WWII Ka-Bar knife left in the rain

V

vormwald

Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Messages
17
Dear Sir,

I have my fathers WWII Ka-Bar USMC fighting knife from 1941 that I would like to have restored to it's previous mirror finish as my father hand crafted it to. It was lost outside for some time.

There has been some major and minor pitting to the blade but it still appears to be good stock. I have tried to restore it's original luster, yet I do not have the gifts of my father to do so.

I also need the handle re-wrapped in leather as it is gone and dry rotted away. I'm not sure if you perform this kind of work, this is why I am making this request and the cost of this work.

I Thank you for your time is answering this request.

I hold this as a very sentimental item to me, as it as all that I have left of my father and our legacy to the United States Marine Corps. Enclosed are links to photos of the knife.

http://www.j4fteam.no-ip.org/knife/Kabar_left.jpg

http://www.j4fteam.no-ip.org/knife/Kabar_right.jpg

Sincerely,

Tom Vormwald (Former Sgt. USMC)
136 Bridle Lane
Loveland, Ohio 45140
(513) 774-9972

I know I've posted this in another part of the forum, but now I am desperate to find someone who might be able to restore this knife.

I would give my Toledo Sword to have this old KaBar restored.

http://www.j4fteam.no-ip.org/knife/toledo_sword1.jpg

http://www.j4fteam.no-ip.org/knife/toledo_sword2.jpg
 
Unfortunately the blade appears too pitted to restore to any degree of good finish.....and the blade already has been reduced by sharpening at the edge. I am afraid that once you got past the pitting there would not be much metal left to work with. It might be worthwhile because of its sentimental value to have the handle restored...then just consider the blade "full of character"

Another option which wouldbe really cool is to have a smith take the blade and blend the steel into a damascus mix and build a knife with the other remnant parts....this might get cost prohibitive though.

I am currently working on a blade that will have a chunk of a Chi-Com grenade blended into it that a friend of my pulled from his hindquarters in the late 60's.
 
Greg,

Thank you for your response.

I would only like to restore this knife to the mirror finish it once had. I could care less is it looks like the original Ka-Bar. I believe that there is enough of the metal left to do this, but I do not have the skills to do this properly.

If this cannot be done, then I will only have the handle restored and do what was before and place this in a display case with a commerative WWII Ka-Bar.
With the original "JAP" killer my father carried in the South Pacific.

Which is what I should have done after my father was buried in Arlington National Cemetery 14 years ago. My mother in passed in 2002 and is with him there as well.

I have my own Ka-Bar here but it will always pare in comparison to that of my fathers and his accomplishments in the South Pacific.

Semper Fidelis, (Always Faithful, to God, Country, Family and Corps)

Tom Vormwald (Former SGT. USMC)

("and when I get to Heaven, Saint Peter I will Tell, Another Marine Reporting Sir, I served my time in Hell")
 
Tom,
If you've still had no takers, I'm willing to give it a shot. If you want to send it to me I can get back with you on exactly what I think I can do with it, then you can make a decision. Email me if interested.
Ryan.Whittemore@us.army.mil
 
In my opinion that blade cannot be restored to a clean finish without removing drastic amounts of material on a belt grinder which would totally change the character and shape of the blade. I think you should treat it like the artifact it is now, with respect and dignity. Restore the handle if you like or leave it as is and put it under glass as you suggested which I think is the best idea. My opinion only mind you. Good luck!
 
vormwald said:
Greg,


If this cannot be done, then I will only have the handle restored and do what was before and place this in a display case with a commerative WWII Ka-Bar.
With the original "JAP" killer my father carried in the South Pacific.

Sir with respect to you and your father .I believe this would be the best
memorial to your father's services to our country as well as yours.
Click to expand...
 
please...do not put this against ANY grinding belts...

As I see it, and marks added by the rain can never replace the marks that were put there by your father... I am speaking from a spiritual side here...

IF one of out tallented makers replaces the handle it will look VERY muck like a different knife all together... If the same talented maker "slips" or grinds in a maner that wasn't in your minds eye you are left with a knife that may as well be a whole different knife anyway.

I think the knife has much more of a story to tell and now.....you finding it adds a chapter to that knife's story.... :D
 
Brian,


>I think the knife has much more of a story to tell and now.....you finding it adds a chapter to that knife's story.... >

The knife was locked up in my gun cabinet, but for some strange reason, I think that one of my sons friends found the keys and looked inside to see a pretty shiny knife in there. Took it out to mess with and lost it in a patch of strawberries.

I keep the keys close to the gun cabinet (foolish I know)...

When I cut down all the strawberries, low and behold there it was.

There is only 1 knife in the world with the end like that. I panicked, grabbed the knife and raced down to my gun cabinet to check.

I already knew the outcome of the search.

Needless to say I was pissed off to the gills. I guess I should have kept in my night stand as my father did with it, but I thought it safer locked up. (I was wrong)...

Yes, the knife has a history...and yes another chapter has been added to it...

From Guadacanal, Rendova, Munda, Guam. To New York, then on to Ohio with me...

It saw more action from 1941 to 1945 then I saw in my 10 years service in the Marine Corps. But, then my KaBar has it's own history from the Middle East to Central America...

Semper Fi,

Tom Vormwald
 
What a knife to have my friend!!! :p

You may be surprised what a nice new handle will do for it.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.
 
I have done alot of restoration work over the years for high-end military knife collectors. Takes alot of balls (or blind stupidity) to take a $2000 SOG knife and regrind the tip on a belt sander.

I really have to say that this degree of pitting will not come out of the blade without a severe amt of grinding and there will be nothing left at all. Been there...done that...believe me.

I think...however...it is possible to rehandle the knife with a stacked leather and possibly antique the grip so it will better match the blade.

I just do not recommend any grinding on the blade whatsoever.

Another option is to bead blast the blade and then parkerize it to it's original issue finish.....lt would hide the pitting to a good degree....then rehandle the knife....might not be a bad option.

Heck....you are in Loveland OH...just down the road from me here in Troy....25 mi N of Dayton on 75.

We could possibly do the above mentioned stuff in a short time here in my shop....and you could be involved in the repair...which might mean more.
 
Greg,
Since you are close by, can you email me your phone number so we could discuss this in more detail. I can make the trip to you with the knife instead of sending it out via mail.

Tom Vormwald
136 Bridle Lane
Loveland, Ohio 45140
(513) 774-9972
 
I clicked on the cowboys lyrics and my virus scan said it contained a Trojan Horse Sec Thought.E virus, so be careful.
 
Tom Militano said:
I clicked on the cowboys lyrics and my virus scan said it contained a Trojan Horse Sec Thought.E virus, so be careful.
Click to expand...


I just stopped the installation and just read the lyrics.

They are profound, in what the song writer is trying to say. About his father's knife that he broke...

The life of a blade, knife, or a sword has a history of it's own, as do we all have a history with them...

If you carried a blade in battle it means more to you than any other person alive... If it was a legacy blade (like mine) then it is all you have left of that person and their memories.

To me, my fathers knife means more to me then anyone else.

Semper Fi,

Thomas E. Vormwald
136 Bridle Lane
Loveland, Ohio 45140
513-774-9972
 
A great amount of work was performed today by Bladesmith Mr. Greg Covington of covingtonknives (http://www.covingtonknives.com/) located in Troy, Ohio.

Mr. Covington took great care in not removing all of the pits on the blade for fear of destroying the knife completely, but removing the worst amount of the rust and pitting much to my satisfaction.

The deeper pits add to its character of service and to its history in the Pacific Theater of World War II.

He replaced the handle as only few could have done from scratch. Polished the blade almost to its former beauty as best could be done with what was left of this wondrous knife.

Needless to say I'm very pleased with the outcome and impressed with all of his work. I was also able to watch and ask questions as he performed this miracle in front of me.

I learned something today about Mr. Greg Covington; he is not only a talented Bladsmith but also a magician when it comes to repairing something that means so much to me as a Marine and the son of a WWII Marine. My father and mother's permanent duty station is Arlington National Cemetery.

He showed me his gifts and talents in his workshop and his love for working on relics of my past.

To say that this knife has an emotional attachment to me is an understatement...

Very soon the knife will reside permanently alongside a Commerative WWII KaBar in an oak case with a dedication to my Father and to his KaBar then and now.

Along with this dedication will be a simple thank you to the efforts and skill of Greg Covington of Covingtonknives for making it possible.

Below are links to the before and after pictures of the knife:

Before:
http://www.j4fteam.no-ip.org/knife/Kabar_left.jpg
http://www.j4fteam.no-ip.org/knife/Kabar_right.jpg

The after pictures do not really show how good this blade looks in person!

After:
http://www.j4fteam.no-ip.org/knife/Kabar_left_Restored.jpg
http://www.j4fteam.no-ip.org/knife/Kabar_right_Restored.jpg

:) Again, I would like to thank Mr. Greg Covington for all of his hard work in restoring this knife for me at his cost and his love for restoring blades. Thank you again for bringing this knife back to life in my front of my eyes.

Semper Fidelis,

Tom Vormwald (Former SGT. USMC)
136 Bridle Lane
Loveland, Ohio 45140
 
That restoration certainly does it justice.It's got an interesting history and will make a fine display .
 
I've been following this saga since Tom's first post and I'm glad to see it come to such a successful conclusion; kinda of uplifting.
Very nicely done on all accounts Greg.
Regards,
Greg
 
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