All About Pocket Knives

In the years following 9/11 there were some hard time for cutlery companies. United Cutlery went out of business circa 2002, Schrade closed in 2004 and Camillus in 2007. After each company closed there were lots of knives in various states of completion, tons of parts, blades, and unfinished fixed blade blanks.

I bought a lot of those, mostly Schrade and Camillus and still have a couple drawers full of blanks. One that I've wanted to complete for a long time is a Camillus Mark II U.S. Navy commemorative. I have not seen the original completed knife as it came from the factory and finding the exact pieces to complete it would probably be impossible at this date. Of all the many blades I purchased in that time frame, this one was one of the few blades that actually had some protection on it to keep it from getting scratched. That was good because the finish on the blade is in very good shape and the goldleaf lettering is still intact. However the combination of the shiny deep blue finish and the goldleaf exit very difficult to photograph them in make them look right.

I used the leather rings for the handle and I used for smaller rings and dyed them blue and used to Kabar pommel disc. It required quite a bit of sanding because the leather rings were much larger to begin with. Along with sanding leather it creates a lot of dust and little frayed edges which took quite a bit of careful work with an X-Acto knife to clean up. The leather was then treated with a couple of different products to help firm it up a little bit and provide a finish and some water resistance to the leather.

Given the dates of 1941-1991 on the blade, I think it is a Pearl Harbor 50 Commemorative but I have never seen a completed one. There is a pic in the 1990 Camillus catalog but I found it after I completed this knife.
I think I like contrast of the light and dark two-tone handle better than the factory version, but that is just me.

I hope you enjoy the pics.

Dale - that is a beauty!! You did a great job completing that knife.

I think it looks great Dale. You always do great work and that is an exceptionally good looking knife.

Beautiful work, as always Dale, and I am so glad to see that historic beauty properly finished! What do you use for your final finish treatment on the leather rings?

That’s a real beauty Dale

Great work Dale. Will make someone a happy owner.

It came out great. When I did mine I glued the washers with wood glue and compressed them. They sanded like a piece of wood without the fraying issues you had. I used a carpenters belt sander, drum sanders in a drill press. Then I filed in the grooves colored them with sharpie. Then finished with cordovan shoe polish.

The glued compressed washers are much harder than I expected. No way it could be finished by hand.

Awesome job Dale!!

That is a beautiful knife Dale.... and it has a powerful message.
Great job on the finish work. It sure looks nice!

2 thumbs up!

eveled wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2020 3:20 am When I did mine I glued the washers with wood glue and compressed them. They sanded like a piece of wood without the fraying issues you had. I used a carpenters belt sander, drum sanders in a drill press. Then I filed in the grooves colored them with sharpie. Then finished with cordovan shoe polish.

Thanks for sharing your procedure for finishing your leather handle.
It sure does look great!

Beautiful work, Dale!

Dale that came out almost looking like birch bark. Very lovely.
e, great job on that one. Very traditional.

That looks awesome! I agree, in liking the two tones...especially the predominant lighter tone, contrasted by the dark blade!

I really like the handle.

Wow Dale, that is quite nice!

Well...
Thought it would make a great gift. My son is in the Navy...and he was born in 1991. So...after talking with Dale...this will be my "It's in the Mail" post!

Doc B wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2020 8:17 pm Well...
Thought it would make a great gift. My son is in the Navy...and he was born in 1991. So...after talking with Dale...this will be my "It's in the Mail" post!

COOL.... And congrats!

Great work, guys!
Both turned out beautifully.

Meridian_Mike wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2020 11:40 am

eveled wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2020 3:20 am When I did mine I glued the washers with wood glue and compressed them. They sanded like a piece of wood without the fraying issues you had. I used a carpenters belt sander, drum sanders in a drill press. Then I filed in the grooves colored them with sharpie. Then finished with cordovan shoe polish.

Thanks for sharing your procedure for finishing your leather handle.
It sure does look great!

Thank you. If you ever do one I’ll be glad to answer any questions. Here is the way I compressed it.
Thanks for the kind words 1967redrider

Congrats @DocB. It will be a fine present for your son. Dale does great work.

Thanks guys for all your kind words. I did think this one turned out quite nicely.

herbva wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 10:50 pm Beautiful work, as always Dale, and I am so glad to see that historic beauty properly finished! What do you use for your final finish treatment on the leather rings?

The first coding I put on was Gum Tragacanth, which is a burnishing compound. I burnishing the compound in by using strips of cloth dipping them in the compound and seesawing them back and forth on the handle. The gum is usually applied to the edge of the leather and then motion with friction is used to to set the gum up and harden the cut edges of the leather. I use it frequently on straps I cut and on the edge of sheaths. If you look up whether burnishing tools on eBay you can find their pretty inexpensive and quite varied in design.
The last coat I put on the handle was Fiebings Leather Balm.

I hope that helps Herb.

Y'all take care, and thanks again for the comments,
Dale

I found a couple of pics of a finished knife for sale.....
.
I Like the one you finished a LOT better Dale.
.
I noticed that the tang stamp is different on this one.....

It’s not the same blade. The logo fits differently, no saw back, different ricasso etc. The factory one is a Jet Pilot Survival Knife, Dales is a Mark2.

I wonder if it is a one off piece. Maybe the sample for the logo? Even cooler. It’s a one of a kind from the start.

Air Force vs Navy. Logo is different. Despite my upbringing...I like Dale's Navy one better.

Yep.... y'all are right..... This old man's eyes betrayed him. The tang stamp wasn't the only thing different.....LOL.

I need to go get my eyes checked..... BUT, I know what they will say.....
"Your eyes are OLD....."
Maybe I will just eat more carrots..