Refurbishing an old Fixed blade: Who?

**Nathan4558** · 17-09-2017, 18:47

Evening gents,

After going halfway through the "Knife pron" thread and drooling over Mr Medic's (and others) knives I was wandering if you could steer me in the right direction.

I have an old fixed blade that I would like polished and cleaned up. The back steel plug had a screw in that I presume stripped and my old man epoxied in but needs to be sorted as well. Who could I trust sending this knife too and if you took a swing in the dark what would the costs be? Structurally there aren't any cracks or warping. The tip however did take some abuse.

**Kayback** · 17-09-2017, 18:53

If that started out life as a Bowie knife it needs retiring.

**Ds J** · 17-09-2017, 21:12

What do you want to do with the knife afterwards? If it goes back to active duty you can diy it with sanding paper or a dishwashing sponge's scourer. Or have someone just do the necessary.

Proper restoring / refurbishing an old knife takes really long if one wants to do a good job. It is not about drilling or grinding stuff away until everything fits but much more about taking everything apart and cleaning or restoring every single piece. Most professional knife makers won't do it simply because it takes way more time than the knife is worth.

**gary-t** · 17-09-2017, 22:12

Originally Posted by Kayback

If that started out life as a Bowie knife it needs retiring.

Sometimes the sentimental value of a knife is more important than the condition of the knife or what anyone else sees in it.

I have a Herbertus knife given to me by my father for my 10th birthday, a queensteel knife given to me by my grandfather when I was 14 and a rusted okapi used by my father and I when fishing as a teen.They are worth more to me than my CR Sebenza.

**Nathan4558** · 18-09-2017, 08:11

@ DsJ I think you are spot on, it has way more sentimental value than any reel monetary value. I should just DIY it and get the blade looking better.

Just wandering what to do with that screw at the back. DsJ how would you tackle it? Sorry my knowledge on this is limited, start by clamping down the knife & sanding the blade with 600 then 800 then 1200 grit water paper?

Think after I've cleaned it up it will go into safe, don't really want to use it.

Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

**krobar** · 18-09-2017, 08:39

It does look like it has been sharpened extensively to reduce the original blade size. Not much you can do about that, apart from getting a local knife maker to maybe make a new blade for the handle.
If I was you I would take the sandpaper route starting with 400grit and up.
To get in contact with knifemakers, look on the various groups on facebook and pose the question there for a larger audience. You could also swing by NW knife supplies in Stilfontein and ask them for advise.

**Ds J** · 18-09-2017, 10:38

Originally Posted by Nathan4558

Think after I've cleaned it up it will go into safe, don't really want to use it.

In this case I would leave it as is. Maybe just clean it thoroughly and oil it.Take the green part of a dishwashing sponge and scrub it down.

**The Beast** · 18-09-2017, 12:27

Originally Posted by Ds J

In this case I would leave it as is. Maybe just clean it thoroughly and oil it.Take the green part of a dishwashing sponge and scrub it down.

If you are keeping it for sentimental reasons I would leave it as is. Find a good pic with you and your dad and have the knife box framed with the picture. Doesn't have to be a picture could be on it's own or with any other object/letter/etc. that would give it a bit of relevance.

You would be amazed at how much enjoyment you will get from it that way.

You will find that people will stare at the mounting and imagine all the history that goes with a blade like that.