- Joined
- Jan 15, 2013
- Messages
- 460
I picked up an old Colonial TL-29 type knife at a local antique mall today. I've been looking around for one of these things since I saw my first one here on the forum, preferably one with enough age and wear on it that I wouldn't be worried about using it as intended, and this knife fit the bill perfectly. The blades, liners, and bail were covered in a thick layer of red rust, and one of the bolsters was missing. Everything you don't want to see. So, I bought it.
The first thing I did was clean the decades of lint out of the handle (those slots are called what, exactly?)
and remove the rust from the blades, revealing a deep gray patina and some slight pitting (ok, maybe more than slight). After that, I took an old scrap of ebony I had lying around and made a new bolster. Not matching, but at least I'll be sure it's mine. Then, I cleaned up the blade, which looked like the previous owner had tried to cut chain with it, and gave it a paper cutting edge. I'm not sure yet whether I'm going to leave it in it's present state, or modify it further. Thoughts?
PS- where else can you find a serviceable, American made tool for less than $5? God bless the antique malls of America.
The first thing I did was clean the decades of lint out of the handle (those slots are called what, exactly?)
and remove the rust from the blades, revealing a deep gray patina and some slight pitting (ok, maybe more than slight). After that, I took an old scrap of ebony I had lying around and made a new bolster. Not matching, but at least I'll be sure it's mine. Then, I cleaned up the blade, which looked like the previous owner had tried to cut chain with it, and gave it a paper cutting edge. I'm not sure yet whether I'm going to leave it in it's present state, or modify it further. Thoughts?
PS- where else can you find a serviceable, American made tool for less than $5? God bless the antique malls of America.
