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Reconditioning Older Knives


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     If you have older knives and want them to look and act like new, then you have come to the right place. Sometimes, you will know from using them if they have good steel. This usually will give you the impetus to want the knife reconditioned.
    The process to have your knife (knives) reconditioned begins by contacting me. Ideally, you will have some photos taken of the knives flat on and on edge, showing me the top and bottom view of the handles. One can also xerox copy them or scan them.  I’ll accept sharpened jpegs or gifs, ideally shrunk/optomized down to a size that makes sense when e-mailed.
Some knives do not have a full tang and can sometimes present a problem in reconstruction, and should generally be avoided when purchasing. Any knives sent must be insured for replacement value with the shipper.  I can copy almost any knife, also. Any and all rust can be removed by me. The question is if there will be enough steel left to work with after the rust is ground off.
This mainly comes into play when handle wood is removed. My object to to remove all the rust, before gluing on a new handle. This is sometimes a balancing act – trying to remove the rust while trying to leave as much of the original steel as possible. A passive way that does not remove a lot of stock is to use something like Kroil, Liquid Wrench and/or Wintergreen oil. If it is possible to put on a bolster, I will, otherwise I will just use a wood handle.
Bolsters really protect the end grain from moisture, if installed properly. Prices for reconditioning will vary to the point that I will usually (but not always) have to have the pieces in front of me to give an estimate and then send an invoice. You get back a wonderful knife that has nostalgic value for you, ready for years and years of use.

 
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This is how I got the set. it had a lot of sentimental value for the client, so I would make my best attempt. The wood on the top two is shot, but the bottom two still has some integrity.
Top two knives with handles removed . The steel on the handle will need to be scoured down to clean steel without making the steel so thin as to make the steel to thin.
Stripped with raw steel showing kek underneath
Stripped handles ready for Cocobolo handles.
Handles sanded but steel blades not yet sharpened or polished.
Polished , triple oiled and ready for shipment .
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This is how I got the set. it had a lot of sentimental value for the client, so I would make my best attempt. The wood on the top two is shot, but the bottom two still has some integrity.
Top two knives with handles removed . The steel on the handle will need to be scoured down to clean steel without making the steel so thin as to make the steel to thin.
Stripped with raw steel showing kek underneath
Stripped handles ready for Cocobolo handles.
 Handles sanded but steel blades not yet sharpened or polished.
Polished , triple oiled and ready for shipment .
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next arrow
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Set as I got them in the mail. Top knife was an old cane knife and weighed 6 pounds !
Close up of handles condition
Cleaned up and ready for handling.
English walnut wood ready to go.
handles glues on
glues handles
Done
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Set as I got them in the mail. Top knife was an old cane knife and weighed 6 pounds !
Close up of handles condition
Cleaned up and ready for handling.
English walnut wood ready to go.
handles glues on
glues handles
Done
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next arrow
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