this point you should be able to see how bad the rust has eaten into the steel.
If the rust has gone too deep you may be SOL on getting back to %100 pristine shape.
Also , some of these Kuk's are of shoddy quality , I cannot tell by looking at yours but there are more knowledgable folks on here who may know.
 
Alex? Here we go:

1. Download Irfanview and get familiar with it. That picture was way the hell too big, although I do appreciate the detail.

2. That looks like a tourist piece to me with no special value. I am not an expert. The experts reside at IKRHS. Go there and find out for sure before proceeding. If you have something collectable, you don't want to be sanding and bluing it. Trust me.

3. If it is not collectable, I would attempt to remove the rust with plenty of oil (CLP or 3-in-1 should work fine), a coarse rag, and lots of scrubbing. If the oily rag didn't do it I'd use a heavy coat of oil and steel wool. If that didn't work I'd do some thinking, as anything else will permanently change things. Sandpaper is a last resort, and only if the piece isn't worth anything; if it is, and you take sandpaper to it, it no longer will be. If it is collectable, I would not even try to restore it -- I'd pay someone else to.

There's no easy way to fix a sheath. If you're handy with leather, take a crack at it. If not, this is not the way to learn.
 
this may sound unusual and insane, but you could try soaking the blade for a few days in coca cola! what you'll get is a greyish layer on the blade and the rust will be loosened. you can remove them with steel wool. don't forget to put some rifle oil on the blade!
 
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