Broken, Battered, Beat-Up, Bruised But Beautiful Old Knives

[OLDE CUTLER]

I personally don't own a welder, so I recently drilled some blades and bolsters out to 3/16". I keep a little 3/16" pin stock, so it was no problem.
But I like the idea of welding up the hole and redrilling just a tad further from the tang (to restore the snap).
I have seen other knife mechanics do that. It is more work, but the results are great.
Either way, that knife looks well worth restoring!

There is one more option too. If I can find a piece of tiny tubing with a 1/8" hole in it, I could drill a new hole in the blade equal to the OD of the tubing and cut off a piece of tubing to make a bushing.

I have some brass tubing, but I have difficulty in finding any pin stock that is the same as the ID. I tried peening in a solid piece of brass one time, then drilling out the center, but that didn't work for me. It was recommended to me afterward to solder in the brass, then drill it.

Here is the direction this rabbit chase has led me. I managed with great difficulty to drill/Dremel a 1/4" hole in the blade and then cut a small slice of 1/4" mild steel rod and press it into the hole. As you can see, I then drilled a 1/8" hole (pin size for this knife) slightly off center in this bushing. This bushing is into the blade hole very tightly so it will not turn. We will see how this works out, and if the snap improves at all.

[Reverand]

Olde Cutler, you successfully did what I could not! I see that I should have drilled my original hole out larger as you did.
You are a true craftsman, sir, and my respect for your work increases with each knife you post!

[gordonjohn]

Hi Miller Bros I like your collection I Thought I was the only one who liked the old stuff , it dosnt have to look like new or even all together. I have some older knives in my collection also I think the older ones are great. good for you gordonjohn

[Miller Bro's]

Thank you!

And to AAPK!

[OLDE CUTLER]

I picked up this Ulster swell center pen for a Dolla today at the flea market. I will have to see if I have a blade that will work to replace that broken pen. Frame and the bone scales are real nice. Too good to not fix up.

[Reverand]

I can't wait to see what you do to resurrect that one, Olde Cutler. You never fail to impress!

[Ripster]

A few laying around the shop. The Gunstock Jack is a old Catt that still gets used once in awhile .
The old Keen Kutter will be used outside for yard work this Spring

[Waukonda]

A few laying around the shop. The Gunstock Jack is a old Catt that still gets used once in awhile .
The old Keen Kutter will be used outside for yard work this Spring

Those old soldiers are nicely photographed, JP, well done! You know that there are some good stories locked away in those knives. Is that the box for the Union razor? How 'bout a pic of it?

Walter is also a major player in United States brewing history.

[Ripster]

A few laying around the shop. The Gunstock Jack is a old Catt that still gets used once in awhile .
The old Keen Kutter will be used outside for yard work this Spring

Those old soldiers are nicely photographed, JP, well done! You know that there are some good stories locked away in those knives. Is that the box for the Union razor? How 'bout a pic of it?

Walter is also a major player in United States brewing history.

Morning Ike .
Yes that’s the Box for the Union . Will be down in the shop later and get you a pic of the box. Was collecting old razors for awhile and have many with boxes,some Henkel’s,Winchester,Union, Genoa , etc. More stuff to pass on someday .
Thanks for your kind words .
The pics are from my IPad so good to hear they look okay . Trying to get more interesting shots with the knives . Been checking out the knife photo thread . You,I man ,and several others sure post some dandy looking pics with great knives in them .
Stay warm ,enjoy your day my Friend .

[Tanuki]

This old Remington R100B stockman was given to me by my father, in exactly this condition (other than the edges), probably when I was a Cub Scout. It has been a beater my whole life, but carried by me for quite a few years. I can't say where my father got it or why he held on to it. Why did I hang on to it? It serves as a letter opener.

This beat up Western States stockman was the 'prize' at my forestry partner's birthday party a few years back. It is currently used to open packages.

They are both have punches rather than sheepsfoot blades. That probably led me to recently buy a new Case stockman with a punch replacing the spey blade.

[Tanuki]

That leads to a couple vintage beaters I found today:
A Hammer Brand timber scribe from Walden, by New York Knife Co

And a Heinr. Böker&Co, Baumwerk - Solingen "Olde Stag" small stockman that is not too badly beat-up, but pretty worn.

[petekuhn]

I have a bunch but here are two that I like. The whittler is marked IHS rose Sheffield and the warncliffe is W. Wild from around 1850s. I never looked up the IHS . Both knives still have real strong snap like bear trap after all this time.

[Dinadan]

Very interesting knives on this page. That old Wild is really nice, Pete.

[Ripster]

I have a bunch but here are two that I like. The whittler is marked IHS rose Sheffield and the warncliffe is W. Wild from around 1850s. I never looked up the IHS . Both knives still have real strong snap like bear trap after all this time.

That old Warncliffe is one dandy of a knife . When new it was something ,and 170 years or so old it looks pretty Grand yet .
Pretty neat knives floating around here .

[Reverand]

This old Remington R100B stockman was given to me by my father, in exactly this condition (other than the edges), probably when I was a Cub Scout. It has been a beater my whole life, but carried by me for quite a few years. I can't say where my father got it or why he held on to it. Why did I hang on to it? It serves as a letter opener.
57EC691A-93E5-4B8E-95E6-6B97CB02F5B6.jpeg58DB0D1B-0E8A-454B-A1E5-9FC37AA7EB72.jpeg

This beat up Western States stockman was the 'prize' at my forestry partner's birthday party a few years back. It is currently used to open packages.
271D3195-CF18-4483-8B4E-D726D8A3E7F5.jpeg2545C4B2-A5D3-406A-AAA7-358E8E0080CF.jpeg

They are both have punches rather than sheepsfoot blades. That probably led me to recently buy a new Case stockman with a punch replacing the spey blade.

Those are some knives that should be prized! I have several that my Dad gave me, some good knives and some not. I still prize each one because they were his. Thanks for showing your knives!

[Tanuki]

I have a bunch but here are two that I like. The whittler is marked IHS rose Sheffield and the warncliffe is W. Wild from around 1850s. I never looked up the IHS . Both knives still have real strong snap like bear trap after all this time.

The pattern of your wharncliffe is clearly the inspiration of two wharncliffe whittlers I have just noticed: the Case Seahorse Whittler (6355WH) and the GEC English Whittler (380321). Thanks for showing your knives!

[Tanuki]

Hammer Brand 3515 by New York Knife Co Walden

This one is broken in the blade tip department, but a very well made and solid knife. How the mechanicals and covers held up so well on such an old knife when the blades obviously saw a lot of use, I can't even speculate. Fully worth $6.40 of our inflating currency and the elbow grease I applied.

I am eager to carry it. I am trying to decide if I should re-profile the sheepsfoot into a coping point. Also whether to put a point back on the clip. I am not going to rush into such a weighty decision, but others are welcome to offer opinions.

[treefarmer]

Tanuki, A few days ago I bought several old knives in a lot, the one I wanted turned out to be a real dud but this Uncle Henry was in the pile with a snapped off clip blade.
Should have taken a picture before but I reshaped the tipped clip blade into almost a Wharncliffe shaped blade. If I had kept going to establish the perfect point of a true Wharncliffe, I think I would have gotten into the nail nick. It's very satisfying to put a broken bladed knife back into service with a bit of metal removal. This 885UH should be a good economical EDC.
When putting a point/re-profiling a broken knife blade, remember it's easy to end up with a point that might be a danger to your fingers when it's in your pocket, a "proud" point if you will. Instead of taken metal of the edge, metal off the spine will keep the point in the well.
I'm not a knife mechanic but these are a few things I have learned.

Re-profiled clip blade. This knife's blades have some terrible scratches from improper sharpening on all three blades.

Doesn't look too bad closed up.

Treefarmer

[Tanuki]

Treefarmer - thank you! This is exactly the sort of advice I needed from a guy with some experience working on pocketknife blades. Without your guidance I quite likely would have wasted steel creating a clip tip that stood nice and proud.

That is a very nice work on the Wharncliffe spine re-profile. If I get the Hammer Brand clip to look half that graceful, I will be happy.

[treefarmer]

Treefarmer

[New_Windsor_NY]

This pocket knife definitely fits every adjective in the title of this topic or thread. I bought a group of pocket knives for one particular pocket knife. This is NOT that one, particular pocket knife. This is a KRUSIUS BROTHERS GERMANY, two blades (one broken), one tool (file), three tang stamps, 2 3/8" closed, MOP handles, pocket knife. The MOP handles have maintained their beauty. It is missing all four mini end pieces or bolsters. I have no intention of restoring this old pocket knife. It will however, live out the rest of its existence in comfort. I cleaned it up a bit. I took some pictures and here it is.
Caption(s), if any, are on the BOTTOM of the corresponding picture(s).
Click on a picture to ENLARGE.

[Tanuki]

Thanks to Treefarmer's advice and encouragement:

Looking at the New_Windsor_NY Krusius I am taken back to a time when a guy didn't fret much over a broken knife; fixed it up enough to be usable and used it. That knife's MOP was high durable stuff.

[treefarmer]

Don’t be tempted to use your new coping blade as a screwdriver!
Looks like a usable knife.
Treefarmer

[toomanyknives]

Thanks to Treefarmer's advice and encouragement:
8470E4FC-4EBE-46DD-9341-146351DB10DE.jpeg
Looking at the New_Windsor_NY Krusius I am taken back to a time when a guy didn't fret much over a broken knife; fixed it up enough to be usable and used it. That knife's MOP was high durable stuff.

Good job Tanuki! It is now a usable tool again, so it will live on.

[OLDE CUTLER]

I found this one at the pawn shop yesterday for $3. It is a Camillus 883, 3 and 3/8 inch stainless steel stockman, with wood covers (one is missing). This knife has fallen victim to some of the most God awful sharpening ever seen. One can look at the knife and tell its horror story, some one over confident in their sharpening abilities tried to sharpen the clip blade with a 60 grit bench grinder wheel. After they saw what a mess they had made of the clip blade, at least they didn't try to do the spey and the sheepfoot as they are still in good shape. I will try to straighten out the edge of the clip blade as much as possible and replace the handle material. Should make a decent EDC.