Vintage WW2 PAL knife restoration

D

DuffyG1970

Joined
Sep 1, 2021
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I hope this is correct place to post this question. I have a WWII PAL RH 36 knife coming I bought on ebay along with a leather scabbard marked "USN" which I believe is for the Mark 1 deck knife. My knife is the larger one that Remington originally made. Why am I telling you guys that you already know I'm sure lol. I'm wondering what I can use to remove the heavy surface rust? The knife looks like it was never used. Put away somewhere damp for years and this heavy thick rust has covered most of it. I got the knife for great price and the sheath alone is worth what I paid .
I paid $60 plus $10 for shipping and rust or not I think I got a deal.
But I really want to restore it best I can. I know there are YouTube videos but I'd rather check out what info you all may have.
 
tiguy7 said:
I bought one with a leather sheath, but I like the fiberglass sheath better. Naval Jelly ( Hydro Chloric acid) may remove the rust, but rinse well.View attachment 1635359
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That's a beautiful knife. Is that the original sheath? I prefer the leather over the scabbard but I know navy marked fiberglass scabbard are getting harder to find. So I'll look into that Naval jelly? Is it something that will loosen rust or dissolve it? I want to use something that won't hurt the mirror finish but I'll just be happy to get the knife back to life. Thanks for the info!
 
Naval Jelly is phosphoric acid, not hydrochloric.
Regardless, neither should be used on knives, as they etch the steel. Use steel wool (0000), then oil the knife.
 
DuffyG1970 said:
That's a beautiful knife. Is that the original sheath? I prefer the leather over the scabbard but I know navy marked fiberglass scabbard are getting harder to find. So I'll look into that Naval jelly? Is it something that will loosen rust or dissolve it? I want to use something that won't hurt the mirror finish but I'll just be happy to get the knife back to life. Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...
The leather sheath is original. I didn’t realize that your knife has a mirror finish. I thought you were trying to remove rust from a blade that was already pitted. Stay away from the acids. Bill’s method will work, but I like SemiChrome polish followed by Renaissance Wax.
 
tiguy7 said:
The leather sheath is original. I didn’t realize that your knife has a mirror finish. I thought you were trying to remove rust from a blade that was already pitted. Stay away from the acids. Bill’s method will work, but I like SemiChrome polish followed by Renaissance Wax.
Click to expand...
I have Semi chrome but this knife has a thick layer of rust on it. I wish I could figure out how to post pics.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Naval Jelly is phosphoric acid, not hydrochloric.
Regardless, neither should be used on knives, as they etch the steel. Use steel wool (0000), then oil the knife.
Click to expand...
Hello Bill, I have 0000 wool but this blade has a mountain of rust on it. I haven't received it yet but it almost looks by pics that it has black melted plastic over parts of blade but I know it's that real nasty rust that grows on rust lol. What could I use to break down some of it just to loosen it? I have a feeling the mirror finish may be lost and heavily stained. Maybe if I get the ebay item number you all could see pics there?
 
DuffyG1970 said:
Hello Bill, I have 0000 wool but this blade has a mountain of rust on it. I haven't received it yet but it almost looks by pics that it has black melted plastic over parts of blade but I know it's that real nasty rust that grows on rust lol. What could I use to break down some of it just to loosen it? I have a feeling the mirror finish may be lost and heavily stained. Maybe if I get the ebay item number you all could see pics there?
Click to expand...
Try this on ebay if you don't mind. It will show pictures of it.
This is order number so I'm assuming it is item #
15-07557-77262
 
That number doesn't work.
You can scrape rust off with a piece of brass. You can use a copper penny, but flat sheet brass or even copper will dislodge most of the rust.
Once you get most of the heavy rust off, you can dislodge more by using a product called "Must for Rust" available in the big hardware stores. Apply it to the rust only with a Q Tip and let it work. This
product contains phosphoric acid also, but you will be applying it directly to the rusted areas only and rinsing it off, then steel wooling the area. In my shop I also use Barkeeper's friend-which contains oxalic acid. I mix it as a paste and use it for spot rust removal. I have gunsmith's "carding" wire wheels (much finer than regular wire wheels.)
 
I flatten a rifle cartridge making it into a scraper to knock heavy rust off. If won’t harm most finishes. I learned it from getting the rust off blued guns. The brass cartridge knocks the rust off but doesn’t scratch the blue.
Then oil it and rub it with a rag.
 
TripleK makes a real nice sheath that works well with the RH36 2nd one from the bottom.
The fiberglass one you have is very desirable but it doesn’t go with your knife

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I received it today and soaked it in Hoppes gun oil, gave it a light scrub with 0000 wool, then soaked it in WD40 for about 15 minutes and took wool back to it.
Then applied 2 coats of Simichrome and it came out really good, in fact better than I thought. I really wish I could post pics. No I know the correct scabbard for this is not the fiberglass one and it didn't come with one. My RH36 came with a USN marked leather sheath. Actually my knife doesn't go to that either but I have a MK1 USN knife I'll put it in and am already looking at a few correct original ww2 era sheaths for the PAL. I try to post a pic from my phone but it doesn't go to my gallery it wants a link or something?
 
If anyone trusts me with a phone number I can text the before and after pics and be grateful if you could post for me to show others?
If not I guess I'll have to figure out how because I an a knife nut and love sharing ( and showing off) my amateur skills. I'm getting better though. I'd like to invest in something that would help I'm restoration of blades, like buffers, sanders or something like that.
I think you all would be surprised how well she came out. Now, the USN sheath is in very good condition. Not dried out too bad at all. That's another project. WW2 era knives are my passion.
 
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