Restoration Advice Needed

[ozzie marie]

I have this set of Schrade Walden knives. The stainless steel blades are in perfect condition but as you can see in the photo the handles have out-gassed.

I would like to have the knives restored to as close to their original condition as possible and display them in my collection.

Here's what I'm looking for;

Is this possible and would you do it?

Is there a handle material available that would be close to the original?

What cost would be involved in having this done?

Any advice and suggestions would be appreciated

Keith

[Darksev]

I've been exceedingly busy with non-knife things lately, so I can't offer to help you out there, but as for materials, I assume it was a celluloid of some sort?

Acrylics are not a bad choice aesthetically, and are available in a wide range of colors, but I feel they are a bit to scratch prone. You can still find Derlin around, but mostly limited to black or white. Schrade's plastic of choice after cell was derlin, so that might be something you would want to consider. If you're feeling a bit more modern, there are a dozen or so readily available colors of G10 which are downright indestructible.

Derlin example: http://www.professionalplastics.com/DELRINSHEET-ROD

G10 (AKS is carrying white G10 now as well, though I have never seen it in person): http://www.alphaknifesupply.com/Picture ... llow-s.jpg

Masecraft also carries a wide variety of acrylics and other synthetic materials which may more closely match what you had in appearance: http://www.masecraftsupply.com/Merchant ... y_Code=DSS

[Elvis]

G-10 and Micarta show lines from the fabric used in making the material. I think the acrylic mentioned would be a better choice. Do you know for certain what color they were in the beginning?