Rustic Western L88

[orvet]

I wanted to post this and see what you guys thought of this pin & handle treatment?
No way to get rid of all the scratches and surface pitting without taking a lot of metal away so I cleaned it up, got rid of the rust, but could not find any cutters rivets the right size. So I did it the old-fashioned way with brass pins and washers, and then peened them into place.

The handle material is Culpepper’s goldenrod CSB. The CSB wasn’t quite thicken enough so I built it up a little bit with some spacer material. I also made the sheath because I didn’t have one that was right for this knife.
I would like your opinion on the old-fashioned pins and what you think the overall presentation. I appreciate the opinions of AAPK members, especially those who post regularly in the Knife Creations and Repair Forums. I know you guys are pretty good judges of knives, and many of you have tried some of these methods I attempt, or maybe now you will try them! I love the exchange of ideas we have in this forum!

[Colonel26]

I wanted to post this and see what you guys thought of this pin & handle treatment?
No way to get rid of all the scratches and surface pitting without taking a lot of metal away so I cleaned it up, got rid of the rust, but could not find any cutters rivets the right size. So I did it the old-fashioned way with brass pins and washers, and then peened them into place.

The handle material is Culpepper’s goldenrod CSB. The CSB wasn’t quite thicken enough so I built it up a little bit with some spacer material. I also made the sheath because I didn’t have one that was right for this knife.
I would like your opinion on the old-fashioned pins and what you think the overall presentation. I appreciate the opinions of AAPK members, especially those who post regularly in the Knife Creations and Repair Forums. I know you guys are pretty good judges of knives, and many of you have tried some of these methods I attempt, or maybe now you will try them! I love the exchange of ideas we have in this forum!

Western L88 Restoration -a.jpg

Western L88 Restoration -b.jpg

Western L88 Restoration -c.jpg

Western L88 Restoration -e.jpg

Western L88 Restoration -f.jpg

Western L88 Restoration -g.jpg

Dale, I think it looks real good! Better than new. As a matter of fact, the only problem that I can see with it is that it isn't in my fixed blade knife box.

[edge213]

I wanted to post this and see what you guys thought of this pin & handle treatment?
No way to get rid of all the scratches and surface pitting without taking a lot of metal away so I cleaned it up, got rid of the rust, but could not find any cutters rivets the right size. So I did it the old-fashioned way with brass pins and washers, and then peened them into place.

The handle material is Culpepper’s goldenrod CSB. The CSB wasn’t quite thicken enough so I built it up a little bit with some spacer material. I also made the sheath because I didn’t have one that was right for this knife.
I would like your opinion on the old-fashioned pins and what you think the overall presentation. I appreciate the opinions of AAPK members, especially those who post regularly in the Knife Creations and Repair Forums. I know you guys are pretty good judges of knives, and many of you have tried some of these methods I attempt, or maybe now you will try them! I love the exchange of ideas we have in this forum!

Western L88 Restoration -a.jpg

Western L88 Restoration -b.jpg

Western L88 Restoration -c.jpg

Western L88 Restoration -e.jpg

Western L88 Restoration -f.jpg

Western L88 Restoration -g.jpg

Very attractive.
I really like the spacers.

[eveled]

I like everything about it. Its a beautiful knife. The rivets gave a nice throw back old school vibe.

[knifegnome]

I like the old style look, and the spacers by the tang.
Scott

[Jeffinn]

Outstanding workmanship!
I haven had a chance to try any spacer material yet but its on my list. Is the spacer material Micarta or G10?
Jeff

[Case V42]

Nice!

[orvet]

Outstanding workmanship!
I haven had a chance to try any spacer material yet but its on my list. Is the spacer material Micarta or G10?
Jeff

Thanks Jeff!
The spacer material is a fiber spacer material. Here's a link to it on Jantz Supply:
https://knifemaking.com/collections/spa ... r-material

here's the same type of material from USA Knife Makers Supply:
https://usaknifemaker.com/vulcanized-sp ... erial.html
They actually have some other material that is available in different thicknesses as well.

These liner materials are a little strange to work with in that when you sand them on the belt sander you kind of have to clean up the edges a little bit. It leaves a bit of a ragged edge but it's not a problem when it's all glued down as when it's installed on the knife.
They are great for adding a pop of color and for building up the thickness as I used on this knife.


Thanks guys for all your comments. I do appreciate the feedback.

[Jeffinn]

Outstanding workmanship!
I haven had a chance to try any spacer material yet but its on my list. Is the spacer material Micarta or G10?
Jeff

Thanks Jeff!
The spacer material is a fiber spacer material. Here's a link to it on Jantz Supply:
https://knifemaking.com/collections/spa ... r-material

here's the same type of material from USA Knife Makers Supply:
https://usaknifemaker.com/vulcanized-sp ... erial.html
They actually have some other material that is available in different thicknesses as well.

These liner materials are a little strange to work with in that when you sand them on the belt sander you kind of have to clean up the edges a little bit. It leaves a bit of a ragged edge but it's not a problem when it's all glued down as when it's installed on the knife.
They are great for adding a pop of color and for building up the thickness as I used on this knife.


Thanks guys for all your comments. I do appreciate the feedback.

Thanks Dale! I’ll order some up.
Jeff

[Ivoryman]

Beeeuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuteeeeeeeeeefuuuuuuulllllllllllllllllllllllll.

[Reverand]

I love the looks of it. The spacer material is well done and improves the overall look of the handle.
The only minor flaw that stuck out to me is that the peening on the pins looks a little rough in spots.
I have "cheated" on some of my pins and sanded them with a Dremel tool, then used a bullet-shaped polishing bit to polish them.
I have only done it when my pins looked rough, and the rest of the handle looks great.

Then again, the look of your pins show that this was done by hand, and they don't have to be perfectly domed.
Either way, it still looks better to me than rivets.

[Nev52]

I really like the look of the bone and black and red spacers. They complement each other. Great choice of colors. Knife looks Great!!
Nev

[Meridian_Mike]

Beautiful Job Dale!

I like everything about that knife!
That is a real MAN'S knife!

GREAT job!!

[glennbad]

That's a beauty, Dale!

[zzyzzogeton]

Excellent restoration.

Just spitballing here - Could the spacer rough edge problem be avoided by putting a coating of CA on the fiber before assembly to give the fiber some support? Or maybe after assembly, to put CA on the edges? Or put some bee's wax on the edges of the washers.

Having only used wood slabs on the knives I've worked on, I'm good at throwing out untested solutions.

[doglegg]

Absolutely wonderful. The spacer material sets it off.

[orvet]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your feedback. It helps to get someone else's view of your work, especially someone who is familiar with the product!

Excellent restoration.

Just spitballing here - Could the spacer rough edge problem be avoided by putting a coating of CA on the fiber before assembly to give the fiber some support? Or maybe after assembly, to put CA on the edges? Or put some bee's wax on the edges of the washers.

Having only used wood slabs on the knives I've worked on, I'm good at throwing out untested solutions.

Thank you ZZ, and you're welcome to spitball all you want, that's a lot of what this form is for.

The edge problem is usually only when I sand the edge of the fiber spacer material without having it glued to something else. Once the viral material was glued between the tang and the bone handle, it was not a problem. It's only big problem when you're trying to rough out pieces on the belt sander before getting them glued together.
I should get a picture of it, But it is too late to take one but basically it's like a burr caused by someone getting a haircut. The easiest way I've found to get the burr off of it is to run a sharp knife along the edge of the spacer material. It usually comes out pretty smoothly unless you blade or drills are really old.
If you're still wondering about it ZZ, give me a call lIn a couple of days and I will, I hope, explain it in more detail.