All About Pocket Knives

I picked this Cattaraugus 225Q up yesterday at a last minute yard sale attack. Glad I stopped.

At first I was thinking that the pommel needed to be re-set but then realized that the leather washers most likely shrunk. I figured that I would try to remove the pommel and add in another washer. After looking at the ingenious method that Cattaraugus used to assemble the pommel I decided that I really did not want to remove it thinking I would not get the original look after repaired.

My second thought was to split a washer and then glue it in.

I had kind of a Eureka moment this morning and thought if the gap was only .14 of an inch then what if I soaked in mineral oil to try and expand the thickness of the washes. I counted 24 washers so this would mean each one would need to expand roughly .006 of an inch which isn't much.

Soaking in mineral oil as I type this. I'll let you all know how it turns out. May be a wild hair chance of it working.

Definitely keep us updated on how this works out. I have a few sitting around that need tightening up and hadn't gotten around to replacing the stacked leather disks.

My concern with this method is how long the soaked up mineral oil will continue to leach out over time.

At least the need to periodically oil the blade may be diminished.

I had a knife that was World War II era that the leather rings had shrunk considerably. I soaked it in mineral oil for 2 years and could not see any significant improvement.

Hope you have better luck with the process.

This is what I did to mine. I did a post on the work a couple of years back. Please post the results when your done. I had to replace my handle as it could not be repaired without buying new leather.

Well - If I have the same luck that Orvett had then it'll be a few years before we see the results.

May need to need to take the route that goldpan did. Nice looking mod goldpan.

I better start thinking of a handle material.

the pommel is easy to disassembly if you can pry out the twisted nails in the pommel. if you can pry them out they can be re used. I never had much luck with soaking leather handles in oil other than turning them into a soggy mess

If you would like to see what the pommel looks like in pieces check here. viewtopic.php?f=14&t=45382&p=459996&hilit=225q#p459996 The center piece has an ingenious twist lock! If you want to pry the nails out, it helps to separate the end cap piece. Check out the post and you will see what I am talking about. If you decide to try and have any questions feel free to ask!

Here is what one person said on a vintage camera forum about restoring the leather on a camera door:

"I tried a thick 'horsey' leather conditioner (called ReVitalize) for saddles and reins, applied VERY generously all over the camera leather and left it for 48 hours.

Now the dry, shrunken leather is shiny, full and plump and has expanded to the point of looking practically brand new! The rear door had a gap of around 5mm between the edge of the leather and the edge of the door, now down to 1mm."

I think he misspoke. I think the name of the product is Rejuvenate. Available on Amazon and the company has a website.

Link to camera forum discussion: https://graflex.org/helpboard/viewtopic ... 95b75db516

If you elect to try it let us know the results.

Dennis

Here is yet another discussion of this issue: https://bushcraftusa.com/forum/threads/ ... ife.57689/

Dennis

Once you put a bunch of oil on the leather (and it doesn't work,) either make a split washer and try to glue it in-all that oil may preclude glue working, or simply rehandle the knife.

Bill DeShivs wrote:Once you put a bunch of oil on the leather (and it doesn't work,) either make a split washer and try to glue it in-all that oil may preclude glue working, or simply rehandle the knife.

Bill - I have to say that this is what I might need to do. However based on my calibrated eye (because I am not going to stick my calipers in oil) I see about a .050 shrinkage in the gap. May just be an illusion and wishful thinking.

I'll have some time to do some empirical analysis over this weekend and will revert with findings.

i think i'm going to wave a white flag.

Will take pics tomorrow.

Disappointment setting in.

OK - So here is a little over a week's worth of soaking in mineral oil. It appears that there was improvement. However it may just be that I cannot compress the stack enough to show an accurate measurement. I'm going to say this was a waste of time and will be looking for material for a re-handle. Not sure if I'll go with leather or something else.

Decided to jump in with both feet. I didn't have any leather lying around but did have a part of an antler that I bought at a yard sale for $3.

Sellers had quite a few of these and wish I would have picked up more. It was intended originally as a dog chew.

Disassembled, cleaned off some of the rust. Wasn't as ambitious as Muskrat Man when it came to cleaning.

Now it's time for the dye. Will probably go for a deep Mahogany. I'll post the final when done.

Hey Rex I like that! Can't wait to see it finnished

Hey Rex I like that! Can't wait to see it finished

#goldpan wrote:Hey Rex I like that! Can't wait to see it finished

Well here is the finished handle with dye. Interestingly the three (for lack of a better word) "nubs" on the right side of the handle are perfect places for me to put my index and middle finger between to help with the grip on the knife. Didn't plan it this way.

Put an edge back on the blade, cleaned it up a bit more and here it is.

Great job!

That's cool Rex! Turned out very nice. The three nubs are cool! I love the 225Q. Mine take a keen edge and can be batoned through saplings or even used as a small hatchet!

very nice, Has that German look it it!

Looks great! The dye on the antler really pulls it together.

Thank you for all the kind comments. Now I just need to fix or replace the sheath.