Restoring a 1960s (?) Camillus New York folding knife (kinfe and screwdriver knife)

H

HDCase

Joined
Jul 15, 2012
Messages
62
Hi,

I found this 1960s Camillus, New York in the odds-and-ends drawer and thought I'd share it. Any help in restoring the knife?

It's amazingly dull, but not rusty. You can see details on the blade in the photos. Sort of a nice knife. I don't think I'd want to get it professionally restored, but anything I can do to get it working again (clean blades, sharpen, clean wood, make the opening smooth)?

Really heavy for its size (3 3/4 inches closed; 2 1/2 inch main blade; 2 3/4 inch locking screwdriver-top blade). Both blades stop at 90º.

It's not rusty but the folding is a bit difficult. Also, the knife blade does not fold down completely. But it does not seem stuck.

Interesting knife as a collector? I have not seen a notch in the second blade to help open the primary blade. Steel-colored end cap, brass-colored accents such as the pins.

I don't mean to overdo it with pics, but maybe they are interesting.

Album hosted at other site (imgur.com): http://imgur.com/a/pzK3B (they are very large resolution, so you can hover on the image, click the gear icon, and view full resolution).

r0lF9WK.jpg
 
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What you have there is a standard military TL-29 pattern Electricians knife. Very common and in the condition yours is in you won't be hurting it much by "restoring" it.. The main blade won't close completely because about half of has been sharpened away. You MIGHT be able to drop the tip down more by VERY gently filing down the "kick" at the base of the blade. Do it too much and you won't be able to grab enough blade to open it so be careful.
FB in Vt.
 
Ah that's good info. Am I right in the "1960s" date? Or might this be earlier? I asked my dad if he remembered where he bought it, but he did not remember details about the buying.

Yes, that main blade seems to have been sharpened up! Maybe they liked the spear tip, if it was more of a sheepsfoot (http://www.the-knife-connection.com/knife-blade-types.html ).

I'll connect this to another post about this kind of knife: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/435806-Electrician-Knife-Pattern-Research
 
Thanks for the info (Still-a-Marine). I wonder if anyone has more info on how I might start cleaning it up. I don't mind it having patina, and I actually don't need the blades to be super sharp, but some amount of sprucing up would be nice. I didn't happen to see a forum on how to clean older knives.
 
Ah, thanks Cougar. Thanks for the identifying tips all. Nice to figure out what it is.
 
Hi,

I found this Camillus, New York, military TL-29 pattern Electrician's knife in the odds-and-ends drawer and thought I'd share it. I hear the imprint is from 1946–1956. Any help in restoring the knife?

It's amazingly dull (funny to be able to play with a blade's edge), but not rusty. It is a tad tough to open, but not bad. You can see details on the blades in the photos. I don't think I'd want to get it professionally restored, but anything I can do to get it working again (clean blades, sharpen, clean wood, make the opening smooth)? Simple cleaning methods, even? I like patina (or don't mind it), but I'd like to polish it a bit.

Extra info: 3 3/4 inches closed; 2 1/2 inch main blade; 2 3/4 inch locking screwdriver-top blade. Both blades stop at 90º.

Album hosted at imgur.com because they are large: http://imgur.com/a/pzK3B (you can hover on the image, click the gear icon, and view full resolution).

Thanks,
HDCase
 
Good ideas billym and M. McCord. I do wonder if there is a good idea to soften the hinge. Some bath? Maybe just oil?
 
Wash it in hot soapy(Dawn dishwashing liquid) and scrub with a toothbrush. Rinse thorouhly in hot water and blow as dry as possible. Add a good oil ( I use common mineral oil) to everything especially in the joints. Sharpen and be careful...it will get very sharp. Use it with pride...Herb
 
Thanks for the advice oldgoat. Any tips on oiling the wood? Is mineral oil fine for that, or does it need special oil? I don't think it's a particularly delicate knife.
 
Nano-oil does wonders for a knife's pivot. As for the wood, I wood think any oil is fine. Ive used 3-in-1 oil and baby oil in a pinch. Just a little dab and rub it in
 
On that wood any oil is fine...best oil I ever used comes from outside my nose (really) and I just rub it in. over a period of time it really leaves a great finish...Herb
 
Well here is the cleaning.

Dr. Bronner's soap, some CLR for a couple minutes, some alcohol, some scouring pad, some coarse steel wool wet, blow dry, fine steel wool, then some mineral oil. Looks pretty good. The wood should polish a bit when I play with the knife. (I washed the knife between chemicals.) The advice allowed me to really feel OK about cleaning it. Thanks for the help.

http://imgur.com/a/Kv48w

Some inline images:

C32DTR9.jpg


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