Restoring WWII Engineer's Knife

[AxF]

First off, I hope this post is appropriate for this section of the forum, if not I sincerely apologize.

I recently purchased this WWII era Camillus Engineer's Knife. It is my first knife that wasn't made in a last couple decades so I'm totally inexperienced in cleaning up older knives and am wondering if any of you can offer some advice.
From what I can tell, it is in pretty good condition. All tools open and still have some good action and snap. The can opener is a nail breaker though and I cant open it without using a piece of cloth for some extra protection.
There is some rust in areas but it doesn't seem like an overwhelming amount. There are a lot of scratches on the main blade that look like they come from a previous owner trying to clean off some corrosion that was there in the past.

I've seen some videos online on how to restore these older knives. Use mineral oil, work the grit and rust out, etc. Some people recommend using #0000 steel wool to get the bad rust off but keep any nice patina on the knife but that I'm not sure about.
Lastly, and most concerning to me, there is significant blade play in the main blade. There is a gap in the back spring for the main blade and that makes me wonder if that is the cause. Since this is a knife that I want to use, I would like to deal with that issue but I'm afraid it may be a bit above my pay grade as I have never worked on knives to any extent. If that is the case, does anyone know who I can talk to that might be able to fix that issue for me?

My goal for this knife is not to make it "like new." I like the fact that it is a piece of history that I get to use the way it was intended and I want it to reflect that fact. Any advice that you all can give would be much appreciated as I know that many of you on this forum have forgotten more about knives that I'll likely ever know. Thank you.

Here are a few reference pictures:

 

[glennbad]

It's hard to tell from the pics, but that gap is likely causing the balde play. However, that gap could be a couple things...either the pin holding everything together on that end needs to be tightened up, or that gap may be caused by the spring "carving out" a section of the blade tang, but leaving a thin sliver on the edge, which gets caught between the liner and spring. If it the latter, it's a little more invasive work to fix that.

 

[AxF]

It's hard to tell from the pics, but that gap is likely causing the balde play. However, that gap could be a couple things...either the pin holding everything together on that end needs to be tightened up, or that gap may be caused by the spring "carving out" a section of the blade tang, but leaving a thin sliver on the edge, which gets caught between the liner and spring. If it the latter, it's a little more invasive work to fix that.

Hmm I see... I wonder if the reason the pin is visible on that end of the knife is because someone has tried to tighten it up and was unsuccessful. In any case, thank you for your input!

 

[gentleman_edc]

Wash, lube and then hit it with a hammer.

glennbad knows his stuff.
I just poke at it until I break it.

If the pin needs to be tightened, my advice actually works. If it is something more complicated, it becomes more than I would tackle.

I love the knife.I have one that has been sharpened enough to loose some of the belly of the blade, but it is easy to get the blade "wicked sharp".

 

[AxF]

Wash, lube and then hit it with a hammer.

glennbad knows his stuff.
I just poke at it until I break it.

If the pin needs to be tightened, my advice actually works. If it is something more complicated, it becomes more than I would tackle.

I love the knife.I have one that has been sharpened enough to loose some of the belly of the blade, but it is easy to get the blade "wicked sharp".

I've been flushing it periodically in the last day. Feels like the gunk is endless but I think that's to be expected, just going to keep doing it till everything feels smooth. The idea of hitting it with a hammer makes me super nervous though, its a 75-80 year old knife, I wouldn't want to crack the covers or break anything else. Thank you for the comment though, if it were any other knife, I wouldn't mind experimenting in that way.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Watch out hitting the Pin with a Hammer, I think it would need to be skillfully "Peened",

I would listen to Glenn- he is THE man with Knife Mods.

The 0000 Grade Steel Wool works well, all it does is take off active rust - leaves the grey rust stain there- but doesn't shine up the Steel, I also use ( this usually freaks people out ) a old dull knife blade and carefully scrape the blade on a flat angle ( like a sharpening stone) that takes off active rust brilliantly without scratching the blade- I suggested this to another chap and he tried IT and was blown away how it worked- but a careful approach and doing it wrong will scratch.

I have done this many many times and you simply cannot tell that the knife has been touched - Not one scratch - and no more active rust.

There seems to be a craze now with people cleaning up old Knives- on E-Bay for sale as well on Face Book, I think that old Knives looking so shiny and brand new look bloody awful, the whole essence and history of the Knife has been taken away and gone forever and whats left is a Knife that I don't want to own.

I think your Knife looks great, just do the 0000 Grade Steel wool, and use the Knife- That Steel will patina up in no time and will overtake the last owners scratches, use your Knife on Steaks and Apples and that old Carbone Steel will start to create a beautiful honest Patina.

Grab a few Hints of Glenn or others in the Peening and take your time, Blade play is a bummer and does put you off using a Knife, in saying that, these Knives are out there in quantity, this can be a good learner for things you haven't done, and if they don't work out, you can obtaining a another at no huge cost, it will be great seeing your outcome

 

[hank_rearden]

To be honest, I have never tried opening a can using that method. How do you make it "bite" the can at the start?

 

[afishhunter]

How do you make it "bite" the can at the start?

Carefully. VERY, VERY CAREFULLY presuming you do not desire to git bit.

does anyone know who I can talk to that might be able to fix that issue for me?

Glennbad, if his books are open would be my suggestion.
I've not used his services (yet) but all of his work I've seen shown here is well above top notch.
When funds allow, I have a couple I want to send him for some "minor" repairs, like blade transplants, and a couple for recovers.

 

[AxF]

Watch out hitting the Pin with a Hammer, I think it would need to be skillfully "Peened",

I would listen to Glenn- he is THE man with Knife Mods.

The 0000 Grade Steel Wool works well, all it does is take off active rust - leaves the grey rust stain there- but doesn't shine up the Steel, I also use ( this usually freaks people out ) a old dull knife blade and carefully scrape the blade on a flat angle ( like a sharpening stone) that takes off active rust brilliantly without scratching the blade- I suggested this to another chap and he tried IT and was blown away how it worked- but a careful approach and doing it wrong will scratch.

I have done this many many times and you simply cannot tell that the knife has been touched - Not one scratch - and no more active rust.

There seems to be a craze now with people cleaning up old Knives- on E-Bay for sale as well on Face Book, I think that old Knives looking so shiny and brand new look bloody awful, the whole essence and history of the Knife has been taken away and gone forever and whats left is a Knife that I don't want to own.

I think your Knife looks great, just do the 0000 Grade Steel wool, and use the Knife- That Steel will patina up in no time and will overtake the last owners scratches, use your Knife on Steaks and Apples and that old Carbone Steel will start to create a beautiful honest Patina.

Grab a few Hints of Glenn or others in the Peening and take your time, Blade play is a bummer and does put you off using a Knife, in saying that, these Knives are out there in quantity, this can be a good learner for things you haven't done, and if they don't work out, you can obtaining a another at no huge cost, it will be great seeing your outcome

Thank you! I definitely want to keep some of the original patina because I also think old knives don't look so good when they're made to be shiny and polished. I'm not sure I'm following you on the other method of getting the rust off, but if you're saying the 0000 steel wool works well, I think I'll go in that direction. Normally a little play doesn't bother me but there is a decent amount on this knife and I would rather it not be there before regularly using it. I'm very inexperienced with knife tinkering and though these knives are still fairly easily found, I already feel this is a special knife to me so I may try to experiment with a different knife. In the meantime I'm going to get it clean up and possibly sent out to get fixed by an experienced professional. And I'll be posting pictures when all is said and done. I'm very excited.

Carefully. VERY, VERY CAREFULLY presuming you do not desire to git bit.

Glennbad, if his books are open would be my suggestion.
I've not used his services (yet) but all of his work I've seen shown here is well above top notch.
When funds allow, I have a couple I want to send him for some "minor" repairs, like blade transplants, and a couple for recovers.

Thank you for the recommendation, I've sent him a message. Seems you're not the only one on the porch with that opinion, he's held in high regard around here!

 

[Campbellclanman]

The scraping method ( which sounds horrifying doesn't it! ) works extremely well - but I use that when the Carbon spots or actual advanced rust is an alive Orange/ Red colour - the scraping immediately removes the colouring and rust scab activity -that's when I move in with the 0000 Grade Steel wool - I use the Steel Wool wet with Mineral Oil.
I use those real hard Bamboo Food Skewers inside the liner and Mineral Oil.

I really like these Knives- I have a few of them and appreciate them!