Your newest addition:traditionals of course!

TL;DR: Just picked up this 2014 Case 62032CV small Texas Jack, cleaned it up, re-dyed the covers, scrubbed the blades, forced a new patina, and sharpened it.

Long version: I've been experimenting with re-dying bone covers. I had success with brown dye on an RR081 lockback (produced a very dark "ebony-like" color) so I tried the same dye on my Case 6318 stockman, which resulted in a nice caramel tone. Then I applied a scarlet dye to an RR muskrat -- the strawberry bone covers were not bright or uniform enough for my taste, and that worked very well. I used the same dye on two RR whittlers and that produced a nice burgundy tone. Having been pleased with all those results I wanted to try a blue dye, but didn't have a knife that I wanted to risk it on.

Not too long ago I found a pair of Case small Texas jacks at the local knife shop. Both were 2014 date stamped and had the original box. (Turns out they are litter-mates, both boxes marked 12/15/14!) One was absolutely pristine and shiny, with the brown wrapping paper and Case info sheet. That's the one I bought. The other was pretty grungy with dark patina on the blades and some pitting, and I thought the bolsters appeared to have a little pocket wear (but on further inspection maybe not). There was no brown wrapper or info sheet and it was $10 cheaper. I couldn't tell if it had ever been sharpened. The only obvious wear was on the high point (or low point?) of the backsprings where there was a little scuffing.

I went looking for something to try the blue dye on and thought I'd pick up another RR. I didn't really see anything that appealed to me and then I saw the small Texas Jack again. It was only twice the price of an RR and looked as if it would clean up pretty well, so I bought it. After some scrubbing I dropped it in a hot bath of blue dye for 20 minutes and got some surprising results. At first the knife looked deep purple! However, after some handling it now looks more brown with some blue highlights. It's not what I expected but I do like it (although I'd be reluctant to try the blue dye again, at least on Case bone; RR might give different results).

Of course, the hot dye bath made a mess of the blades, so I scrubbed them with Flitz, stuck them in a potato for a couple of hours, polished with 0000 steel wool, then ran them through a lime and let them sit for about a half hour. After that I sharpened them on my 600 grit and 1200 grit diamond stones.

I think I got a nice "user". This is only my second CV knife and I'm really liking it.

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Alan, I absolutely adore the shape of the toothpick/talon. I guess it's the symmetry of the whole package that is really striking to me. Congrats on the pick ups! The Fish shield is really neat, too!
 
Thanks Shawn. It's really nice in the hand. One of John Lloyd's talents is the ability to master a variety of patterns. The four I have are distinctly different.
 
Alan, you've been on a roll lately, my friend! Another beautiful custom! That Desert Ironwood is very enticing. What's the closed length on that one? The sizing of the shield makes me think it's bigger than my eyes are perceiving it.
 
Alan, that is awesome! That handle shape looks like it would be very comfortable in use. Love the spear blade and the Ironwood too. That is a very nice knife!
 
My Gec#38 wearing Indian paint Jig bone just arrived . Don’t know why but been acquiring a few that have tickled my fancy :D
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And The family portrait :thumbsup:
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Great looking abalone TF.

TL;DR: Just picked up this 2014 Case 62032CV small Texas Jack, cleaned it up, re-dyed the covers, scrubbed the blades, forced a new patina, and sharpened it.

Long version: I've been experimenting with re-dying bone covers. I had success with brown dye on an RR081 lockback (produced a very dark "ebony-like" color) so I tried the same dye on my Case 6318 stockman, which resulted in a nice caramel tone. Then I applied a scarlet dye to an RR muskrat -- the strawberry bone covers were not bright or uniform enough for my taste, and that worked very well. I used the same dye on two RR whittlers and that produced a nice burgundy tone. Having been pleased with all those results I wanted to try a blue dye, but didn't have a knife that I wanted to risk it on.

Not too long ago I found a pair of Case small Texas jacks at the local knife shop. Both were 2014 date stamped and had the original box. (Turns out they are litter-mates, both boxes marked 12/15/14!) One was absolutely pristine and shiny, with the brown wrapping paper and Case info sheet. That's the one I bought. The other was pretty grungy with dark patina on the blades and some pitting, and I thought the bolsters appeared to have a little pocket wear (but on further inspection maybe not). There was no brown wrapper or info sheet and it was $10 cheaper. I couldn't tell if it had ever been sharpened. The only obvious wear was on the high point (or low point?) of the backsprings where there was a little scuffing.

I went looking for something to try the blue dye on and thought I'd pick up another RR. I didn't really see anything that appealed to me and then I saw the small Texas Jack again. It was only twice the price of an RR and looked as if it would clean up pretty well, so I bought it. After some scrubbing I dropped it in a hot bath of blue dye for 20 minutes and got some surprising results. At first the knife looked deep purple! However, after some handling it now looks more brown with some blue highlights. It's not what I expected but I do like it (although I'd be reluctant to try the blue dye again, at least on Case bone; RR might give different results).

Of course, the hot dye bath made a mess of the blades, so I scrubbed them with Flitz, stuck them in a potato for a couple of hours, polished with 0000 steel wool, then ran them through a lime and let them sit for about a half hour. After that I sharpened them on my 600 grit and 1200 grit diamond stones.

I think I got a nice "user". This is only my second CV knife and I'm really liking it.

39151623632_6b16f2eae2_b.jpg
I like the blue on brown look. I have a similar green on brown on a Case Back Pocket I picked up on the exchange. Please explain the 'lime' process.

My newest John Lloyd knives arrived today. And because of some griping I decided to give these an examination like no others. The only problem I found was "why didn't I buy them sooner?" That's how good they are.
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Alan, the Dami Stag Lloyd is gorgeous, as is Manuel's burl. What is the bolster material?
 
Bugdoc Bugdoc asked: "I like the blue on brown look. I have a similar green on brown on a Case Back Pocket I picked up on the exchange. Please explain the 'lime' process."

This was my first attempt at forcing a patina, so I was trying a bit of everything including sticking the blades in a potato for a couple of hours and also wrapping them in a piece of paper towel soaked in white vinegar (which I then covered with plastic wrap just to keep the odor down). In order to darken them a bit more I took a quarter of a lime and just sliced through it a few times with each blade, then let the knife sit open and still covered with lime juice for about a half hour. Yesterday I sliced an apple with the main clip blade and let it sit for a while. I think today I may experiment with hot vinegar while my wife is gone to the grocery store (so she won't complain about the smell :p).
 
Went by the knife shop today and traded into this '97 Schatt & Morgan in Abalone. Had my sights set on more pearl whittlers, but I couldn't pass on this piece of pocket art. It's about time I owned an abalone anyways. Pics don't even come close to capturing the array of colors, and both sides are equally stunning.20171222_190655.jpg 20171222_190905.jpg 20171222_190953.jpg
 
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