Restored Camillus 23 - Something a Little Different

[orvet]

I found a nice example of a Camillus #23 and have kept it back until I can find an exceptional handle to put on it. I found such a handle at Blade Show West a couple weeks ago from Charles Turnage. Stabilized cross grain mammoth ivory. I used the #23 because of the size of the handles that allowed me to put most of the Ivory on the knife.

The knife was not completely mint; you can see a few little pits in the blade. This type of handle material, according to Charles a Turnage, needs to be glued to a backing. In this case the backing I used was the brass liner, which he said was fine.

This was a painstaking build as I used every precaution not to break the handle, such as avoiding heating the ivory when sanding, using new drill bits when drilling it and gluing and taping the backside of every hole I had to drill.

I thought it turned out pretty good.
I hope you enjoy the pictures. I would love to hear what you think of it.

[TPK]

Hi Dale,

That's a very unique set of handles. Never seen anything like it. At first sight, my first thought was that it looked like some type of petrified wood. It turned out really nice Dale! Yet another example of the great craftsmanship avalible here!

Tom

[Meridian_Mike]

WOAH...... That is some truly AWESOME handle material Dale!!!
That is a true killer beautiful knife!
That 23 is a great canvas for showing off the totally beautiful grain of that mammoth ivory.... WOW!!!

Great job Dale.... You have a real winner there!

[FRJ]

A great choice of material and a great job of restoring the great 23. Good show!

[Jeffinn]

It looks great!
That’s some very unique handle material and using it on a 23 was a good choice!

[Colonel26]

Wow now that’s unique! And quite nice too! I think it’s a real winner !

[herbva]

Dale, I have seen quite a few 23"s restored and outfitted with new, creative scales, but this one is the hands-down winner! Magnificent job!

[edge213]

That looks amazing Dale!

[New_Windsor_NY]

Good looking knife Dale.

[carrmillus]

.......I guess I'm just "old-fashioned"!!....I think some rogers bone would look better on that one!!!.............. ...........

[doglegg]

Carrmillus, you would probably complain even if we hung you with a new rope.
But I respect your opinion and rogers bone would look good too.
Dale, I like that cross cut mamoth. Fancy clothes for a modest little fellow. Excellent!

[Doc B]

AWESOME!!!!!!!

[Froe]

Really pretty handles. Love it.

[OLDE CUTLER]

That is nothin' but nice! I can understand that the material is fragile and that special precautions had to be taken.

[orvet]

Thanks guys, I'm glad you like it. Glenn did a knife with the cross-grain ivory a while back and I really like the look of it. So I picked up a set at Blade Show West last month.
Ivory is always a bit of a challenge to work with, this was a little easier to polish then regular ivory, but it has been very well stabilized.

[royal0014]

Well, I can not add anything that has not already been stated !! !!

Exceptional piece Dale

[TripleF]

That looks amazing Dale!

Ditto! exactky the words that came to my mind.

[glennbad]

That is stunning Dale! Awesome work!

[1967redrider]

Dale, that turned out perfectly, great job and sweet knife.

John

[Byrd]

I agree with everyone else! Nice work Dale.

[orvet]

Thanks guys, everyone seems to like it, I must have done something right.

Seriously though thank you, I appreciate your input.
When working on any knife, the mechanic is often his own worst critic. My eye tends to pick up all the flaws, real or imagined. It is good to have an opinion that comes from eyes other than my own.

[Reverand]

My breath literally caught in my throat when I saw it! That is a beautiful knife, Dale!